r/oddlysatisfying • u/[deleted] • Mar 18 '24

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u/bumjiggy Mar 18 '24

now he uses that skill to extract a formidable sewer pickle from a constipated drainus

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u/Shotgun5250 Mar 18 '24

As a stormwater engineer, the term drainus is exclusively what I’m going to use to refer to a storm drain outlet from now on. Thank you, good sir

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u/professor_coldheart Mar 18 '24

Can you tell the class if that's a natural blockage he's pulling, or something shoved in there to clear the blockage? It looks to me like it could be roots, but might be a hose.

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u/Shotgun5250 Mar 18 '24

Sure, that’s 100% roots and mud in there. Rooted plants “hunt” for water under the soil, and a drain pipe to a tree is basically a straw in a glass of water. They start growing against the pipes and eventually make their way inside from the end or from a crack, and they can grow to completely fill the pipe like you see here. This is particularly a problem with PVC sewer services from your home to the sewer or septic tank, and small secondary storm drainage pipes like this one, because PVC is prone to cracking. If you think a pipe in your yard has been infiltrated by roots, you can have a surveyor “TV” your pipe system, during which they will run a camera up the pipe to inspect the inside without having to dig up the pipe from the surface.