I have a septic question hopefully this is the right spot to ask it. We have been having an incredibly horrible amount of rain lately and my backyard is low with some spots being very low to where they pool. Part of this is because of a dog that Im in a love hate relationship with and the rest is because my yard is old farm land and its low and sucks. Now for the septic question when we have all this rain and theres huge puddles in the yard I can flush a toilet and hear the next closest one bubble and gurgle. Ive seen it happen I got my wife to flush the hall toilet while I watched the master bath toilet also with another toilet out in the garage thats at ground level. So the for questions- 1 Is this bad 2 Should I get the tank pumped ( I have no idea when it was last pumped weve been here for about 2 years now and havent touched it) 3 What is some basic septic tank advice and maintenance? Ive never had septic before so I dont really know anything about it.
Get somebody out there to take a look at it plus a second opinion. Septic system installed in a low spot is all bad, leach field can not function correctly.
People tell you to flush that rid-x, but recent studies seem to show that is it is actually bad for the chemistry of your tank and leads to sludge build up. My parents swear by the stuff, they've also had their tank pumped twice in the last five years while I haven't used rid-x or had my tank pumped. But to me it sounds like all of that standing water is creating back pressure on your leech field and causing gas to be pushed back up into the house. Dangerous? I don't know, is there a sewer gas smell? Anyway, I'm no expert but I bet if your had better drainage out back you wouldn't be having a problem. Even dumping some dirt where the rain pools may make a world of difference.
Here in the big city the county board of health got their fingers in on policing septic tanks. First off they want all of them gone from Cuyahoga County. Next they made me get a permit to use it and have it pumped once every two years. The city has since ran a sewer line through here and I reluctantly hooked up to it. The oldtimers in the hood here say to flush yeast every now and then to help the breakdown of solids. Also I hear that antibacterial soap is bad for septic cause it kills the little guys that break down the solids.
Pump Have them look at it when empty. Check/look in leech field inspection pipes. Should look clean on top of the drain rock, if leech field plugs, bad news. I didn't have mine pumped often enough, + a tank baffle rusted : New tank , leech field & a mess for a year in the yard. + lots of $$$$ Pumping is cheap insurance
Pump it every three years, make sure your inlet and outlet baffles are open(no tree root migration) and feed it a dead ground hog once a summer. 6" layer of solids floating on top@ the max. Should run for years if things are kept up. Heavy duty soap ingestion slows down the bio process, hence feeding it the ground hog (or other suitable bio donor).
Ill start looking next week and see about getting somebody out to pump and inspect. No RidX here we have some just never use it. There is no sewer smell which Im guessing is a good sign. Im going to get some dirt brought in this spring and try to get the yard fixed. Part of me wishes I had regular sewer but then I wouldnt live where I am and I love it out here plus no sewerage bill every month. Im guessing this is all stuff that the pumper/inspector will be looking at? I dont know much about septic except what Im learning on the internet right now. How do I know where all this stuff is and how to go about getting into the tank to pump it? I really hope theres nothing wrong this only happens when its been raining a lot. Yesterday it rained all day long but we werent home today the toilets are working fine nothing ever comes back up the drains just a bubble/gurgle in the toilet bowl. Kind of like a burp. That was my next question how often should I pump it. Never heard of the groundhog but theres a mess of them around here so that shouldnt be a problem getting one to throw in there.
Thanks for the replies I really have no idea what Im doing when it comes to a septic system so this has been bugging me lately. Im going to get on the phone and find a couple people to come out and look at it hopefully nothing is wrong with it except for maybe some excess ground water.
At one time we owned a RV travel park with 100+ seasonal campers and 200 sites. We had 46 systems spread across the park. I obtained a masters degree from Septic Univ. trying to keep the S _ _t flowing through that conglomeration. Trust me, I've been there...........LOL
One other thought comes to mind and that is venting. If the main vent is plugged or other venting issues are present, you could see similar issues with the toilets. First step I would suggest is pumping the tank and getting it checked but professional like the others said.
Do you know where your D-box is? If so, you can pop the lid on it and see if it is holding water above the finger outlets. If yes, leach field issue, if no, tank or vent issue. Start there and work back toward the toilets, including the vents.
I dont have a clue where any of it is. Im pretty sure the tank is behind the house judging from the location of the sewer pipes under the house but I dont know where it is exactly or how far the D-box is from the tank or how far the drain pipes go from there. Ill get it checked out by someone I guess.
If you know where your tank is and where your leach field is you can find it with a probe pretty easy. Should only be a few inches deep.
I wouild almost guess your leach lines are not carrying the water away and letting it leach out by you saying the rain effects it. Also a little trick to find the line and tank if you know the direction it leaves the house. Take a couple coat hangars and straighten them out then put a 45 on one end just enough to hold in your hand. Hold them out straight in front of you sort of loosely in your hands and they will cross when you are over the pipe.
Ill have to try that out Ive done it at work with pieces of copper wire to find grounds buried in the substation works like a charm everytime.
It hasnt rained for a few days and the yard is drying up and the toilets arent gurgling. It takes a week at least of dry weather for the yard to dry up and drain off. One of the worst spots is near where I believe the septic tank to be but its also where the dog has worn a pretty deep rut in the yard. I have an estimate of $175 for someone to come and drain the tank and inspect it. Ill have to wait a bit for funds to do that hopefully everything looks good Ill post up when I get it done. Would yall guess that the tank is getting filled with rain water and is also maybe full of chit thus causing the gurgling in the house and the slow drainage in the yard but not overflowing? I havent smelled any sewerage or seen anything nasty in the yard.
I really think that the system just can't off gas completely with the extra water sitting right on top the leech field. I suspect there is nothing wrong with the system itself.
