I'm going to vent off topic

[user 7704]

I have worked all day on a chicken coop. I see that the septic tank is leaking so I check all of the traps to see where the problem is. I use the auger etc. I start digging and we have lots of roots and it was very hard. Then I found the ants and they are biting me.

My husband comes home from happy hour and is zero help. Didn't even offer. I tell him he has to be in charge of dinner because my back is out and I have to soak in tub. He takes his ass to bed for a nap.

Am I mad? Hell yes.

Okay. I'm finished now. I guess working on a septic tank could be prepper related. It looks as though I will need a pro to fix it. The problem is on the opposite side of the traps door and the tank will need to be drained.

 

[Mountain trapper]

Come on Robin. What's wrong with a little nap after a hard day at the bar? It's a lot of work tipping back a few cold ones and chasing the bar flys around. Don't be hating on the poor man, cut him some slack.




Sorry. Couldn't help myself.

 

[Brent S]

I have worked all day on a chicken coop. I see that the septic tank is leaking so I check all of the traps to see where the problem is. I use the auger etc. I start digging and we have lots of roots and it was very hard. Then I found the ants and they are hiring me.

My husband comes home from happy hour and is zero help. Didn't even offer. I tell him he has to be in charge of dinner because my back is out and I have to soak in tub. He takes his ass to bed for a nap.

Am I mad? Hell yes.

Okay. I'm finished now. I guess working on a septic tank could be prepper related. It looks as though I will need a pro to fix it. The problem is on the opposite side of the traps door and the tank will need to be drained.

Before you give up, if you don’t mind getting dirty, I can give some tips here. First off, get a better husband... just kidding! Septic tanks have a grease trap in them that routinely clogg. It involves digging up the access lid on the tank. Once you lift the access lid you will see a pipe sticking up vertically, near the spot where the main drain line comes thru the tank wall. That vertical pipe tends to get clogged with grease, and you can usually break up the clogg with a stick or piece of pipe. An easier fix can be a tool you can get at most hardware stores. It is a bladder device you can screw on the end of a garden hose. Then you insert it into one of the clean outs and into the drain line. When you turn on the hose the bladder swells up inside the pipe and seals it off, forcing the water down the drain line, hopefully blasting thru the clogg. Good luck, I know plumbing sucks.

 

[user 7704]

I dug up the access door and put the auger into the pvc pipe and it went down 25 feet no problem. Then I went to the trap on the outside on the exit side of the tank. I ran the auger into the pipe both ways and it went in with no problems.

That access door is pretty heavy.

I followed the pvc down to the field lines and there weren't any muddy places .

 

[Brent S]

I dug up the access door and put the auger into the pvc pipe and it went down 25 feet no problem. Then I went to the trap on the outside on the exit side of the tank. I ran the auger into the pipe both ways and it went in with no problems.

That access door is pretty heavy.

I followed the pvc down to the field lines and there weren't any muddy places .

I’ll give you credit for going above and beyond anyways.

 

[drt4lfe]

While he was napping you should have scooped up a bucket full and poured it on his favorite shoes.....outside the house naturally.....

 

[user 7704]

While he was napping you should have scooped up a bucket full and poured it on his favorite shoes.....outside the house naturally.....

Good idea

 

[user 6493]

you

I have worked all day on a chicken coop. I see that the septic tank is leaking so I check all of the traps to see where the problem is. I use the auger etc. I start digging and we have lots of roots and it was very hard. Then I found the ants and they are biting me.

My husband comes home from happy hour and is zero help. Didn't even offer. I tell him he has to be in charge of dinner because my back is out and I have to soak in tub. He takes his ass to bed for a nap.

Am I mad? Hell yes.

Okay. I'm finished now. I guess working on a septic tank could be prepper related. It looks as though I will need a pro to fix it. The problem is on the opposite side of the traps door and the tank will need to be drained.

know what they say robin,,,,,,,chit happens,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,LOL,,,sorry

 

[TexasFreedom]

Robin,

OK, there are just a few options. I think you are saying that the drains are very slow, correct?

So only a few places to find the issue:
1. An individual drain (one toilet, one shower, one sink, etc). I don't think you are implying this.
2. (starting at the other end) With the lid off the septic tank, if the leech field is the problem (assuming you have conventional septic tank and not one of these aerobic systems) then when you flush a toilet, it should flow faster (water goes into tank & fills the septic tank further up into the cover). This also covers the PVC from the leech field back to the septic tank.
3. Septic tank. Full of hair or other obstructions?
4. PVC from house to septic. I assume you ran the auger from the tank back toward the house & it's clear? 25ft is just 25ft, if it's further to the house you're not checking all of it. You should have a pipe sticking up between the house & the tank to snake it out. You can snake both ways from there. And you can snake from the toilet closest to the exit from the house toward the septic tank.

Which category does this blockage appear?

 

[user 7704]

All drains are working fine. The pipe going intonthw septic tank is draining fine. The problem is the tank is not draining well out of the tank.
The trap I has installed on the exit side of the tank (about 2 feet outside) if I unscrew the top, the pipe is full.
So, the tank is getting really full.
I put a 25 ft auger in the pipe and it went all the way in both back I to the back side of take and down the pipe toward the field (lateral) line

I'm going to take a plunger out tomorrow and put over top of trap opening and see if adding some pressure blows the clog on down the pipe.
My field lines are about 100 feet from the tank so there's a lot of pipe to clog. Once a rock shifted underneath the pipe and caused a break in the line. We also have lots of roots on the path down to lateral lines.

 

[Proud Prepper]

Its in your field line. Oh boy, what fun.

 

[TexasFreedom]

Robin,

OK, progress. Rellgar is right, it's on the field side. Couple more questions:
1. When you snake down 25ft from the septic tank, how far is it to the start of the drain field? It's not always close, mine is easily 150 ft. If yours is long like this, do you know exactly where that pipe runs?
2. Do you have a double-field? Most systems by me do, there is a valve you can flip from one side of the field to the other. If you have that, just flip the valve. Note that you'll need a special tool because the valve is probably 2 ft down. If you can flip the valve, does the septic flow better? That would be good news, because your issue will be (hopefully) limited to the one side.
3. Without a valve, is it more than 50 ft between the field & the tank? Possible roots? You could dig, cut the pipe where it goes into the field, and see if things drain there. If it does, then the problem is actually in the field. But if not, then the pipe is blocked between that point & the septic (better news).
4. At that point, you'll have to figure out how the field was designed & separate the 'lines'. Surely not all of them are blocked?

BTW, what sort of 'roots' are you talking about: big trees, shrubs, etc? If you put a heavy concentration of chlorox into the line at the top of the field, that should have a bad impact on which shrub/tree is causing the issue. But note this could kill the tree. They may make a root-killer product designed for septic fields?

 

[Brent S]

I agree with trying to make sure the drain field line isn’t obstructed. If it is clear though and your fields are saturated then you can still fix this. Digging up a drain field is a major project, however, putting a tee in that main field line and adding a new section of drain field is possible. They make a chamber system, infiltrator is one brand. It’s a plastic dome, 6’ long, and is light and easy to handle. These domes just lay into the trench you dig and then get direct buried. No gravel to deal with. You would need to either find someone with a backhoe or rent one for the digging, but that would still be cheaper than hiring a plumbing company.
One other thing I forgot to ask. Have you checked your toilets to see if the flush valve is letting water run 24/7? Sometimes with water running or leaking non stop can overwhelm a drain system. Good luck here and my advice is light a fire under your husbands butt to get him to help.

 

[user 7704]

All great suggestions. My field lines has five lines. Mahan one fills it flows to the next one etc.

I don' think the problem is there because there are no way spots indicating that the waste isn't flowing properly. That happened once and there was a huge mushy spot.

From the trap that I put the auger into the line Ton the field is probably 100 ft or more. Since we have so much rock, much of the pvc to the field uncovered. I followed it and found one connection with a small leakage meaning the waste is making it (or was) about 15 ft. from the field.

The roots are small from a native shrub that image cut and pulled for 20 years when it hasn' helped. So I put rock salt into outgoing trap a few times per year. PER THE SEPTIC DUDE.
I'm going to try the plunger this morning. There were wet spots near the entrance b3cause the tank is so full and it leaked around the intake pipe and wet near the outflow pipe.

As I posted, we have lots of rocks and one shifted a few years ago and caused a hump and the waste flow was backing up. That's why I'm digging up the same area as before to see if it has repeated. That's where the lovely ant family lives that invaded my gloves and arms.

Once the pvc disconnected right inside the tank and the waste was just dropping inside instead of hitting the pvc. I had that fixed though.

Thanks everyone for the help. P.s. my back hurts so badly. Lol

 

[user 7704]

I agree with trying to make sure the drain field line isn’t obstructed. If it is clear though and your fields are saturated then you can still fix this. Digging up a drain field is a major project, however, putting a tee in that main field line and adding a new section of drain field is possible. They make a chamber system, infiltrator is one brand. It’s a plastic dome, 6’ long, and is light and easy to handle. These domes just lay into the trench you dig and then get direct buried. No gravel to deal with. You would need to either find someone with a backhoe or rent one for the digging, but that would still be cheaper than hiring a plumbing company.
One other thing I forgot to ask. Have you checked your toilets to see if the flush valve is letting water run 24/7? Sometimes with water running or leaking non stop can overwhelm a drain system. Good luck here and my advice is light a fire under your husbands butt to get him to help.

The toilets are okay. The outside trap is showing nothing in the line meaning it is draining well from the house Ton the tank. It's definitely a probl3m at the tank.

 

[user 7704]

I just went out, unscrewed the top to look into the outgoing pipe and it is completely empty.

So there is definitely some flow maybe I jiggled it loose with the auger or maybe just overnight the water just ran a little. I'll see what happens when we start using water this morning.

Fingers crossed. Don' want to waste money because my husband is leaving on vacation on Thursday.

 

[Brent S]

I just went out, unscrewed the top to look into the outgoing pipe and it is completely empty.

So there is definitely some flow maybe I jiggled it loose with the auger or maybe just overnight the water just ran a little. I'll see what happens when we start using water this morning.

Fingers crossed. Don' want to waste money because my husband is leaving on vacation on Thursday.

I’d probably pack everything he owned in his suitcase..... sorry. Anyways, even if it is the field saturated, it will still drain down, just slower than a good field. That’s why I suggested adding a new section and not getting rid of the old one.

 

[user 7704]

I just went out, unscrewed the top to look into the outgoing pipe and it is completely empty.

So there is definitely some flow maybe I jiggled it loose with the auger or maybe just overnight the water just ran a little. I'll see what happens when we start using water this morning.

Fingers crossed. Don' want to waste money because my husband is leaving on vacation on Thursday.

 

[user 7704]

I’d probably pack everything he owned in his suitcase..... sorry. Anyways, even if it is the field saturated, it will still drain down, just slower than a good field. That’s why I suggested adding a new section and not getting rid of the old one.

It's very complicated. I would and did toss him out when I found out about the shaky rehab ho, and the others, but my special needs son comes first and I will do what it takes to keep him happy. Luckily, we have lots of bedrooms and we basically can live here without yelling and fighting.

I found out years ago that the way to really get to an ego maniac is to ignore him. That's what I do.

 

[user 7704]

UPDATE. I must have done something correctly. I removed the access door and the tank is down about 4 inches. I'll take it for now.

 

[user 7704]

Well, I spoke too soon. Checked the outflow trap today and it's overflowing again. Not as heavily, but.....

 

[TexasFreedom]

I was afraid this was going to happen but didn't want to jinx it. When you said it went down only 4", that was the clue.It should have dropped substantially & fairly quickly.

I suspect one of the things you augered opened up a small point, but 'debris' re-clogged it. Maybe a power auger? If this is a regular problem, you might want to get an auger that can attach to a drill. Search ebay for:
Rigid Power Spin Snake Drain Cleaner Auger Cable Tool Original Box Instructions, it's $20 and 'used once' but that's a decent price (attach to your drill). The advantage is that it can clear far faster than hand cranking. And it will do a much better job of tearing out roots.

But again, you need to knock out the roots. See http://www.superterry.com/kill-tree-roots-sewer-line/ , who knew, cheap rock salt (see the amount/timing for using) will kill roots? And you can use it regularly to keep killing roots. Keep in mind that killing some roots may kill the tree/bush.

The REALLY good news is that if it's starting to flow, hopefully you don't have the roots throughout the drain field?

From the last areas that you augered, pick one of them & auger it thoroughly again. Wait a couple of hours, see if the water level drops. If not, pick a second section & auger it again. Wait, check, repeat until you find the section that drops the water level.

 

[user 7704]

Thanks a lot. I haven't checked this morning. Too lazy.

 

[Gazrok]

there's a company near me, that only charges a little less than $100 to pump it. Hope you find the same.

 

[user 7704]

there's a company near me, that only charges a little less than $100 to pump it. Hope you find the same.

I had it pumped 4 or so years ago and they found the pvc pipe was disconnected from the intake or outtake and the outgoing line had a rock shift underneath which made a hump and messed up the gravity flow. I'm thinking that's happened again. The guy named his company after his dog and on the truck it says that Jesus is the owner. So you can't go wrong with old Ralph.

As long as I don't use lots of water back to back, it will eventually flow without spilling on the ground.

I'll have to wait till husband comes back from his vacation I guess. Have to see how much he spends. I think full repair and cleaning was $550 before.

 

[Brent S]

there's a company near me, that only charges a little less than $100 to pump it. Hope you find the same.

I wish I could find someone for that! Mine was 225 and I shopped around for that. Can’t believe I pay for cow crap and pay to give away my crap....

 

[Gazrok]

If I recall, it was $92. We usually have them add some other bacteria and such for about $40 more. We really need to replace the drainfield (i.e. add another one, etc.), but so far, it's just more cost effective to have this done about every 6 months or so. Also, when there was 5 of us living in the house, was a lot more of a demand on it....Now, just the two of us (and we're gone like 11 hours out of the day), so....

 

[Mountain trapper]

Hey Robin. I have a solution for your little problem; an out house. I've got one and it'll never need pumping and will never get pluged.
Just a thought....

 

[Gazrok]

I actually want to build an outhouse out by the stable. Not exactly sure the best way to go about it, but been researching it. It's FL, so can't dig down too deep.

 

[user 7704]

Hey Robin. I have a solution for your little problem; an out house. I've got one and it'll never need pumping and will never get pluged.
Just a thought....

Arctic, I've used lots of outhouses when I was young. My grandmother didn't have indoor plumbing, nor did we until I was 5. My son and husband pee outside all the time and in the Spring and Summer we go around the gardens to keep critters away