Septic Help!!!

[CR172]

We have been having problems with our septic this past year. It all started with all the rain & ice we got last year. We have a conventional gravity fed system and our ground is still so saturated that we can't flush ....... I'm beginning to think the leach field has seen its day. The house was built in 1998 and we moved in 2009. It has been pumped twice since we have been here. The last time was on 4-7-2015. Anybody have any ideas/suggestions on who to call? We are in north Texas in between Celina and Weston north of McKinney.

Does anyone have experience with any of the septic treatments?

 

[knukey]

I'd call a plumber first to throw a hail Mary that you have a clog in the line. Drainfields should last MUCH longer than this.

 

[kcflhrc]

I hate to hear these things but all I can offer is this. We had a guy come out with a camera and looked at ours from the house the the septic tank. Didn't take him long to find the issue. The pipe was being smashed about 10 feet from the house under our huge concrete patio. Yep, you guessed it. We had to saw up the concrete to get to the pipe and replace it. Some dumb *** used a thin wall pipe under the slab and then it transitioned to schedule 40. A $20 piece of pipe cost me $1000 to have replaced just because some moron back in 1970 took a short cut.

 

[buickanddeere]

If the laundry, water softener, showers, sinks and dishwasher is being run into the black water septic system. Use a grey water disposal system to lighten the load from the septic system .
Also the salt and antibiotic soap retards septic tank activity.

 

[CR172]

I'd call a plumber first to throw a hail Mary that you have a clog in the line. Drainfields should last MUCH longer than this.

We had the lines roto-rootered after the last pumping....

 

[CR172]

If the laundry, water softener, showers, sinks and dishwasher is being run into the black water septic system. Use a grey water disposal system to lighten the load from the septic system .
Also the salt and antibiotic soap retards septic tank activity.

I have been thinking of a way to get the washing machine, showers and bathroom sinks off the septic and into a grey water tank w/ a pump and irrigation system. Not sure how I can go about that since we are on a slab. The original owner/builder of the house had good intentions by running the rain gutters into an in-ground cistern tank that used to be connected to the sprinkler system. I reworked the sprinkler system to run of the city water as there was never enough water in the cistern during the summer months when I needed it most.

 

[square1]

The zoning laws here would make it very tough to go to a grey water system like you describe.

Shop around. The first estimate some neighbors received to repair their septic was $10k! They now have it down to $1,500. Fortunately their backs weren't against the wall (that's what I think the $10k guy was hoping).

 

[Cord]

Per code those items should be directed into the sanitary system. Your system should be able to handle all water from those fixtures. I'd suggest looking for the problem instead of applying crutch fixes that won't last.

Do you have any wet spots in your yard? If so, then this is a sign of the leach field failing and the water is pushing up to the surface instead of soaking down. Not knowing your system, sometimes there are strainers installed in the septic tank that can clog. Pull the tank lids and check the fluid level on both sides. If the levels are off you know it's the strainer. Does anybody in your house use "flushable" wipes? Those wipes are **** on a plumbing system because they stick to the pipe walls. Your system would have been installed using PVC. Your house is young so it should NOT have roots in the pipes. If there are roots, then the joints have to be broken or the tree is way too close to the field. After that, I'd hire a plumber to start chasing a clog.

 

[C4Ranch]

I have been thinking of a way to get the washing machine, showers and bathroom sinks off the septic and into a grey water tank w/ a pump and irrigation system. Not sure how I can go about that since we are on a slab. The original owner/builder of the house had good intentions by running the rain gutters into an in-ground cistern tank that used to be connected to the sprinkler system. I reworked the sprinkler system to run of the city water as there was never enough water in the cistern during the summer months when I needed it most.

Not cheap but you could look into an aerobic system. I have both types and they each have their issues. Leech lines are usually least problematic but like you're having can be a problem. Other than the aerobic route you will probably have to look at extending your leech field of an option.

 

[RobS]

Our last house was in a subdivision where everyone had well and septic. Apparently, the codes were not well engineered and nearly all leach fields failed between 10 & 15 years. Most properties had room for a second field and a diverter valve so the homeowner could switch fields every couple of years. We didn't replace ours but had to provide a price reduction to accommodate at time of sale. Hope yours isn't this, but it certainly could be.

 

[txdon]

My parents had the same issue this week. They had a plumber cone out and scope it and found roots in the line to the septic tank, Whether or not your leach field is clogging and finished is dependent on the type of soil and use and abuse. But you have been sucking out the septic tank so unless a lot of solids have been getting into the leach line, I'm thinking an obstruction before the tank. How close are your trees? My parents leach field was replaced 5 years ago after 15 years of not emptying the septic tank.

 

[jerrybob]

I hate to hear these things but all I can offer is this. We had a guy come out with a camera and looked at ours from the house the the septic tank. Didn't take him long to find the issue. The pipe was being smashed about 10 feet from the house under our huge concrete patio. Yep, you guessed it. We had to saw up the concrete to get to the pipe and replace it. Some dumb *** used a thin wall pipe under the slab and then it transitioned to schedule 40. A $20 piece of pipe cost me $1000 to have replaced just because some moron back in 1970 took a short cut.

Had a similar problem with a pipe. Ours was broken near the baffle that enters the septic tank. Luckily.....we dug down with a backhoe......replaced the pipe and baffle and were back in business....did work ourselves.....not to costly. Seemed the plastic baffle had cracked where the sewer pipe connected due to a lack of support under the sewer pipe. Over the years......the weight of the dirt put too much pressure on the pipe. Solved the problem by putting bags of cement under pipe. That was several years ago.

 

[jfh28]

since you mention it all started with rain and ice I'm inclined to think you have a problem at the field instead of a clog........if it was a clog or broken pipe the weather wouldn't matter.......I'd start by walking the field and looking for soggy areas.......if you find one put a stick in the ground and then smell it......trust me you will know very quickly if it's septic or not.......lol......usually you can smell a failing field long before you see it.......the other possibility is your ground water table is high and the effluent at the field can't drain because the ground is all saturated........this would be a design flaw in that the field was buried to deep or on unsuitably perc'd ground.......if you suspect the field then I'd start with the company that pumped the tank and ask if they have experience with fields and if not who they would recommend........if it's not the field then go with a plumber that specializes in private waste systems........hope it turns out not to be expensive.......Jack

 

[CR172]

......the other possibility is your ground water table is high and the effluent at the field can't drain because the ground is all saturated........this would be a design flaw in that the field was buried to deep or on unsuitably perc'd ground.......if you suspect the field then I'd start with the company that pumped the tank and ask if they have experience with fields and if not who they would recommend........if it's not the field then go with a plumber that specializes in private waste systems........hope it turns out not to be expensive.......Jack

This is exactly what I suspect. It hasn't rained here of any significance in awhile. The front yard of the house (where the field is located) is fairly flat. The backyard has about a 10 - 15 ft slope before it hits the back pasture. In the lower areas towards the pasture there is standing water still. I can't say I've ever noticed any wet smelly spots in the front. May try to snake the main clean out again..... One of the worst parts of this is where whoever located the tanks. The first tank is actually under a walkway that I have to pull up the stones and the second tank is pretty close to an old pecan tree. There is a Youpon Holly tree planted directly on top of the main pipe in said flower bed. Nobody has found any roots. Maybe I need to look closer at the 5 yo grandson.........ullinghair:

 

[Looking4new]

Your 5 year old grandson might just be the problem. You can't flush kids down the toilet! They wont fit! :laughing:

 

[mark02tj]

2 or 3 years ago I had to have our septic tank pumped out because I thought it was backing up. The local guy that did it showed me a couple of things about maintaining the system and other than using RidEx to keep the tank activity up, it went in one ear and out the other as I was in the middle of several things when all that came up.

About 3 weeks ago, SWMBO was taking a shower and said the drain was backing up. I tried plunging it and that didn't work, so I called the local drain cleaning guy. He told me that I was number 4 on his list at that point and he'd see me sometime that afternoon. By 4:15 I still hadn't heard from him and I called him again. I was "next". I decided to look into it a bit more before he got there and decided to work backwards from the septic tank into the house. I dug up one of the septic tank lids and was greeted with a big clog of ..... stuff... clogging the pipe from the house into the tank. EWWW!

I immediately called the septic tank guy from a few years ago and told him that I needed the tank pumped out ASAP. I went ahead and uncovered the second lid to save him the trouble and had visions of needing my leach field replaced. When he got there we chatted for a second and then he opened the second lid and looked in it. He said "Yup, I thought I remembered you having an effluence filter. Don't you remember me telling you about how to clean it every couple of years?" He pulled the filter out and the tank immediately started draining into the leach field! While his son was pumping the tank, we flushed the filter clean with the garden hose and put it back in place. 20 minutes and $300 later I had an empty septic tank and a clean effluence filter!!

So, check the exit end of your septic tank to see if there's any sort of plastic filter at the exit. From the top, mine was about the diameter of a soup can with an arrow indicating the exit direction. If so, pull it out and hit it with the nozzle on the end of the garden hose. That might be an inexpensive fix to the issue. Let me know if you want/need me to post a pic of it.

The septic guy did tell me that if you needed the leach field roto-rooted to find someone that specializes (or at least has a lot of experience) in doing leach fields and that you didn't want to have just anyone with an auger sending that through the drain pipes. You might want to check with a local tank cleaner to see if they can make recommendations.

Good luck!!

 

[stuckmotor]

If your septic tank is overflowing from the tank itself, I don't think it's a problem with the line between your tank and the house. With all the rain we've been having, my tank is acting up too. The conventional solution around here has been to add to the leach field. If the leach field is clogged with roots, I'm told a rotary root cutter can get them out, up to the first elbow in the pipe. I've toyed with the idea of digging down to the elbows and intalling tees with extensions up near ground level so the rooter can get in there.

 

[CR172]

2 or 3 years ago I had to have our septic tank pumped out because I thought it was backing up. The local guy that did it showed me a couple of things about maintaining the system and other than using RidEx to keep the tank activity up, it went in one ear and out the other as I was in the middle of several things when all that came up.

About 3 weeks ago, SWMBO was taking a shower and said the drain was backing up. I tried plunging it and that didn't work, so I called the local drain cleaning guy. He told me that I was number 4 on his list at that point and he'd see me sometime that afternoon. By 4:15 I still hadn't heard from him and I called him again. I was "next". I decided to look into it a bit more before he got there and decided to work backwards from the septic tank into the house. I dug up one of the septic tank lids and was greeted with a big clog of ..... stuff... clogging the pipe from the house into the tank. EWWW!

I immediately called the septic tank guy from a few years ago and told him that I needed the tank pumped out ASAP. I went ahead and uncovered the second lid to save him the trouble and had visions of needing my leach field replaced. When he got there we chatted for a second and then he opened the second lid and looked in it. He said "Yup, I thought I remembered you having an effluence filter. Don't you remember me telling you about how to clean it every couple of years?" He pulled the filter out and the tank immediately started draining into the leach field! While his son was pumping the tank, we flushed the filter clean with the garden hose and put it back in place. 20 minutes and $300 later I had an empty septic tank and a clean effluence filter!!

So, check the exit end of your septic tank to see if there's any sort of plastic filter at the exit. From the top, mine was about the diameter of a soup can with an arrow indicating the exit direction. If so, pull it out and hit it with the nozzle on the end of the garden hose. That might be an inexpensive fix to the issue. Let me know if you want/need me to post a pic of it.

The septic guy did tell me that if you needed the leach field roto-rooted to find someone that specializes (or at least has a lot of experience) in doing leach fields and that you didn't want to have just anyone with an auger sending that through the drain pipes. You might want to check with a local tank cleaner to see if they can make recommendations.

Good luck!!

We don't have an effluence filter in the system.

 

[HeLa]

determine the true problem before introducing any additives!

have the laterals been inspected for obstructions? is the distribution box also flooded?

try and examine the laterals for roots or biomat (essentially impermeable sludge that keeps the ground below the laterals from absorbing water)

laterals can be jetted clean of sludge and treated with hydrogen peroxide (industrial; >30%) going forward to help keep them clean

make sure that all of your laterals are being used evenly. if the d-box has shifted over time, one lateral might be taking all the load. "speed levelers" can quickly/easily fix that.

we had a similar experience a few months after moving into our house. it was root clogs in the laterals. i cut down EVERY tree near our septic field and now add Root-X 1-2 times a year to tank and d-box. no more problems.

 

[CR172]

Let me be clear and say, nothing is overflowing, well...... I have had to loosen/remove the cap on the cleanout enough to let the fluid drain out into the flower bed. Otherwise, showers would be backed up and so on. We only flush the toilets if need be, #2. We have been following the mantra "if its yellow, let it mellow. if its brown, it goes down" for quite awhile now since the first incident roughly a year ago. I can open both clean out caps and both are filled with "water". One cap goes to the house while the other goes to the septic.