I have a septic system with a problem and I don’t know anything about them. I have it pumped out every couple of years. I believe it is the original from when the House was built in the 70’s. I had some water come back up through a drain in the laundry room floor and about a gal of water over flow from a toilet in the basement (lowest point) I checked the tank and it is full and the level didn’t go down over 4 or 5 hours. There also appeared to be some solids in the water. I called a place and they are going to try and make it out tomorrow. Is there anything I can do to? Can anyone guess what the cost might be? In my ignorance I didn’t really think they went bad. I have a feeling I am going to be selling some guns.

UPDATE- Guy came out and pumped the tank. There was water, a lot of it, flowing back in from the leach field. I had to dig out the pipe so we can get an actual look in the tank. The guy no longer installs systems but said the black smelly dirt around the top of the tank was a indicator that this had been a problem for a while. He felt that the entire leach field was compromised but the tank was probably good and easily repaired if there were any problems. Ill know more tomorrow after we pull the big cover off, he gave me some names to call and some to avoid as well as some ideas on how to get it stretched out a couple of months while I get some money together.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Valpo Fz,

A properly installed septic system should never need to be pumped out.
Without knowing your setup, it Sounds like field line issues to me. A broken or stopped up field line won’t let the water leach out and the tank fills up and then backs up into the house.
Last year I had to dig up my field line, fix a break and then use a snake to knock a clog out.

Luckily I was able to borrow a baby trackhoe from a friend of mine and do the work myself. I did have the tank pumped before hand just to as a stopgap until I could get a free weekend to work on the field line

IIRC, the tanks usually stay full. It’s the water that leaches out. The outlet is at the top of the tank. Keeping paper to a minimum, and using a product to help dissolve solids helps. I use yeast. Keeping grease to a minimum also helps keep the lines open. That’s what clogs the lines and prevents the water from leaching out.
Try not to over use your septic. By that I mean, it’s better to do a couple loads of laundry daily, than doing eight loads in one day. When it gets overloaded it pushes the grease and solids out of the tank before it has a chance to dissolve. At least that’s my understanding.
I had to have new lines replaced about 15 years ago. But it was the old clay tiles that had gotten clogged and been messed with by roots.
And never use bleach products. It kills the bacteria that helps dissolve your solids. Women love bleach.

I agree field line issue. Either your field line is too short, field line is obstructed, or high water table in the ground is preventing the field line from working correctly.

Just to be clear. This is not an aerobic system with an air pump and sprinkler system?

quote:

Originally posted by Mikito:
Just to be clear. This is not an aerobic system with an air pump and sprinkler system?

Nope.

I agree, sounds like the leach field is not letting the water out... could be stopped up or could be the ground is just too wet.

As a side note about washing machines... back when we had a mountain house out in the 'no wheres', I re-plumbed the washing machine and shower to take that 'grey water' out and just water the day lilies out around the house and not into the septic.

I vote drain field issues. I'm going out on a limb here and asking everybody in the house knows not to put certain items down the drain (condoms/pads/diapers/grease/solvents) all can clog your feed pipes or destroy the cultures in your tank. Just my two cents, Chris

If old, likely needs some attention. Yes, sounds like the ‘outflow’ to the leachfield may be compromised.

About 8 years back I helped with surgery on two older septic fields, similar problems. Both had a problem with the ‘baffle’ or ‘trap’ that prevents solids from getting out the exit pipe towards the leachfield. When solids can slip into the leachfield pipes, they end up plugging the ability to leach, then things back up into the tank, then house, one needs flow.

Our 1st order was to dig to the tank and ascertain it was still solid and viable, which it was. After that we ‘sawsalled’ into the tank, and created a new baffle to prevent solids from leaving the tank. On the one we used a length of ‘half pipe’ to cover the exit, only liquid from below could get out.

The idea is to prevent solids from leaving, improvise as required. With the one, very sandy, we may of added one ‘T’ to the drain field. With both, the outflow baffles were disintegrated and totally ineffective.

You would need help if you do surgery yourself. The ‘professionals’ will want a redo, to the tune of $1000’s, you may need it. Both of the systems we worked in are working splendidly today.

quote:

Originally posted by hudr:
A properly installed septic system should never need to be pumped out.

Ha. As long as you never use toilet paper, bleach, laundry soap....



First thing you need to do. Dye test your toilets.

Put some sort of die (bowl die, food coloring, drink mix... anything to turn the water in your toilet tank dark. The watch it up to an hour or so to see if the coloring show up in the bowl. If it does, change the guts of the tank, it's leaking. "Wouldn't I hear it?" Hearing your toilet leak is like knowing your have heart trouble because you had a heart attack, it's way too late. I've seen people get one month out of a brand new cesspool because of leaking toilets. While a different system, it still shows the volume of water used (wasted) and how quickly the ground can get super saturated and not take any more water.

A water softener system will also saturate your septic system. Had one when I lived up in the hills,almost couldn't sell the house because the leach field was saturated,never backed up thou so it looks like you have a clog somewhere.

With the amount of rain we've had lately it could likely be the ground is just so saturated that the leach field can't let anything out. I had to have mine pumped a few weeks ago. If you only have a "few" solids on top of the tank then the problem could be that toilet paper is dissolving too quickly and plugging your leach field. Only use quality toilet paper in a septic system. When you open the tank lid you should have a solid cap of paper etc. on top. this is called the "cake". Cheap toilet paper will dissolve quickly but not completely turning into a slurry that will clog your leach field. Not sure about your area but in southern Indiana we have a lot of clay in the soil. We generally have to have tanks pumped every 4-5 years. Try to find a product called Septic Shock. It' a green liquid in a half gallon jug, it's a high strength anaroebic, (think Rid X on steroids). I put it in after any heavy cleaning day, bleaching the well or after having the tank pumped to jump start the process.The last thing is what others have suggested. The outflow pipe could be clogged or damaged. My system is from the 70's with the concrete tank also. Over time these tanks can settle. Mine did and several years ago I started having problems and finally dug up the outflow pipe to find that the tank had settled enough to literally pinch the pipe so much that very little could get through. I cut 4" out of the drop to get it to line back up.
Hopefully this will help.

I pump my septic tank at least once every 2 years just to remove the stuff that doesn't dissolve and make sure it's working properly. A few years back the guy who does the pumping noticed that the filter between the tank and the field had broken and anything was able to flow out. He replaced it and I sleep better knowing solids aren't dumping into my leech field. Please be sure to let us know what the problem is once you figure it out.

I forgot to say, when they pump your tank have them check the output baffle. It prevents solids from entering the outflow pipe. In the concrete tanks they can come out and will need to be replaced.
Good Luck

Don’t forget tree roots. Them bastards will find a way into the pipes and GROW! I had grease build up in the little diverter tank so two out of three lines in my leach field weren’t working.
Does sound like an obstruction pre leach. Not froze, right?
Get a rooter guy. Snakes, camera, they should find the problem quickly.

Make sure the outlet of septic tank is lower then inlet.
Had that problem once, was told to put a 90 Degree elbow and about 3 ft of pipe (pointing down) on outlet.

Did it and it has been 15 yrs this month without a problem.

Outlet from the septic tank is blocked or something in the leech field is compromised.

If it's merely the tank outlet that's blocked it should be fairly easy to resolve. If your leech field is compromised you could be in for a pile of trouble. Two things can happen: Solids in the leech lines, which leads to leech line saturation, or the surrounding soil has become saturated.

If it's solids in the leech field there's usually only one cure: Replace the entire leech field. Once solids are in the leech field they'll no longer break down.

If it's saturated soil it may be recoverable, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. Usually, once a leech field gets saturated, either kind of saturated, it's done for. Search on "saturated leech field" for more info.

quote:

Originally posted by hudr:
A properly installed septic system should never need to be pumped out.

Only if you're religious about what you put into the system and have a separate "gray water" discharge. Few systems are that perfect in use.

Our system was compromised, by design, when the original owner of the house had an addition added to the back and, instead of re-plumbing the sump well properly, simply piped it into the septic system

We've been vigilant about what we put into the system. It only needs to be pumped-out once every 4-5 years and the place we have come do it has always told us everything looked good.

quote:

Originally posted by Sigfest:
... using a product to help dissolve solids helps. I use yeast.

The TV adverts notwithstanding: That stuff accomplishes nothing.

quote:

Originally posted by Sigfest:
And never use bleach products. It kills the bacteria that helps dissolve your solids.

I wouldn't say "never," but use very sparingly.

quote:

Originally posted by Chris Anchor:
... everybody in the house knows not to put certain items down the drain (condoms/pads/diapers/grease/solvents) ...

And don't use multi-ply bathroom tissue. It incorporates adhesives that don't break down in the tank, leading to premature solids build-up.

These are all the same rules that apply to the head aboard a boat, btw. (We had one of those, too.)

quote:

Originally posted by valkyrie1:
A water softener system will also saturate your septic system.

Been in our home for over 25 years, with the softener drain feeding into the septic system. See above for our system's health.

they will need to excavate to check the tank and if that isn't messed up, they will have to replace some or all of the drain field.

The concrete in the tank itself can actually corrode or spall when it gets really old, and this can screw up the outfall portion of the tank design.

Whoever comes out will either give you an honest assessment of what's going on after taking a look inside pipes, etc. or, if like several we've dealt with, open the cleanout, listen to symptoms and declare to your sister or mother that roots have invaded the entire system and the only solution is a complete redo, sell the silver and hide the babies or shit will erupt from the vents, sinks and walls and you will all die or got to jail.

Hopefully you've lucked into an honest provider, if not check around with the old-timers in area and they will know one probably.

We fought this battle for a couple years at a cabin in AL with that above scenario and a couple cleanouts of the tank and connection from the single bath to the tank.

Finally had a complete stoppage and got old man George Goebel out. He poked around, looked around and said simply, water's just not flowing properly into tank, let's do some digging. This was actually code for "those two guys over there are going to dig a hole here with their shovels while I direct." Bless their hearts, it was rock and clay soil, with a layer of fine rip rap a foot deep we had laid around cabin 20 years ago. Oh and the pipe exited about 4 feet below grade.

In the end, we found that the idiots who had installed the new tank and field lines over 20 years ago had apparently not had a proper connector for the PVC drain pipe to the circa-1963 steel pipe exiting house. They took a piece of PVC nearly big enough, split it, drove it up onto the pipe and wrapped that in duct tape. Over time that had eroded and backed off to allow dirt, etc. to drop in pipe as well. If that wasn't enough, they had a single 45-degree turn halfway to the tank to point in right direction and that had what looked to be the worst science experiment ever lodged in the bend.

Replaced with a proper connection to the pipe, added two 22.5, more gentle turns and was back in business. That was $600 instead of the earlier quoted $22,000. I paid $700 and bought the shovel crews lunch.

Point of this long story? It's impossible to guess without someone who will take the time to do a little accurate diagnosis on site, let alone from the internet. Just find a person who you can trust.

Good luck!

I did not read all the reply's but sounds like you got some good thoughts.


I would mostly agree. Field is probabaly saturated and not functioning.

That is if your tank is a good concrete or poly unit that is fine.

Tanks do not need pumped if working correctly.
The bottom sludge layer contains the good bacteria and it comsumes the stuff entering the tank. The top clear layer is what goes the the leach field which is virtually free of anything other than clear liquid.

If your drainfield is compromised you will need a reserve drainfield and a diverter valve installed. Once the old df is dried up you can switch back and forth to extend the life of both.

This is based on an entire system check to determine there are not other issues.

Best of luck.