Posted: 2/22/2003 7:32:34 AM EDT
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Lately, we have had a lot of moisture...snow, rain, etc. Both of my toilets are not flushing properly. This happened one other time, and it was when we had a few days of fairly heavy rain. Once it dried out some, they flushed fine. Does this mean that my tank needs to be pumped, or is the system not draining properly for some other reason? When I bought the house last year, the septic guy said that it did not look like it needed to be pumped yet (and the house was vacant for about a year). Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Chimborazo |
| You probably already know this but, the tanks normally have two sections...a solid stage and a liquid "grey water" stage. Mr. Septic was probably referring to the solid portion when speaking of pumpability. The grey water of you system normally perks and drians. It sounds like Waldo is correct that the environment is affecting you. However you could have accumulated enough solids over the past year, so the tanks capacity is smaller and can hold less grey water. A pump out may at least help. Believe it or not I have experienced a "closed" system which must be pumped every 10 days. |
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Quoted: Can anything be done about that, or is it just something I have to deal with? Thanks. Depends on the lay of the land where your evap field is. You could have a new curtain drain trenched around the field, but it has to have some place to drain to. If your lot is flat it's not going to help much. Pumping the tanks will only help until you fill them back up again (won't take long depending on size). Besides the tanks are for settling of the solids, the liquid passes right on through. Now, if you haven't been keeping the solids pumped out of the tanks they will wash into the evap field and plug it all up. It will have to be replaced as well. Big $$$$ Closed systems just don't work well in cold wet conditions in flat ground with clay type soils. If you're on a hillside, fixing the curtain drain should help as long as the evap field isn't plugged with solids. I'm no expert, but I've lived with ( and replaced a few) septic systems for a long time. BTW, any lift pumps in your system? Check and see if they are working. Good luck, nothing worse than a backed up sewer. Oops, almost forgot,,, you may have an aerator type system that isn't closed, if so, look for the drain :P or ask the septic guy for some dye tabs to help you find the discharge and make sure it is open. |
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Being that I live about 20 miles from you, I know what the weather has recently done. Your system is simply choking on water. We had lots of rain, then a cap of 3-4 inches of sleet, which slowly melted, but before it melted away, we got some more rain. The ground hasn't seen sunlight in over a week now, and has been fed lots of moisture. It can't take any more, and your system is trying to give it more. However, if you are on an incline where gravity would normally help the drain field, this may not be your problem. |
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Hmmm...so would pumping the system help? If I understand correctly, there may be some gray water hanging out in the solids tank because it can't make its way to the evap field due to ground saturation. I guess that would only be a fix until the ground dries up some (assuming that the problem is not solids clogging my evap field. Yes, the ground is pretty flat where the system is. How far from the solids tank does the evap field usually extend? Also, I don't think I have lift pumps. How can I tell for sure? Good grief shadows, every ten days?!? What is the alternative to a "closed" system? I'm assuming all septic systems are closed systems and that County/City sewage systems are open. Is this correct? Thanks again...you guys have been really helpful. |
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If you have water standing on your leach field then you probably can't do anything about it. Your field may not be big enough or part of it is not functional (collapsed or plugged). If you can't flush at all, having the tank pumped could give you a few days of relief. |
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Quoted: Hmmm...so would pumping the system help? Well, let's guess that you have 2-1000 gallon tanks, how long would it take you to fill them up? That's how long it would help. How far from the solids tank does the evap field usually extend? Who knows. I'd look for a distribution box lid at some point past the tank lids. You usually have to have "X" amount of linear feet of field per bedroom (depends on local codes) What is the alternative to a "closed" system? The aerator type (if allowed in your area) If possible, contact the builder of the home and see if he can put you in touch with the contractor that installed the system in the first place. |