Need help again friends - Septic Tank

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CountryLiving34
Posts: 44
Joined: Sun Sep 11, 2011 9:12 am

I have gotten some really good advice here and I appreciate all the great responses and suggestions I have gotten in the past. Here is my problem now. I will try to explain it as simply as I know how since I am a newbie when it comes to these sorts of things. I am ok until something goes wrong and then I panic, LOL.

Ok, here is the problem now. I don't live in the city limits, so I can not connect to city water and sewer. My water is ok. I had a deep well dug many years ago so I should have decent water for some time to come. The problem is my septic tank. The septic tank is over 30 years old I think. I have had 4 mobile homes in this same spot since I purchased the 5 acres of land and moved here. All 4 mobile homes have been connected to this same septic tank.

The problem is my septic tank is not draining. Thankfully, it is not backing up in the house yet. There is just a huge wet spot in the front yard. I just had it pumped out again and it is overflowing again. I suppose the effluent is not being drained via the leach field where it is reabsorbed into the earth.

My questions now.
1. Do those online bacteria products that advertise to unclog things and reopen up your drainfield work and are they worth it in your opinion? Some have money back guarantees.

2. I hear that if the drainfied needs to be dug up and replaced, that pricetag could run anywhere between 5 and 15 thousand dollars. Ouch! That is a lot of money and I don't have a lot of money. LOL Is this true?

3. Maybe the septic tank and the leachfield need replacing? How likely is this? Isn't the septic tank itself just a large concrete container recessed in the earth. Why would it ever need replacing?

4. My mother lives with me and has flowers planted all over the place, one right by the septic tank. Image I imagine these sorts of things will just add to the cost if they are in the way b/c these things have to be dug up.

5. If you were me, what would you try doing 1st?

6. I looked in the yellow pages. What kind of a person or company would I even call for something like this? This is not a problem rotor rooter can solve, correct? I don't know what to even look for.

7. I have one final question I will ask after I get back some replies from you experts here. I really need some guidance please as to the best way to go from here.

Thanks everyone and I hope y'all are having a terrific day.
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Greg
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Posts: 5696
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:01 pm
Location: Weedsport, NY

A few things can severely effect the efficiency of a septic system. The first being ground water. If the leach field is in a wet area the ground will not absorb any water from the system.
If the tank were allowed to over flow it is possible that solids have gotten into the drain field and plugged it up.
I think I would try some of the "additives", they really can't hurt. You could dig it yourself and check things out.

Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
countrydan
Posts: 82
Joined: Fri Apr 19, 2013 3:51 pm
Location: s/w michigan

I would verify I have no leaky toilets, faucets, etc. first.

Then I'd watch my daily water usage to buy some time. Maybe catch my grey water with a bucket under the sink, etc. I would get a few local expert opinions and go from there.
Steve S.
Posts: 117
Joined: Sat Apr 21, 2007 7:41 pm
Location: Maine

Chances are if you have recently had your tank pumped and the tank is now leaking through the top cover(verify), you indeed have a problem with the outlet pipe to the d-box and/or leach field.
I had this problem several years back and I decided to fix it myself. You have to map out your entire system by digging a series of holes in the ground. I was able to find my distribution box about 10 feet from the tank. My d-box was significantly clogged with silt and debris which was slowing the discharge from the tank. The d-box is quite simply a box, typically made of concrete or bricks which collects the effluent from the tank and distributes it out of several pipes (4" perforated PVC) and out into the leach field.
I also had one of the elbows of my leach field piping break loose and some industrious chipmunk had used my drainpipe for an acorn cache, which further disrupted the tank drainage.
It took me several weekends, but I had dug up most of my drainfield (located about 1 foot below surface). I thoroughly flushed out all my drainfield pipes with a snake and garden hose. I cleaned out the d-box and flushed the piping to the tank again with a snake and garden hose. Saved myself a couple of thousand$$ and my system works perfectly...I simply uncover the d-box cover every summer to check for blockage(now that I know where it is).
If you're up to it, it's just a matter of finding all the pieces of the system and flushing them out...a lot of back-breaking work...but I thought it was worthwhile and an educational experience.
Good Luck!!
concretegardenstx
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Nov 09, 2011 5:15 pm

I know those feels. I have had much trouble with my septic issues. I also live outside the city limits, which means I can't connect to sewer, but I also am outside a lot of regulations.

If you are looking for someone to call, a lot of places that pump septic tanks also service the fields, or they might be a good person to ask about your situation. In my area, we are no longer allowed to have conventional systems, so if it fails, we are required to go to an aerobic system, which would be about $6k, and I do not have that kind of money, nor do I want the upkeep that goes along with it. My solutions are a work in process, but it may give you some ideas.

First, try reading the Humanure Handbook. Seriously. I was extremely skeptical, but curious, and after reading it I was convinced. My family, however, was not willing to get on board since I was able to make the system somewhat workable, but it's a great idea to have as a backup. PM me and I can email you a pdf copy.

Check to make sure that your leach field area is clear. My area tends to get covered with leaves and grass which impedes the evaporation (I am under the impression that the leach field works not only by being absorbed into the ground but also evaporation).

I have a single lateral line instead of a d-box and multiple lines. I dug around until I found the end of the line and dug a cesspool to have the water overflow drain into. This part is a work in process for me. I'm trying to line it with gravel and get filtering water plants into it. The plan is to build a second pond behind it so that the water that gets filtered with the plants can then flow into a second pond. I can't remember what this is called off the top of my head, but it was on the interwebs.

Check curezone.com/forums. They have a forum called Septic Tanks, it's not very big but they have some solutions on there. One of them was talking about breaking up the biomat that develops with water and Oxy-Clean. This is something I might try, as I know when I was digging up parts of the line, you could definitely tell there was this slimy biomat over everything.

I wish you the best of luck!
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Greg S
Posts: 541
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:13 am
Location: Kingston Ontario Canada

The wet spot in your front yard is a clear indication that your septic bed is no longer performing as it should. Having 4-5 homes on one tank would require that the tank be pumped annually. If it was not then solids have likely escaped from the tank into the bed.
However the reality is that a 30 year old septic bed is at the end if it's life.
Band-Aid attempts are not going to fix your problem. Your septic bed is done and not recoverable. You will need to remove the old clogged filter material from the existing bed and install new filter sand before the bed will work properly again. Anything else is not going to fix the problem.
Regardless of how well you maintain your bed and use additives every bed has a natural life expectancy.
An individual must enforce his own meaning in life and rise above the perceived conformity of the masses. (Anton LaVey)
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