AxleHub
Elite Member
Hey all,
I need some additional advice, I live in Canada where it gets to -30 Celsius during the winter months . .
V8. I read your thread current up to today's date. But most of the contributors good intentions seemed to defy the simpler logic in my opinion.
Lets start with the Canadian winters. I live in southwest Wisconsin. Last winter was a cold year and we saw frost down from 6 to 6.5 feet. In Rochester MN they had 7+ feet of frost. This year was far warmer than last . . yet we had nearly 6 feet of frost again. You can't insulate a septic field . . Septic fields work because they "cook" . . not because they avoid cold.
V8 . . A couple of questions you asked posters were smart points. Like why is the field ice If the line from tank to field is potentially frozen? Nobody answered that did they lol.
I read 4 pages on this thread and one of the best posts was at the end before I posted. It was: from
"jix" "Soft water requires salt..salt is antibacteeriologic, ergo if you run a salt-type water softener backwash into your septic tank, you kill the heat producing bacteria. (and get your DF laterals plugged.) Salt backwash must NOT go into the septic system! "
I personally have no reason to consider that you use too little water. Too little water doesn't freeze a field but too little bacteria will.
No one has asked you a simple but important question. In the winter . . is your septic tank covered with snow? If it is . . and you can't see the vent pipe . . then your bacteria are not "cooking"
enough to generate any heat to melt the snow on the vent pipe.
A good septic system sends water to the septic field. But its more than just water . . . its bacteria water . . and it continues to work in the field pipes and in the field exhaust. That's why septic field grass is always green there (water and fertilizer).
Whether its salt or soap or bleach or antibacterials or etc. etc. it doesn't sound like you have enough "cook" going on. There are several solutions possible and none include digging.