6 bathroom home and all toilets clogged

Homesteading & Country Living Forum

Help Support Homesteading & Country Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Swing

Porch Lover
Staff member
Admin
Moderator
HCL Supporter
Neighbor
Joined
Nov 25, 2017
Messages
7,974
Location
N. AL.
A family member has a big home they built and moved into last November. It is on septic. Big tank,
Well, I was just told about all toilets are clogged. We were discussing 5 gal buckets and I said to line with garbage bags so they can just lift out and tie up to clean it.
She had not thought of the garbage bags. I just laughed and said I read a lot of prep books and sewage is a first thing to stop working.

They do have a septic guy coming out tomorrow to see if a pump is broken or screens are clogged.
It's a family of 11. Mom/Dad, nine kids from 21 (today) to youngest being 1.

So, this may come under Oops in home construction, or need of remodeling?

What are your first things to do when the things are all clogged. (they have showers in 5 of the 6 bathrooms) They may need to sponge bath for a couple of days.
 
What are your first things to do when the things are all clogged.

On NEW'ish construction, first I would see if the "vents" are open, or possibly were never installed, or never properly installed.
 
That many toilets, with that many people feeding one septic is a recipe for disaster especially if it is a pump driven system. there should also be a gray water by pass so the solids tank doesn't get over loaded
 
If this was my issue to deal with I would first open the lid to the septic and and determine if the tank is over full, if it is the pump isn,t pumping or somehow solids got past the solids dam. If the tank level is OK it is sewer snake time EEW , but somebody has to do it and no time like the present to learn. the likely candidate for this job is the family member who like to use excess toilet paper , cause I am betting on a paper clog
 
If this was my issue to deal with I would first open the lid to the septic and and determine if the tank is over full, if it is the pump isn,t pumping or somehow solids got past the solids dam. If the tank level is OK it is sewer snake time EEW , but somebody has to do it and no time like the present to learn. the likely candidate for this job is the family member who like to use excess toilet paper , cause I am betting on a paper clog
If they just moved in last November, even with 11 people, it can't be full.
Obviously somebody likely flushed something plastic down that is causing a 'log-jam' (pun).
Time to call Roto-Rooter to grind that thing out of the pipe.
 
Also, something a couple of different people have done here is route their waste water, like from the washing machine, to the outside. It should be okay if the property is big enough and nosey neighbors or code enforcement aren't observing.
We moved into a new house and within a year the tank was full. We also had a big family and had only had city septic before. Consider all the laundry, all the water running, as well as hefty waste.
Our set-up wasn't installed correctly, according the septic pump guy. He gave us a few pointers and no problems after that. I'm sorry, i don't remember what it was!!
 
A family member has a big home they built and moved into last November. It is on septic. Big tank,
Well, I was just told about all toilets are clogged. We were discussing 5 gal buckets and I said to line with garbage bags so they can just lift out and tie up to clean it.
She had not thought of the garbage bags. I just laughed and said I read a lot of prep books and sewage is a first thing to stop working.

They do have a septic guy coming out tomorrow to see if a pump is broken or screens are clogged.
It's a family of 11. Mom/Dad, nine kids from 21 (today) to youngest being 1.

So, this may come under Oops in home construction, or need of remodeling?

What are your first things to do when the things are all clogged. (they have showers in 5 of the 6 bathrooms) They may need to sponge bath for a couple of days.
I'm betting it's the tank itself being full of stuff that won't digest ever. When I got here I had to pump mine because it was full of baby diapers and cigarette butts and one polyester shirt!
 
Oddly my outhouse has never been clogged. Progress has its downsides.

Good luck to your family member!
I did mention having an out house for emergencies.

The showers are out for now also.
I was thinking of one of the toddlers putting something interesting down the drain.
and they are not too full from what he could see when he used a flashlight to check it out.

Today, I hope that septic guy makes it out, and I'll update what the verdict was/is.
 
Septic guy talked the dad through things, and it was normal stuff clogging. The family says they just need to clean it out more often.
This seems strange to me, as I've never heard of septic being cleaned out more than like every 5 to 10 years, and this one is not a year old.

Oh well, if it happens again they know what to do. And what to do to keep it from happening again.
 
One of the things most people who go from a city sewer to a septic tank system that is a closed dual system do is use cleaners like Lysol that kill the culture in the system.

My first thought would have been if they had started the culture system properly to start with in the tank.

With that many people I would split the system and put a second tank, a grease trap, and another field for the gray, the showers are putting in a lot of gray water.
 
If this was my issue to deal with I would first open the lid to the septic and and determine if the tank is over full, if it is the pump isn,t pumping or somehow solids got past the solids dam. If the tank level is OK it is sewer snake time EEW , but somebody has to do it and no time like the present to learn. the likely candidate for this job is the family member who like to use excess toilet paper , cause I am betting on a paper clog
Maybe too many “flushable” butt wipes.
 
That happened to us once - one main bath room, one ensuite, one toilet room. Turned out one of the children- very little, had dropped a toilet roll in. When husband unblocked it he found earbuds, so there was a line up ;) and a lecture, as we are on a septic tank also. It could be something technical, but chances are the kids are throwing things in they shouldn't Also, for some reason we had no soakage pit, so that is sorted now. Because we extended our house, and the tank wasn't meant for 6 people probably, we diverted ensuite shower and the washing machine, so there isn't tons of water filling it. Because I use organic washing powder, and the egg thing, I can use the water in the garden.
 
so I must have a good drop in my sewer lines, or just fortunate how the system is designed?
Probably the latter.
I'm not a plumber but a plumber did explain it to me. There is a correct "fall" to a horizontal sewer pipe in your house. I think it was 1" every 10 or 12 feet. If it's too steep, the water from your toilet moves to fast and doesn't take the paper and poop with it.

Roebic is a great product for keeping your tanks maintained. I put in 1 jug every 6 months.
https://www.amazon.com/Roebic-Laboratories-Septic-Treatment-32-Ounce/dp/B000BQU7IS/
 
Ever Wonder where the :

1718301506327.png


disappear too...?!?
 
One of the things most people who go from a city sewer to a septic tank system that is a closed dual system do is use cleaners like Lysol that kill the culture in the system.

My first thought would have been if they had started the culture system properly to start with in the tank.

With that many people I would split the system and put a second tank, a grease trap, and another field for the gray, the showers are putting in a lot of gray water.
This is a very important point for a septic tank that most people miss.
Cultures matter.
When we bought the house in Bama, I mapped out where the two covers were on the tank before they covered it over, for when we would to need to get it pumped out. I was very strict about no Clorox down the bathtub and potty drains.
3 people lived there (including 2 females flushing tampons every month:oops:), 28 years later when we sold it, we never had to have the septic tank pumped out.
 
A family member has a big home they built and moved into last November. It is on septic. Big tank,
Well, I was just told about all toilets are clogged. We were discussing 5 gal buckets and I said to line with garbage bags so they can just lift out and tie up to clean it.
She had not thought of the garbage bags. I just laughed and said I read a lot of prep books and sewage is a first thing to stop working.

They do have a septic guy coming out tomorrow to see if a pump is broken or screens are clogged.
It's a family of 11. Mom/Dad, nine kids from 21 (today) to youngest being 1.

So, this may come under Oops in home construction, or need of remodeling?

What are your first things to do when the things are all clogged. (they have showers in 5 of the 6 bathrooms) They may need to sponge bath for a couple of days.
Outdoor shower area and a "bucket bath." 😊
 
I live on top of a hill. "It" flows downhill. What happens after that is not my problem. ;)
 
I admin on a plumbing forum and they say the biggest money maker for plumbers are the "flushable" wipes. None are truly flushable.
I would occasionally use those wipes when we lived town. But now that we’re on septic, I wouldn’t use them.

I also think some people flush garbage down the toilet such as leftovers that have gone bad. I would never do that.
 
Probably the latter.
I'm not a plumber but a plumber did explain it to me. There is a correct "fall" to a horizontal sewer pipe in your house. I think it was 1" every 10 or 12 feet. If it's too steep, the water from your toilet moves to fast and doesn't take the paper and poop with it.

Roebic is a great product for keeping your tanks maintained. I put in 1 jug every 6 months.
https://www.amazon.com/Roebic-Laboratories-Septic-Treatment-32-Ounce/dp/B000BQU7IS/
The correct fall is 1/4” per foot.
 
Last edited:
Now you’ve got me thinking and wondering if we’re the odd ones. Nothing but actual human waste goes into our septic. A small covered garbage container collects paper products and is emptied every day. No problems with the septic except for once when the system ‘crashed’ and it was due to some things that a teenager had flushed many years earlier that had finally gotten stuck. I’ll just say ‘balloons’. They don’t break down. Both my family and my husbands used a trash can in the bathroom, so I thought it was the way it was. Some things discretely wrapped if need be, and daily emptying. No problems. No smells, no issues.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top