John from Riverside Posted October 4, 2009 Posted October 4, 2009 About a year ago we started having septic probems I had somebody come out and pump the tank out......he said there didn't appear to be anything wrong with the tank that he could see and it was just full OK some some time passes and here and there we start having the septic problem again - First we had a little bit of backup in our two showers.....then after a while that stopped - Then for a long while we were having bad septic smell out where the tank is at but very little backup........we have lived with it because we simply did not have the money to fix it - Then....right after replacing our water heater (I have no idea if this would even effect anything) the bad septic smell in the front yard where the tank is at is gone but we are not getting BAD septic backup anyime we try to do anything (Wash dishes, take a shower, wash clothes) We are dreading making that call because I simply do not have 5-6K for a repair.......we are on the verge of filing BK as it is.
Whites Bay Posted October 4, 2009 Posted October 4, 2009 Depends on how old the house is. Two suggestions to look for: 1) If it's an older house, the tank might be fine, but the leach field might be shot. Not to get TOO basic here, but your tank is draining into a series of perforated pipes (usually about 4" in diameter, measuring about 15' in length fabricated of PVC). If the house is real fuggin' old, the holes will have eventually filled in with sediments and roots, and will no longer allow "gray water" to percolate from the septic tank into the lawn. You'll have to locate the exit channel from the septic tank, and then locate the leach pipes, and then....yep....dig 'em up and empty 'em out. It's just me, but I'd recommend dumping them into a neighbor's pool after dark, but I get asked to leave a lot, so take that for what it's worth. 2) If it's a newer house, you might have a simple solution. Trace your main "Shower Drain" from your bathrooms to the septic. The odds are - in newer houses - you're going to find that it hits a "U-trap". Just like the "U-trap" that you'll see under your sink drain. Except this is more like 3" in diameter. Sludge builds up on an annual basis in the U-trap, and has to be manually scooped out. Hair, soap film, etc., all clogs it up. I find that it usually has to be drained somewhere around February when it's the worst fuggin' time in the world to drain a trap. It smells like hell, and you have to have the ability to overcome your gag reflex, and you really learn the value of having good lung capacity, because you're going to have to hold your breath like your life depends on it. But once you get this "lard" (and I use that term loosely) cleaned out, things roll along just fine. Have a good set of rubber gloves available, and lots of booze on the other end.
stevewin Posted October 4, 2009 Posted October 4, 2009 Y - hopefully there should be a cleanout plug on the pipe going out to the tank. Sometimes the pipe going out to the tank can break/crack and roots can get in the pipe to clog it up. You can unscrew that and try putting a snake through the pipe (be forewarned - could be a messy disgusting activity). In my first house we had a septic system that was almost 30 yrs old and on it's last legs. Just before we were going to move we started having problems w/ water draining - I went through the cleanout and there were roots in the pipe out to the tank - I managed to clear them out enough to keep the system limping along until we sold the house. I also actually dug up the tank cover and opened it up to see what was going on in the tank - it should't be too deep if you can locate it and want to try to see for yourself what is going on , Sometimes your tank can be fine but the pipes out to the leach field can get clogged. I am sooooooooo glad I've lived in houses w/ public sewer ever since that first house
Wacka Posted October 4, 2009 Posted October 4, 2009 When I wsa a kid and before they put in the sewers on the street, my dad dug up and put a new leach bed in himself. As far as I know , the remnants are still there 40+ years later. The grass does grow well there.
mead107 Posted October 4, 2009 Posted October 4, 2009 Check around and see if any one has a machine that drives a rod in the ground to the leach fields then blows a shot of air into the ground to open up the leach fields . This is a lot less expensive than replacing the leach fields.
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