Older septic system design, installation, maintenance & repair guide questions & answers:

Frequently-asked questions about installing, diagnosing, or repairing septic tanks & drainfields.

These septic system articles explain how to buy, inspect, install, test, diagnose maintain and repair septic tanks, drainfields, and all other components of all types of septic systems. Page top: a peat mound septic system in Two Harbors, MN.

Septic System Buy, Install, Test, Repair FAQs #3

These questions & answers were posted originally at SEPTIC SYSTEM INSPECT DIAGNOSE REPAIR - the home page for an extensive library of onsite wastewater treatment and disposal systems.

On 2012-04-03 by (mod) - root invaded septic piping

Carissa,

I'm sorry to say if your piping is root-invaded most likely it needs to be replaced. I've occasionally had a line routed out (call "Roto Rooter") but even when the line could be successfully cleaned, the trees or shrubs send roots back into that attractive nutrient source very quickly - surely you are not going to live with a rout-out every year.

Yes, you can wait until the next blockage but consider scheduling the job of finding out just what sections need replacement and having the work done when you don't have holiday guests or bitter freezing weather. It's more costly to have such work done as an emergency repair.

You might be lucky - the bad line section may be short and you might not need to replace the entire length - it depends on what materials were used and how much damage there is.

On 2012-04-02 by Carissa

I bought this house with septic tank system 1.5 years ago, and pumped the tank right after the house close. I don't have much info about the system, and recently it's blocked and we have a plumber came and temperately fixed the problem. So here is the problem and any recommendations will greatly appreciated.

I was told: the plumber can't really run his 'big machine' to clean out the blockage because the cleanout is only 2 inches, and he got a lot of roots out. He didn't have the camera with him, so he wasn't able to see what was main issue.

The feedback from them is: pay them to run the camera line to see what happen; Or replace the 2 inches cleanout with a 4 inches one so they can run bigger machine to clean out the problem (very expensive).

And here is my question: if there is roots invasion problem, does replacing 4 inches cleanout and running bigger machine to clean help solve the problem?
What is the realistic solution? Should I wait until next blockage and fix problem then?
thanks

On 2012-03-06 by (mod) - septic alarm going off, auto feature not working

Zeke,
If you have not already done so,

- take a look into the pumping chamber when the pump cycles (watch out for falling in and fatal methane hazards, and don't work alone). The egg-shaped floating components you saw may indeed be the floating component of a float switch intended to turn the pump on and off.

In a dual pump backup system a second float is intended to turn on a second backup pump at a higher effluent level in the tank should the first pump fail. In other designs the pumps take turns running.

The fact that your sewage pump does not shut off points to a switch problem. Often the repair is to free a stuck float or to replace the switch component of the system.

The fact that you describe the switch cover open and muddy argues for a replacement of the entire switch control.

Watch out: turn off electrical power before touching electrical components - there is a fatal shock hazard.

Keep us posted - what you find will help other readers.

On 2012-02-06 by Anonymous

zeke said:

We have a 2 yr old leach field and a 2 yr old myers pump. The tank is from the previous system. Recently, the pump alarm began going off and holding the switch to hand pump would eliminate the high water light.

Basically, the auto feature was not working, so I thought it might be a float problem, so I looked inside the pump chamber. If it was the floats I was looking at, I saw 2 egg shaped plastic balls floating around on their side in the water.

Aren't those supposed to be attached to something? The pump still runs when turned on, but now the auto feature runs constantly and does not shut itself off. We have been turning it on/off by hand.

I am thinking that it may be an electrical problem also because the alarm only sounds when the breaker is flipped and the cover of the box on the pump chamber was broken and the wires and connections were full of mud. Any advice is greatly accepted and appreciated. Thanks zeke

On 2012-02-05 by (mod) - loss due to house fire - rope off the septic tank area

Jessica,

We we sorry To read about your house fire and loss.

You might want to rope off the location of septic tank, piping, and drain field to keep anyon from driving over (and damaging) those components during reconstruction.

Also be sure the drain line into the septic tank is capped off to keep debris out of the lines.
A month or so before ready to return the system to use ( to give time if repairs are needed), pump the tank and have tank and baffles inspected for damage or trouble signs.

On 2012-02-04 by Jessica

My house burned down and I won't be using the septic system until the house is rebuilt about 6 months from now. Live in NJ, have septic tank with two cesspools 60 feet away. Is there anything I should do? Thanks, Jessica

On 2012-01-23 by No one knows why.

I writing to you in hopes you can help me with a plumbing problem. I live in a ranch style 1300 square foot house on a crawl space. We were reclassified as a flood zone two years ago. I live on a road of about 20 houses with the elevation going up as you turn on my road from the main state route.

I’m the fourth house off the main road and from the fifth house up they seem not to have this problem.

My question is. I’m the only one having problems flushing my only toilet when we get a lot of rain.

Dry days and light rain is not a problem. My other neighbors can have standing water on top of their leach fields and can still flush. I’ve relocated my toilet and couple years ago and did not move the vent pipe but the plumbers I asked said the way I did it shouldn’t effect on this.

When we can’t flush due to high water everything else works fine, tub, sinks (both bathroom and kitchen) I’ve asked a couple of plumbers their thoughts and they say it sounds like a clogged toilet but when I tell them it’s almost a straight shot down to the drain pipe and a 3” pipe and why it doesn’t do it on a dry day they don’t know.

Here are the old and the new layout of the system starting at the septic tank and working back to the vent pipe. I forgot to mention that we’ve had the septic tank pumped twice when we had this problem and both times the septic tank was full. Water from the leach field was running back into the tank filling it up again.

OLD WAY

1. Septic tank
2. Pipe into the house
3. Kitchen sink drain (Y’s off)
4. Tub
5. Bathroom sink
6. Toilet and the vent pipe

NEW WAY AFTER RELOCATING TOILET

1. Septic tank
2. Pipe into house
3. Kitchen sink drain (Y’s off)
4. Tub
5. Toilet (without vent pipe relocated)
6. Bathroom sink
7. Vent pipe with the old toilet location plugged.

Please help.
Thank you
Ralph Weaver (AKA Mr. no heavy rain flush)

On 2012-01-21 by (mod) - a change in how your home's plumbing & septic systems work

R Termehr, because you are describing a change in how your home's plumbing & septic systems work and the appearance of a plumbing drain sound not heard before, it's worth tracking down the sound to its source to determine if it indicates a problem, such as with drainage or plumbing venting.

Under NOISE / SOUND DIAGNOSIS & CURE (links found at the ARTICLE INDEX near the end of this page) you'll find a series of articles that will help track down the source of plumbing noise and that help diagnose the cause as well as recommending the cure for most plumbing drain & noise problems. Let us know what you find - what you learn will help others.

On 2012-01-13 by RTermehr@yahoo.ca

We share a septic system with approx. 8 other homes in a mobile home park. In July 2011 we started to experience the sound of the flushing of another toilet, like if you are do in a motel. At first it wasn't often but now it is quite frequent.

The water in our toilet does not move, we just hear the sound of another toilet being flushed.
Should we be concerned and we should get a plumber? I repeat, the water in our toilet does not move either in the tank or the toilet itself. We just hear the sound.

On 2011-12-07 by (mod) -

William:

We describe the normal levels of sewage that should be found in septic tanks in the article titled SEWAGE LEVELS in SEPTIC TANKS (links found at the ARTICLE INDEX near the end of this page) . Remember that a normally operating septic tank is always full, right up to the level of the exit pipe that drains off effluent to the drainfield or soakaway bed.

Abnormally high sewage levels in the septic tank are any levels above the outlet pipe - indicating a blockage, clog, or flooded drainfield.

Abnormally low sewage levels are any level below the outlet pipe, usually indicating that the tank has a leak.

Exceptions to low levels include, of course, the period right after the septic tank has been pumped. Depending on septic tank size and the level of its usage, number of building occupants, amount of wastewater sent daily into the septic tank, it can take a few days for it to refill after pumping.

On 2011-12-07 by (mod) - non sewage debris in the septic tank

Dee: I'm not sure what those lumps are if not pieces of floating sewage. Though the lumps may seem hard and heavy (implied by your use of the term fossilized) as they are floating they're clearly not a heavy mineral deposit. One would have to see the material or have it analyzed to know for sure. You didn't mention color nor size nor density.

If you are talking about a sewage ejector pump that is in a chamber that receives direct blackwater, and presuming no one is flushing inappropriate trash down toilets, besides sewage (fecal fragments) one might find lumps of toilet tissue, clots of laundry powder if excessive powder is used in a washer that drains into that system.

If we were discussing an effluent pump in a multi chamber septic tank I'd add that there should be no significant solids present in that pumping chamber and I'd suspect an overloaded septic tank not being pumped often enough.

On 2011-12-07 by Dee

What is the fossilized lumps that I find floating in the scum layer when I clean out my well that holds the submersible waste ejector pump? Is there anything I need to do to reduce these large lumps from accumulating?

On 2011-11-18 by william rebman

hi I have a 1200 gallon tank that was installed new 6 years ago. It is taking care of a rented duplex unit (2 famly) I recently had it pumped out. When I looked into the tank I saw water and other things floating within aprox 4 inches from the top.

When I commented to the tank truck guy that it looks as though the tank was full and needed pumping out he said yes. When I mentioned to someone else that the tank was full I was told that the tank is always operating with the water up to within inches of the top of the tank.

So I ask you ifI remove the cover from the tank at anytime will the water level always be that high? Thank you in advance Bill

On 2011-10-30 by Jim

Just replaced the pump at my dosing tank and as I finished, the PVC line (from the pump) exiting the tank to the field which was firmly in place now slides.

When the pump comes on the exiting line jumps about a foot more into the tank in a horizontal direction and can be pushed back easily after pump stops (tank about 30 feet from field and line must turn 90 deg.

after exit from tank). My question is if I dig down to the line (about 2 ft. down) outside the tank, does this sound like a simple PVC line repair or something major? Thanks in advance!

On 2011-10-06 by (mod) - air bubbling back up in the toilet bowl

Barb,

If you mean that there is air bubbling back up in the toilet bowl then you have an air or possibly worse, sewer gas backing up through your house drain system from the septic tank. To me that suggests that the septic tank outlet may also be blocked, the drainfield clogged, and the house drain-waste vent piping system is not handling air or gas backups.

Normally any gases backing up a drain waste vent pipe would be vented out through the vent piping system above the building roof.

I'd call a plumber to inspect the house vent piping and you'll need to check on the condition of the septic tank, its outlet piping, and for evidence of tank outlet clogging or blockage as well. Keep us posted; what you learn will help other readers.

On 2011-10-06 by Barb

We have bubbles in our toilets that are spraying significant water up into the toilet. If the lid is not on the toilet the bathroom would be very wet. We have a septic system that when pumped last year appeared to be working well even though it is 30 yrs old. Can you help???

On 2011-10-03 by (mod) - effluent dispersal by spray is used to dispose of effluent produced by aerobic or other

Mary, effluent dispersal by spray is used to dispose of effluent produced by aerobic or other wastewater treatment systems that perform a very high level of treatment inside the septic tank before the effluent leaves the system.

But I doubt you'd obtain permission to spray septic effluent from a system that was designed to work with a drainfield because you'd be spraying into the air and onto the ground surface effluent that was not sufficiently treated.

In a septic tank and drainfield system the tank performs just about 40% of the treatment, the remaining 60% being accomplished in the soil. By contrast, an aerobic system may perform up to 95% of the effluent treatment before it's released to a surface spray system.

On 2011-10-03 by Mary

We have a septic tank system with a drain field. In times when the ground is saturated and there is too much rain, the drain field water goes back into the septic tank and will not allow us to flush our toilets. Forget washing clothes.

I wondered if we could rely on a septic effluent sprayer system that would not back up. I also wanted to know if the system could be attached to the septic tank and replace the drain field permanently.

On 2011-09-17 by Donna

We have a septic tank -holding tank commercial where can the pump guy dispose of the waste?

On 2011-08-16 by (mod) - septic tank leakage vs root killer

Curt:

If there is leakage out of the septic tank when you use water in the house your system is in trouble. Normal sewage level in the tank is below the top of the septic tank - and effluent is intended to flow out of the tank into the drainfield.

So for effluent to flood out of the tank top, the tank is flooding, which in turn means the outlet from the tank must be blocked or the drainfield flooded.

Pumping the tank is good maintenance and it affords the pumper a chance to inspect the septic tank for damaged inlet or outlet baffles (intended to avoid clogging in the inlet our outlet piping) as well as for evidence of drainfield saturation such as abnormally high effluent levels in the tank. But pumping wont' fix the tank.

Root killer won't have caused this problem either, but roots sure could. Further investigation is needed.

On 2011-08-16 by Curt O

I have a septic tank that leaks out the lid whenever we use the water in the house. I had the tank pumped out in May. The lid does have a broken out corner but it looks like it seals pretty good. Need direction..I have used root killer thinking it could be a root issue in the drain field.

On 2011-07-07 by (mod) -

Tmass: if you want to know if your home is served by a septic tank, or if there was an old abandoned one there, to be thorough, start reading in the article link found (links found at the ARTICLE INDEX near the end of this page) titled
SEPTIC TANK, HOW TO FIND

You can take a short cut and ask neighbors or your local building department if homes on your street are served by a municipal sewer line. If the answer is "NO" you have some sort of onsite waste disposal system, a septic tank, cesspool, something. But you still won't know where it is or what is its condition or if it's even safe, so I'd still want to find and inspect it.

On the other hand if the answer is "YES" homes on your street are served by a municipal sewer, and EVEN if someone tells you that your house was connected to the public sewer we still don't know whether or not there is an old abandoned, and maybe unsafe septic tank at the property without further investigatin.

On 2011-06-28 by Tmass

I'm living in house inherent from my grandmom, how can I tell if it has a septic tank?

On 2011-05-28 by Anonymous

you could have a venting problem as well i ran into that once.

On 2011-05-22 by (mod) - Toilet backup diagnosis tip:

Toilet backup diagnosis tip:

If when you flush one toilet you find that water is backing up into another toilet, most likely your drain or sewer line is blocked.

On 2011-05-21 by Anonymous

if i have 2 restrooms and 1 toietis is not on and the other toilet is flushed would water come up from the other restroom?

...

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