my septic system has fallen and it can’t get up
The shower isn’t draining and the toilet is overflowing- is the end near for my septic system? Hopefully not! After checking for obvious clogs within the house line, the next step is to examine the system outside the home.
If you’ve ruled out a clog, save yourself some money and DO NOT call a plumber. You need to have your system inspected by a reputable septic system inspection company. This may or may not require a pump out. Nowadays many of these companies proceed with a camera inspection and therefore don’t need the tank drained. If your problem is one of physical blockage, the camera inspection will find the source. Typical blockages include a simple filter clog, a build up of the sludge layer on the bottom of the tank, a broken off baffle or piece of compartment wall, failure of the pump or its components (only if you have a non-gravity system), dislodged or crushed inflow/outflow pipes, root intrusion, or simply years upon years of grease buildup on the pipe walls. I have seen 6” pipes reduced to the diameter of a garden hose in some systems. The good news is that these are all relatively inexpensive fixes in the grand scheme of things.
Presuming all of the above checks out (including physical compromise of the distribution box), the next source is the field itself. This is where the bad news begins to arrive. Many factors are at play that affect the years of service for a disposal field, but if the field is saturated (and the camera will show this with the inundated laterals), than chances are good that the leach field is compromised. This again can be due to many factors, but the ultimate culprit is that the growth of organic matter in the wastewater forms an impermeable bio mat layer of crusted material surrounding the bed. This prevents oxygen from penetrating and also prevents the flow of seepage down into the zone of treatment. What’s left is a sewerage soup that cannot be digested. In many instances an entire new leach field must be designed by an engineer. If it’s time to call a civil engineer, you can assist by obtaining any records from the health department, preferably the original design plans for your system.
DO’S AND DON’TS:
• DO install, clean, and maintain your outlet filter at least once per year and when the tank is pumped.
• I’m saying this twice because it’s so important - DO install, clean, and maintain your outlet filter at least once per year and when the tank is pumped!
• DON’T drain chemicals, fats/oils/grease, medications, or anti-bacterial soaps into your system. These are all bacteria killers, which are otherwise necessary for anaerobic decomposition inside the septic tank. And while we’re on the subject, don’t add special additives touted to enhance performance.
• DO use less environmentally harmful substitutes for laundry and dishwashers; use enviro-friendly scouring powders and toilet bowl cleaners.
• DON’T have tree roots intrude into the leach field, or let heavy machinery compress the soil. Avoid paving over the top of the field.
• DO have the system pumped out regularly and inspected.
• DON’T flush household solids like egg shells & coffee grinds, condoms & sanitary napkins, papertowels, rags, and baby wipes, or large amounts of hair.
• DO limit heavy usage of the system via numerous and continuous laundry cycles or shower/toilet use. Ditto as far as excessive use of the garbage disposal.
• DON’T use excessive amounts of water, or connect rain gutters or sump pumps to the sewer.
• DO divert groundwater around your leach field. Excess water or high seasonal groundwater serves to kill off the beneficial aerobic bacteria.