On a sewer camera, roots look like pale hair-like strands or a fibrous curtain hanging from the top and sides of the pipe, almost always at joints spaced evenly along an old clay or concrete line. Heavier growth appears as a matted ball that fills the pipe and traps paper. On a cable head, roots come back as wet brown or cream fibres wound around the blade.
- Roots show up at joints, so they repeat at regular intervals that match the length of the pipe sections.
- Fresh root tips are pale cream or white; older roots darken to brown or grey and are often coated with paper.
- Inspection reports that use NASSCO PACP codes grade roots as fine, tap, medium or ball, and record where they are.
- Grease, wipes, hair and mineral deposits can look like roots in a still photo; the video tells them apart.
- The most useful footage is taken after cutting, when the joints behind the roots are visible.
01 /What do roots look like inside a sewer pipe?
Inside a sewer pipe, roots look like hair, string or a fringed curtain. Individual feeder roots are thin and pale where they are growing, while older roots are brown, grey or blackened by sewage. They hang mostly from the crown and upper sides of the pipe and are anchored at the joint, where a ring or seam is often visible behind them.
The strongest visual clue is rhythm. Clay and concrete laterals were laid in short sections, so roots tend to appear at evenly spaced distances along the footage counter: a tuft at one joint, clear pipe, another tuft at the next joint. A single blockage in one spot is less typical of roots than a repeating pattern.
- Colour: cream or white tips on fresh growth; brown, grey or black on older roots; often mottled with paper.
- Texture: fibrous, stringy and branching, moving slightly in the flow.
- Position: hanging from the top and sides, rooted at a joint or crack.
- Pattern: repeating at joint spacing, heaviest near trees.
- Company: toilet paper and debris caught in the strands, sometimes with standing water upstream.
02 /How do inspection reports classify roots?
Many Canadian contractors and municipalities code roots using the NASSCO Pipeline Assessment Certification Program. PACP separates roots into four types and records where each observation sits in the pipe, which gives a report a shared vocabulary instead of vague words like 'some roots'.
| Code family | Type | Typical appearance on camera |
|---|---|---|
| RF | Fine roots | Thin, hair-like strands, usually at a joint |
| RT | Tap root | A single thicker root, often entering through a joint or crack, that can grow large |
| RM | Medium roots | Many roots forming a noticeable curtain that reduces the flow area |
| RB | Root ball | A dense, matted mass that fills much or all of the pipe cross-section |
A final letter records the location: J for a joint, B for the barrel of the pipe, L for a lateral and C for a connection. RFJ therefore means fine roots at a joint, and RBC a root ball at a connection. Reports may also give the clock position and the percentage of the cross-section affected. SewerInspector.ca explains PACP reports in general; this page focuses on the roots.
03 /What looks like roots but is not?
Several common findings resemble roots in a still frame. Watching the video and knowing where in the pipe the material sits usually separates them.
| Finding | How it looks | How it differs from roots |
|---|---|---|
| Grease (FOG) | White, grey or yellow coating, sometimes lumpy | Coats the wall evenly, thickest near the waterline; not anchored at joints |
| Wipes and rags | Flat ribbons or sheets, sometimes patterned | Woven or smooth texture; no branching; often snagged on something else |
| Hair | Dark, fine strands in clumps | Usually near the house; in branch drains more than the lateral |
| Mineral deposits | Crusty growths or streaks at joints | Hard and fixed; often stained where groundwater seeps in |
| Tuberculation in cast iron | Rough nodules on the pipe wall | Part of the wall, spread along the barrel |
| Debris and sediment | Grit or stones on the invert | Lies on the bottom; does not hang |
Roots and look-alikes often travel together: a root curtain catches wipes and grease, and mineral stains mark joints where groundwater also enters. That is one reason a camera pass after cleaning shows more than one through a blockage.
04 /What do roots look like on a cable or in the cleanout?
On a cable head after cutting, roots come back as wet, stringy fibres wound around the blade, brown or cream, often tangled with toilet paper. Fine roots look almost like wet twine; thicker pieces the diameter of a pencil or more come from tap roots or from roots that have been growing in a joint for years.
| What comes back | Likely meaning |
|---|---|
| Fine fibres with paper | Root intrusion at one or more joints; common and expected |
| Thick, woody pieces | Established tap roots or long-term growth; joints likely widened |
| Roots mixed with soil or sand | Soil entering through an open joint or break; needs a camera |
| Roots with clay or concrete fragments | Pipe breaking up; stop cutting and inspect |
| No roots, only paper or grease | A different cause, or the cutter did not reach the roots |
Photograph what comes back, with the cable marking visible if you can. It is simple evidence for a later repair quote or an insurance conversation.
05 /What do joints look like after the roots are cut?
After cutting, a well-cleaned joint shows the gap roots used: a dark ring or seam, sometimes with short root stubs still protruding, and sometimes with a step where one section has shifted. Joints that were hidden behind a root ball may reveal cracks at the bell, missing mortar or a visible offset.
- Short stubs at the joint: normal after cable cutting; these are where regrowth starts.
- A visible gap or dark ring: the open joint roots used; it will attract roots again.
- A step or lip: an offset joint that snags paper and may need repair.
- Cracks radiating from the bell: pressure from root growth; a repair candidate.
- Water trickling in at the joint: groundwater infiltration through the same opening.
This is the footage that decides between a maintenance cycle and a repair. The how serious are roots guide turns these observations into a severity rating.
06 /Do roots look different in different pipe materials?
The roots look much the same; the pipe around them changes the picture. Knowing what the wall should look like helps you spot where roots are getting in and whether the material has changed partway along the run.
| Pipe | What the wall looks like | Where roots usually appear |
|---|---|---|
| Vitrified clay | Smooth, reddish-brown or tan, with a joint ring every metre or so | At almost every joint on an old run, heaviest near trees |
| Concrete | Grey, sometimes rough or pitted at the crown | At joints, similar spacing to clay |
| Cast iron outside the house | Dark and rough, with hub joints | At loosened hubs or corroded sections |
| Bituminous fibre (Orangeburg) | Black, sometimes flattened or blistered | At joints and splits in the wall |
| PVC or ABS | White, green, cream or black, very smooth | Rarely; a single crack, gasket or coupling |
| Clay-to-plastic transition | Abrupt change in colour and texture, often with a small step | Bunched right at the coupling |
A tidy plastic lateral with a single tuft of roots is a very different job from a clay line with roots at twenty joints. The pattern along the run matters as much as the worst frame.
07 /How should you read a photo or clip someone sends you?
- Find the distance on the footage counter. A picture with no distance cannot be tied to a place in the yard.
- Ask which way the camera was facing and where it entered: an indoor cleanout, an outdoor cleanout or a toilet.
- Ask what the pipe material is at that point, and whether there is a transition from an earlier repair.
- Ask whether the image was taken before or after cutting.
- Ask for the full video, not only the worst frame. A still picture of one joint says nothing about the other twenty.
If a contractor shows you pictures of roots and quotes a full replacement, ask for the complete recording and a second opinion before agreeing. With footage in hand, you can request quotes from contractors who are all pricing the same line, or compare repair options in permanent root fixes.
FAQQuestions people ask
What do tree roots in a sewer line look like?
Pale, hair-like or stringy strands hanging from the top and sides of the pipe at joints, repeating at regular intervals. Heavy growth forms a matted ball that fills the pipe and traps paper.
Can you see roots in a sewer line without a camera?
Only indirectly. Roots on a cable head after cutting confirm them, and sometimes roots are visible from an open cleanout if they are close by. A camera is the reliable way to see where and how many.
What does RFJ mean on a sewer report?
In the NASSCO PACP system, RFJ means fine roots at a joint. RT, RM and RB codes describe tap roots, medium roots and root balls, and the last letter gives the location.
Are white strands in my sewer pipe roots or grease?
Roots hang and branch from joints and repeat at joint spacing; grease coats the wall evenly, thickest near the waterline. The video, not a still photo, usually makes it clear.
Why are the roots only at certain spots?
Because they enter through joints and cracks. On clay or concrete pipe, joints are spaced at regular intervals, so roots appear at those intervals.
Should the camera inspection be before or after root cutting?
After, in most cases, so the joints and any cracks or offsets behind the roots are visible. A camera before cutting helps when the pipe has a history of breaks.
NETWORKGo deeper across the HAUSE Sewer network
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