septic tank

[dave1949]

Using Septic Filters and Graywater Filters as Components of Septic Systems to Protect the Septic Drainfield or Leach Field from Clogging - Onsite Wastewater Disposal Designs, Consultants & Products

A site discussing filters. Not all of the solids are of organic nature and may not decompose or settle out. They get carried on into the field system where they may eventually plug up the field.

I have always seen dog hairs as a septic threat, some have to go down the drain from the washer, they can't all be in my food . I doubt they decompose.
Dave.

 

[Topstrap]

What most others have said are good ideas, the pumper can do a quick inspection of the tank and if it's an older concrete tank sometimes the baffle on the inlet will crumble and fall into the tank. The baffle creates a barrier that stops the hard crusty top from blocking the flow from the inlet pipe. The solids and water flow into the tank and drop down. If the baffle crumbles away then that allows the thick stuff on top to back up against the inlet and will cause it to slow way down at first then finally block the inflow.

The pumper will check to make sure your inlet and outlet baffles are still in place and if not it's easy to make one to slip onto your pipes in the tank with a T and a lil bit of pipe.

That is what I find on a lot of the older systems in my area but we also had a company in the 60's making tanks with bad concrete and a lot of them are crumbling and the tops are even falling in. Detergent is hard on concrete and the inlet baffle is one of the first things to go. Easy fix and I hope it's something simple like that and not a repair that costs you a lot.

At my house we had a problem with a slow or backed up toilet for years.. finally got so bad we had a plumber bring in a camera and run it down the pipe, underneath our back patio he found a crushed pipe, when they poured the concrete for the basement or footers it looks like the concrete truck backed over the ditch when it was still soft and a crushed area the width of a set of duals was mashed almost flat. Back then they didn't have to use schedule 40 pipe to the tanks like we do now and that caused the problem. I tunneled under the patio about 4 ft to get to it and cut it out and repaired it and it has been working perfect ever since. You'd be amazed at what you find wrong sometimes.

Good Luck and Merry Christmas

Topstrap

Topstrap

 

[WayneB]

Lots of good information and I believe Topstrap is on the right track. I would suspect the baffles or a clogged feeder pipe. You might want to ask the pumping company if they happen to have a camera to check the line. Some do?

If there are trees in and around the area of the piping it could be a root problem, but I would think the best way to know is to use a camera and view the internal area of the pipe.

I am not sure what most people do, but we have our tank pumped every two years. Set it up on my birthday so that becomes my present every two years.

As far as digging up the cover for the pump guy, around here they come right in and have that done in about five minutes. Once the leave I go ahead and seed the area again. No charge for the digging here.

 

[dave1949]

I had a toilet that was always a very slow flusher, just didn't work well. After messing around with snakes and what not, I finally took the toilet outside and tried flushing it with a bucket of water. It didn't flush. I could never see anything wrong with the porcelain or find a blockage, but a new toilet fixed the problem.

Not the current poster's issue, but there are always plumbing mysteries.

Like TopStrap said, when I had my septic pumped, the driver recommended adding a tee at the outlet so what goes out to the leach is never the gunk on top. I put one on. It extends down into the tank about 16" and the top of the tee is for air inlet so it has to be above the outlet baffle height.
Dave.

 

[tommu56]

I had a toilet that was always a very slow flusher, just didn't work well. After messing around with snakes and what not, I finally took the toilet outside and tried flushing it with a bucket of water. It didn't flush. I could never see anything wrong with the porcelain or find a blockage, but a new toilet fixed the problem.

I had the same issue and found a matchbox toy wedged in the top of the trap after removing the toilet and turning it over. the closet auger and snake must have just went around it

A wise old man said once other than toilet paper if it didn't go in your mouth it shouldn't go down the toilet.

tom

 

[dave1949]

A wise old man said once other than toilet paper if it didn't go in your mouth it shouldn't go down the toilet.

tom

Words to flush by, without a doubt
Dave.

 

[IH3444]

MAD TV: Honeydipper Dan! • VideoSift: Online Video *Quality Control

 

[Pirate]

Make sure you expose both covers. Last two times I was charged for pumping a 1500gal tank. Problem is, it's a two chamber tank and they only removed one cover. No way they could have inspected the output side of tank. I put a "bridged" slab over my tank (no pressure on tank) with a regular man-hole sized sewer cover over each tank opening. Real easy now to lift the covers from slab, remove the tank covers and pump BOTH sides. I also put filters on both clothes washers to catch lint and banned use of disposal. I also put a nifty poem type thing in guest bathroom that reminds folks I'm on septic and not to flush unnatural stuff. I do not want to replace my field as I live on top of a ridge in the woods. A new field would be a major undertaking.

 

[CurlyDave]

I have always seen dog hairs as a septic threat, some have to go down the drain from the washer, they can't all be in my food . I doubt they decompose.
Dave.

I use those little plastic hair traps in the shower to keep the human hair out of the drain, but never really considered dog hair from the washer. I know I have prodigious amounts by looking at the drier vent filter.

I think hair by itself sinks and would settle out in the tank rather than plugging the field. At least I hope it does.

 

[forgeblast]

We have three dogs and as much as they would love to go with out baths they do need them.
the septic was put in eary 1990's, pumped out in 2003 for the first time. after we moved in i took all the small pines away from where the septic was to make sure there was nothing growing over it except grass.
As i was at the local hardware store getting my well pressure tank, i picked up a 25' snake
I ran it through two pipes and the pipe we have for a toilet when we finish the basement. When i ran it through the washer pipe i heard a bubbling sound in one of the sinks. I think that may have been the bad guy.
Talking about the race car i might know what caused the leak. We have a little one only 14 mts old, and her socks are so tiny. I know my wife said she was missing a couple. I wonder if they got sucked down by the washer and then blocked the pipe. It fits in the time frame from missing sock to backed up drain.
I will still have the guy look at it all tommorrow.
The one thing this has done is made me want to finish the attic. I found a set of attic steps that will fit our opeing (25 1/2 x 48) and i want to put in 3/4 t&g and then take everything that is in plastic bins in the basement and put it up in the attic. Needless to say im running prices now. Plus i would like to insulate it better.

 

[dave1949]

Good to hear you are back in business there with no major expenses. Those socks do get around Probably still a good idea to pump your septic tank out. The usual recommendation is 3-4 yrs depending on your family size. I think it is cheap insurance compared to a new leach field - as somebody else said earlier.
Dave.

 

[dave1949]

I use those little plastic hair traps in the shower to keep the human hair out of the drain, but never really considered dog hair from the washer. I know I have prodigious amounts by looking at the drier vent filter.

I think hair by itself sinks and would settle out in the tank rather than plugging the field. At least I hope it does.

Dave, I don't know if it (hair) goes down the drain in the washer, I've always been afraid it does. I should add a screen to the washer drain and find out. Like you, plenty gets caught in the dryer screen. We dump our wash buckets outdoors rather than down the drain after floor mopping.
Dave1949.

 

[CurlyDave]

Dave, I don't know if it (hair) goes down the drain in the washer, I've always been afraid it does. I should add a screen to the washer drain and find out. Like you, plenty gets caught in the dryer screen. We dump our wash buckets outdoors rather than down the drain after floor mopping.
Dave1949.

I drink my coffee very light with lots of half and half. When I take a long trip I have a 2 quart thermos, which frequently has a cup or so left in it.

I dump that outside rather than down the drain to keep the butterfat out of the septic...

Have you tried the Dyson "animal" vacuum cleaner? No bags, just empty the canister. I usually get enough hair out of the living room to make a medium-sized cat sculpture.

 

[dave1949]

I drink my coffee very light with lots of half and half. When I take a long trip I have a 2 quart thermos, which frequently has a cup or so left in it.

I dump that outside rather than down the drain to keep the butterfat out of the septic...

Have you tried the Dyson "animal" vacuum cleaner? No bags, just empty the canister. I usually get enough hair out of the living room to make a medium-sized cat sculpture.

We have all tile floors so, really don't need a vacuum cleaner. If we had carpet the Dyson's would be my first choice. We have two area rugs, both small, 4x7 and 5x8, that's it for carpet. They are hand-knotted wool with a definite single direction to the fibers, they actually can be swept clean with a broom. They are mementos from our Peace Corps days in Iran '72-'74.
Dave.

 

[jbos333]

A while back, my buddy bought a foreclosed home and the septic wasn't working properly....we investigated, scratched our heads and eventually found there was a "Fernco" rubber coupler in the pipe between the tank and d-box. The ground had heaved and the coupler was still connected on each end, but it had stretched sideways so that the pipe ends were completely closed. It took a little digging to find it, but it saved him a LOT of money!

 

[forgeblast]

update as of 11. waiting for them to come up to pump out the tank. tried to dig to find the lid cant find it will cost 180 for them to locate and dig it up (now im whishing i had a tractor with a backhoe)...with all our rocks in our soil it may be worth it. When i looked at the outside vent pipe i could see liquid in the bottom so i am still not sure whats wrong going to have to see. what a week!

 

[JB4310]

If your worried it might get to expensive, you can run a pressurized garden hose like a snake down the line from the house, if you have an easy access to it. If it's just a blockage in the main line to the tank that should clear it. Maybe the tank doesn't even need cleaning.

At 1000 gals it should have some good capacity/buffer between cleanings, how old is the house/system.

We had a 80 year old system on a tiny lot where I grow up in a house of 7 people. Man the grass was 2ft tall and the darkest shade of green even in the middle of the winter, over that overloaded system.

 

[Richard]

If pumping doesn't fix it sewer companies can do a visual inspection with a camera to check the integrity of the drain lines.

I trust you told him on the side that he is required to swallow the camera and allow it to enter the plumbing system 'naturally' starting at his commode?

 

[forgeblast]

Hi all back....its 250 just finished up outside. roto didnt make it up yet, i went to the outdoor vent/line. I ran the snake and hit a blockage, couldnt move it with the snake. I took someones advice and ran the garden hose down there and turned it on...since it was cold it acted like a snake and it flushed the whole line out. Everything is flowing once again.....and i didnt have to pay them 1cent. Cant thank you enough for all the constructive comments. now the clean up begins, along with having to shovel all the dirt back in the holes i dug to fine the top of the septic. i will have it drained this summer/spring but not by them.

 

[Egon]

Sometimes you win one.