Who knows about septic systems?

[tunnug]

At my last house we had a septic tank with a leach field that worked fine for about 8 yrs, house was built around early 60's, we started having problems with water backing up just like the OP, long story short, I paid to have a new leach field put in where the old one was, the original was about a foot deep so there wasn't enough of an area to allow proper leaching in, made the new one about five feet deep and never had a problem for the next ten years when we sold it.

[cbrick]

This is first house I've had with a septic system, been in it for three years now and no issues. Yet. Had the tank inspected when I bought the house but unfortunately I wasn't here when he dug up the back yard. His report simply stated - No issues. The only way I have of even knowing where the tank is is by where he dug with a back hoe, there is no access (inspection) pipe on the tank. The only thing above ground is about 70 feet downhill on the drain line. I actually know little about this system but I know that I am anal about what goes into it. Never ever anything greasy, pans and skillets are wiped clean with paper towels before washing. Garbage disposal used sparingly. Never anything like paper towels. Never any kind bleach, even bathroom cleaners are used as lightly as possible. No Kotex or similar. My washing machine does not go into the septic. I use Rid-X religiously once every month. I may not know a lot about these systems but knock on wood no problems so far, hopefully being anal about it will keep me out of trouble.

Rick

[Kent Fowler]

This is first house I've had with a septic system, been in it for three years now and no issues. Yet. Had the tank inspected when I bought the house but unfortunately I wasn't here when he dug up the back yard. His report simply stated - No issues. The only way I have of even knowing where the tank is is by where he dug with a back hoe, there is no access (inspection) pipe on the tank. The only thing above ground is about 70 feet downhill on the drain line. I actually know little about this system but I know that I am anal about what goes into it. Never ever anything greasy, pans and skillets are wiped clean with paper towels before washing. Garbage disposal used sparingly. Never anything like paper towels. Never any kind bleach, even bathroom cleaners are used as lightly as possible. No Kotex or similar. My washing machine does not go into the septic. I use Rid-X religiously once every month. I may not know a lot about these systems but knock on wood no problems so far, hopefully being anal about it will keep me out of trouble.

Rick

One of the septic guru's for the state said to quit using anti-bacterial soap as it attacked the little bugs in the system. Also a septic system is anaerobic and as it doesn't like oxygen, it needs to be kept sealed tight.

[cbrick]

Well that explains the no inspection pipe but if it ever does need to pumped out I don't know how they will do it short of digging up the tank. I have stopped using antibacterial hand soap. The quantity has to be pretty small compared to the tank but I said I was anal about what goes into that tank.

Rick

[TXGunNut]

Just don't let anyone talk you into an aerobic system. Money pit with a habit of failing when it's cold & nasty outside.

[MaryB]

Friends are fighting a frozen leach field here in SW MN. Frost is down way to deep. He has a sump pump suspended in the tank right now and is pumping the water into the grove. Nothing else he can do right now until we get a thaw. I have to keep water running or my line from the street freezes up, do not want to have to dig that up and replace it!

[454PB]

Where I live, any failed septic system MUST be replaced with one of the new systems that utilizes two tanks. The first is settling tank where "most" of the solids are collected, and the second contains filter elements that have to be either cleaned or replaced depending on system load. There's a transfer pump, level sensors, and an electronic control box for this. My next door neighbor had his system replaced with one of these, and when they where installing the leach pipes, I asked him how that could work, since the pipes were only 18" deep. Sure enough, the first winter his leach field froze causing the entire system to back up.

These new systems may be environmentally friendly, but there are also a gold mine for the installers.

[Plate plinker]

if it is 20+ years old ,there is a good chance the tank has settled and the outlet has a kink in it ,slowing the flow down. ,it takes a lot of cold bare ground to freeze a leach line.especially if you emptyed it and it refilled so quickly.

This!
and you could dig around the d box and see if you get water there. When it thaws enough

[DLCTEX]

A friend bought a ranch and the septic system was relatively new and was supposed to be top notch. Whenever he had company the sewer would back up. I checked the lower end of the leach field and found it dry. I dug next to the tank and found that the installer had neglected ti connect the tank to the leach line br 4 ft. The soil had a high clay content and would not absorb much . Local plumbers were set on selling him a new system.for $7,000.

[CastingFool]

I know this is not an issue for the OP, but when we had our septic tank pumped out once, the guy told me not to flush the baby wipes down, as they don't break down. Also, the county sewer inspector told me I could put in a separate dry well to run the reject water from the water softener, instead of letting it go into the main septic tank.

[cbrick]

I forgot to mention the water softener in my post. It's discharge goes with the washing machine drain not into the septic. I asked around about the effect of salt on the septic and never got a decent answer. I may also re-plumb the dish washer so it no longer goes into the septic either but in my house it gets very little use.

Rick

[Nocturnal Stumblebutt]

Well, here's the answer/bad news from the septic expert at the county health department. My finger system is dying. The frost isn't deep enough to be causing this much of a problem. The cold may be slowing the flow down a bit but if my system was in top working order a little bit of a slowdown wouldn't be a big deal. So now I just have to watch it and have it pumped out until the weather improves then have a new finger system installed.

[KAF]

For those that do not pump their tank every so many years, you should pump it out on a schedule depending on how many people in your household. The solids WILL fill it to the top. When the sewer system was put in around here there were way to many that when dug up to abandon were full to the top with just a channel going to the outlet. They COULD NOT BE PUMPED OUT, they were that solid. THAT is what caused the affluent to pollute the streams to the point where the EPA made us put in a sewer system. Those who do not pump will cost everybody lots of money.

[blackthorn]

One thing not mentioned here is NOT to flush unwanted, leftover/expired drugs into your system. Many of these will kill the bacterial action and if you get them into the system, they are REALLY hard to get rid of!

We use a product called Acti-Zyme. It is a coarse powder that looks like coarse pepper. The stuff I get is made in Vancouver BC so I don't know if it would be available where you are. I got mine from a plumbing supply store. This stuff claims to be "industrial" and claims to break down the grease-crud that coats drain fields and causes poor performance. The folks who sold it to me claim it will restore drain fields that are becoming "slow" over time (i.e. several months of use (as directed). We have been here for ten years. Had the septic pumped the first year and again two years ago just because we felt it was time. Never any problems (so far). Anyway---I am convinced it works, but it is like a good fire prevention regime, was the fact you had no fire due to the programme, or just luck?

[Kent Fowler]

Well that explains the no inspection pipe but if it ever does need to pumped out I don't know how they will do it short of digging up the tank. I have stopped using antibacterial hand soap. The quantity has to be pretty small compared to the tank but I said I was anal about what goes into that tank.

Rick

Your septic tank should have 2 heavy concrete "plugs" about 1 foot square and are beveled on all four sides to match the beveled holes in the tank. This allows for an air tight operation and also a way to get at both sides of the tank if you need to. My FIL said he decided to pump his tank out after 13 years and the vacuum truck operator said there were very little solids present. I suspect him having a pretty good grease trap and no garbage disposal help the situation.

[ascast]

your tank is supposed to be full. The inlet is on top, and the outlet is about 4 inches lower. It should ALWAYS be full, or at least to with in 4-6 inches of the top. That is how they work. The solids fall out in the tank and the liquid flows out to the leach field. Sometimes with a steel tank it gets holed in the bottom and it really screws up the process. Also, if someone is putting sanitary napkins down the toilet, well that is generally a big no-no. They get caught easier and then swell up to be huge. Avoid if possible, unless lines are straight.
In septic tanks, full means full of sludge NOT liquid.
good luck

[rockrat]

How many people were in the house before you? They might have used alot of water and had alot of waste. I suspected that your leach field was in need of replacement. When I bought my house, water was leaking out of the leach field and the owner had to pay to have it replaced before he could sell the house to me. It was only 15 years old. I suspect he never took care of it.

I try and take care of mine. Have had some trouble with the piping, but mainly because of roots/hair in the pipe, and did have to have the system cleaned out three times in the last 24 years. Like others, I put bacteria in they system, at least 6x/year, and try and keep grease out of it.

[GabbyM]

Lots of good suggestions here. Like no Charmin or any double ply toilet paper. Single ply only and check to see if it's septic system compatible. but that only works in the future. If I were you I'd definitely try an enzyme product. Like Blackthorn mentioned. My S.O. is, among other things, a salesperson for a janitor supply company. She sells lots of enzyme product for septic systems. It's far more effective than rid X although nothing wrong with that. This stuff will reduce solids in an outhouse pit to near nothing. I know little else about it including it's brand name. Since it's her gig. She's down in Nashville right now taking a class on crime scene cleanup. So I hesitate to ring her phone.

[snuffy]

Here in eastern Winnebago county we have red clay under the black topsoil. It is very poor soil to allow the waste water to be absorbed from the drain field. They do what is called a "perk test" when someone builds a house that is too far from the city sewers to hook-up. If the test hole does not absorb a certain amout of water over a specific amount of time, it fails the test. Then either a mound system is installed, or a holding tank that MUST be pumped when full. The mound system must have a pump for the wast water to enter above ground level into the mound. They seldom last for more than 20 ears.

Holding tanks will teach you water conservation in a big hurry. The charges to have it pumped will mount up fast. They are best for the environment, because there's no effluent being absorbed by the soil, that might reach the water table. Around here the bedrock is anywhere from 6 inches under the surface of the ground to 60 feet down. So location is everything.

[GabbyM]

rockrat mentioned bacteria. Bacteria and enzymes are to different critters. Just so you note that. Also there are enzymes and other products sold at hardware and lumber yards, names I wont mention, that are pretty much worthless. Right along with there hardwood floor care products and carpet spot removers that do more harm than anything.