Laundry/Septic Drain water

[OKnewguy]

Hey gang, I have a dilemma. Our 45 year old septic system is having issues keeping up with the water volume when we use our washer a lot. I am thinking about doing a few things to help it out.

1. Run a trencher as deep as I can between trees and the leach field to try and sever the roots that might be getting in the laterals. This step would also include a healthy dose of copper sulfate into the distribution box.
2. I can separate out the kitchen sink and laundry from the system completely. I would like to either run this into its own lateral line or a drain (like a french drain). I am not sure which style to go, and sizing.

What are your thoughts?
Thanks for taking the time, Dave

 

[RoMad]

At 23 years old my drain field was overcome with roots from all of the trees in my front yard. I went to the local plumbing supply, bought the plastic dome shaped drain field pieces that come 6' long each, rented a terra mite and had the job done in one day. Total cost was less than $800 including the rental and having my septic tank pumped the day before.

We bought a fixer upper and put the same drain field in there also. Because it had less bathrooms it didn't take as much material and I borrowed a mini x to do the job so it was considerably cheaper.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

The water from a clothes washers, showers, etc., is sometimes referred to as gray-water.

It is viewed differently in different parts of the country. See:
Recycling Gray Water

Sheriff John Whetsel may come to get you if you don't run it through the septic tank, especially if you are in the Arcadia watershed.

 

[OKnewguy]

I treated the system a few years ago with some copper sulfate, and had a few years with out issue. So I am hoping I can bring the system back. To be clear, the grey water would not be draining into a ditch or anything like that. I do understand that this might not be code, and the grey should run thru the system. Does water from a kitchen sink and washer machine, really present an issue if it is on its own leach system?
I have been reading old post about leach fields and have seen some with the plastic domed 6' sections. I hope it does not come to that.
Dave

 

[dex3361]

A few years ago I started having a few problems with water coming to the top and it gradually got worse. I pumped the tank and it over full, I dug up the field tile and it was clear but was no longer taking all the water from the tank. I opted to add biodiffussers onto the existing system essentially doubling the size of the system. Here is a link to the job if your interested. Septic System Upgrade/ Yuck what is that smell

 

[Western]

Some systems need that gray water to function and flow right is what I've been told, you don't want a "rat" getting stuck in the main line because there isn't enough water flowing.

Just a thought

 

[CurlyDave]

Some systems need that gray water to function and flow right is what I've been told, you don't want a "rat" getting stuck in the main line because there isn't enough water flowing.

Just a thought

There are only two of us on a fairly large septic system. I always flush a few extra times just to make sure it has enough water.

 

[OKnewguy]

Hey Dex, yours is one of the threads I have been reading up on. I read it completely a few weeks ago, and I am sure I will do it again in the next couple of days. Has your system been working well since your upgrade? BTW, I am not having wet spots in the leach field. The way I know it is not work up to par, is an occasional wafting coming from the septic tank. I put a riser on the top of the tank the last time I had it pumped (I did not want to go thru digging every time I have it pumped) If I lift the lid to the riser, there is water seepage thru the tank lid and riser starts to fill up.
I know this is very bad, due to solids being able to go into the leach field when this happens.

I have the next couple of days off, and I am going to go ahead and rent the trencher and try and sever the roots that might be getting into the laterals. Does any one have any idea of a barrier I could place in the trench to keep the roots away for a longer period of time? I was thinking about the rubber used to make show pans???
I know that this might not solve our issues, but it is a logical first step (I hope).
Thanks, Dave

 

[Patriotic Stabilist]

We have been here 20 years, had to redo the septic once. Now you are supposed to put in aerobic but they are a pain in the butt. We did some work on ours quite a few years back. We have a tenant next door and his washer was to much for the small septic so we let the gray water from his washer go on the yard. It just helps water the grass a bit in back. He lives alone in a mobile.

Our water from the kitchen sink and washer go in a drywell in the back, was that way when we bought the house. Since we have 2 full bathrooms and 2 half bathrooms, there will be another full one day, and a laundry sink in the garage I think our system gets plenty of water. Our septic guy said get it pumped about every 2 years, its about due again.

 

[SixHoeBob]

There are only two of us on a fairly large septic system. I always flush a few extra times just to make sure it has enough water.

The less water that goes into the system, the better off the system will be.
Dishwater, showers, washing machine, etc. should add more than enough grey water to keep the pipes open. If the sewage is not flowing, then the plumbing should be corrected. Sewage will flow in an almost flat pipe, as long as it has a smooth slope with no hills or valleys. Put enough 1/4" stone in the trench to create a very smooth slope the full width of the trench, for the length of the trench. Then lay the pipe in the trench. Use Sch 40 PVC so the pipe remains round after being backfilled. Backfill to at least to the mid line of the pipe with 1/4" stone, four inches above the pipe would be better if stone is available. Careful digging to the correct trench grade will save a lot of stone. Anywhere that is too deep, must be filled with stone to prevent the pipe from settling. Once the pipe is properly bedded, backfill the trench with clean dirt, i.e. no rocks.

Cutting the tree roots off might be part of the long term solution. Pump the tank before any solids can overflow the outlet baffle. Solids that make it to the drain field will clog the pores of the soil.

It should be possible to find a product on line to rejuvenate flooded drain fields.

Obvious short term solution to the swamp in the yard, is to drastically cut back on the amount of water flowing into the system.

 

[ultrarunner]

Grey Water Systems are required in some parts of the county... like my friend that built in Arizona.

My city recently adopted standards for grey water... mostly it is for laundry... never kitchen sink for some reason?

 

[Skyco]

I could see how meat juices/particles etc could be bacteria laden so no kitchen sink gray water should be in a system not fully closed....

 

[dex3361]

Hey Dex, yours is one of the threads I have been reading up on. I read it completely a few weeks ago, and I am sure I will do it again in the next couple of days. Has your system been working well since your upgrade? BTW, I am not having wet spots in the leach field. The way I know it is not work up to par, is an occasional wafting coming from the septic tank. I put a riser on the top of the tank the last time I had it pumped (I did not want to go thru digging every time I have it pumped) If I lift the lid to the riser, there is water seepage thru the tank lid and riser starts to fill up.
I know this is very bad, due to solids being able to go into the leach field when this happens.

I have the next couple of days off, and I am going to go ahead and rent the trencher and try and sever the roots that might be getting into the laterals. Does any one have any idea of a barrier I could place in the trench to keep the roots away for a longer period of time? I was thinking about the rubber used to make show pans???
I know that this might not solve our issues, but it is a logical first step (I hope).
Thanks, Dave

Thats the way mine started out rising to the top and giving a smell. I suspect it was overloaded from a spike in water usage and adding a dishwasher. I think it was starting to plug the soil. The addition is working great and if it gives any grief I will split the old and new systems and add Biodiffusers to the old part. I added inspection ports and made accurate drawings of the systems. I used rebar for locators of the tees and inspection ports.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Tree roots can be a problem. The best way to maintain a septic drain field around trees is with a chainsaw. If that's not an option, try using Boraxo in your laundry. Borax is toxic to tree roots.

 

[jinman]

A front-load washing machine might reduce the amount of laundry gray water you are producing. Large toploaders will overpower most any septic system after two or 3 loads. In my aerobic system, the lint in the laundry water and the soap residue will plug a filter in no time. My neighbor has 1/2" of gray sludge and lint on his filter every month. My filter has a brownish yellow residue of less than 1/8" thick that is easily removed with a hose nozzle. I route my gray water out to water my grass and it seems to love it. I think leach fields are likely clogged by soap suds residue as well. All that soap has also got to be tough on the bacteria/bugs that process the sewage. I'd bet you could reduce your solids in your tank a bunch if you eliminated gray water. I just don't think that any reasonable septic system is going to handle the laundry gray water for a family of four or more.

 

[dieselscout80]

A I just don't think that any reasonable septic system is going to handle the laundry gray water for a family of four or more.

I do not understand this statement.

I grew up on place with a septic system and a 5 people and in the +20 years we only had a issue one time about 5 yrs after the septic was put in.

I also owned a house for +10 yrs that had a septic with as many as 4 people living there for more than 7 of those years and never had any issue and the tank was never pumped.

Both of these homes had dishwashers and top load clothes washers.

Could soil type be what is makes the difference?

My current soil is clay. I am running the grey water from the clothes washer (front loader) out separate from the septic, because the previous owner had it setup that way. I like it, but I'm going to try to improve on the usage of that grey water with a mini leach field to water grass.

Can you show me a pic of your filter setup and who makes it it it's not a homemade filter?

 

[JimWalch]

Filtrol-160 Septic Protector Washing Machine Laundry Filter FREE Shipping & FREE Extra Bag - Septic Solutions, Inc.

This is what I used on my daughters new house last year and she says it works great!

 

[jinman]

I do not understand this statement.

I grew up on place with a septic system and a 5 people and in the +20 years we only had a issue one time about 5 yrs after the septic was put in.

Your point is valid and well taken. Your experience is different from mine and may be related to lots of variables including soils, soaps, and solids. My experience could also be because I was a landlord of a small trailer park after my father passed away. Not only did those folks run all kinds of things into the septic systems, but they also were not careful of grease. What I am sure of is laundry drains with their soap and lint are harder on a septic system than gray water systems. To really measure their effect, you'd need two identical systems in the same location. One would have a gray water drain and the other would put everything through the septic. After a few years the differences or similarities would certainly prove/disprove my theory. I guess I'm just over cautious because I got tired of being a poop chaser when I was the "park" landlord.

 

[dieselscout80]

My experience could also be because I was a landlord of a small trailer park after my father passed away. Not only did those folks run all kinds of things into the septic systems, but they also were not careful of grease.

That I can see as a very valid reason for your statement.

Can you tell me about your filter?

 

[Pirate]

Filtrol-160 Septic Protector Washing Machine Laundry Filter FREE Shipping & FREE Extra Bag - Septic Solutions, Inc.

This is what I used on my daughters new house last year and she says it works great!

I put that filter on too. Only issue I have is the mesh size on bag. It is too fine. It gets clogged up with soap residue and then allows the water to bypass the filter bag. When you view the filter, it appears to have plenty of room for lint when in fact it may be clogged.