Septic Dos and Don'ts

Troubleshooting System Problems House to House

As I go around town each day, the same questions seem to crop up time and again.  re are some of them, along with the answers.

The number one question I hear when I pump a septic tank system is, “Was it full?”  The answer is that, unless there’s a problem with your tank’s structural soundness, the tank will always be filled within one to three weeks of pumping, depending on how large your tank is and how many people are in the house.

Most of my emergency calls come from people returning from vacation, or from people whose children are returning home from living away at college.  “I only did six loads of laundry,” they say, “and I noticed water on the floor next to my washing machine.  The toilets don’t work now, and I can’t do any more laundry.  Why?”  Unless it’s a new front-end loader, your washing machine, depending on its age, puts out 30 to 50 gallons of water per load, and pumps water out to your septic tank at a high rate.  This pushes the top scum layer in some cases into your outlet baffle, which semi-clogs your outgoing line.  This clog is usually why water is on your basement floor.  You may also have a problem with your inlet line.  In some cases, powdered soap usage over the years can close a four-inch inlet pipe into a 1 or 2 inch opening, because the soap cakes around the pipe.  This is fixed by snaking or water-jetting the main line. In other cases, the outlet side baffle might have a filter designed to protect your leaching field.  This filter has holes that are less than 1/16”, which causes the water to go out to your leaching field slowly.  This has the same effect as a clogged inlet line--too much water and too little space to move through.  This filter must be cleaned every six months or at the outside, once a year   Its a good idea to stagger your laundry—do two loads every other day, rather than all of it on one day.  This should keep you out of trouble.

Number three on my trouble-shooting list is the dreaded toilet paper--let’s not get into the handi-wipes or “my husband needs the wet wipes.”  Build up of toilet paper, wet wipes or handi wipes in the tank creates a massive wall of solid debris, which causes your toilets to flush slowly.  If your toilet paper is not paper, it won’t break down.  Cotton-based toilet paper, handi-wipes, wet wipes and feminine hygiene products just build up and build up, and in some cases can move across the tank and into your distribution box, which clogs your system and prevents it from working properly.  The answer here is to either switch to single-ply, not-so-soft toilet paper, or pump once a year—even if your system is a newer one.

Let’s talk about bleach and acids.  Using a gallon of bleach over the course of a month is really no big deal.  We have to keep our whites white, right?  By itself, this won’t kill all the bacteria in your tank, but acids like Draino or Liquid Plumber will.  Don’t forget, acids kill all bacteria, and bacteria is what your septic tank needs to function.  If you have a clogged sink or tub line, call a drain cleaner—there are many in our area—to remove blockages properly.  In some cases, even I can clear it, but it’s important not to use acid products.  They cause damage to the pipes and kill bacteria in your tank. 

In fact, it’s a good idea to add bacteria to your system from pump to pump.  Commonly used home care products, including detergents, disinfectants, and toilet cleaners, can reduce or destroy the bacteria needed to break down and dissolve solids in your tank.  Undigested food, like that found in garbage disposals, kills bacteria too.  Besides failure to pump, lack of bacteria is a major reason for over-flow, which I’ll talk about next time.

If I’ve missed your question here, please call me, your friendly neighborhood Spider Man—oops I mean septic guy. 

John Murphy is owner of John’s Septic Solutions.  You can call him at 978-587-1192 or e-mail him at johnsepticsolutions@hotmail.com.