Will this work?

flying belgian · Sep 20, 2020

Okay. More on my septic drain field. Had the truck come and pump the tank. It was over full of solids from my not having it pumped for last 6 yrs. Driver said that left solids get around baffle and flow out my drain field and plug it. He did an excellent job of rinsing and completely draining my 1000 gal. tank. So I now have about a month to figure out what to do. My drain field tile is only covered with about 4" dirt. Some places maybe 6" dirt. He said not only are holes in pipe plugged but also the pores in the gravel or whatever type media they used back in the day are probably also plugged. There is just wife and I living in this house anymore so not to much water use. Do you think I could make a 20" long drill bit and drill through the 4" cover dirt, right through top and bottom of 4" tile and then down through gravel? Do this about every foot on both the 150' tile lines. What size bit should I make? I don't want dirt to wash into the hole I drill on top of tile. Would 1/2 inch be to big?

JMOR · Sep 20, 2020

(quoted from post at 13:42:00 09/20/20) Okay. More on my septic drain field. Had the truck come and pump the tank. It was over full of solids from my not having it pumped for last 6 yrs. Driver said that left solids get around baffle and flow out my drain field and plug it. He did an excellent job of rinsing and completely draining my 1000 gal. tank. So I now have about a month to figure out what to do. My drain field tile is only covered with about 4" dirt. Some places maybe 6" dirt. He said not only are holes in pipe plugged but also the pores in the gravel or whatever type media they used back in the day are probably also plugged. There is just wife and I living in this house anymore so not to much water use. Do you think I could make a 20" long drill bit and drill through the 4" cover dirt, right through top and bottom of 4" tile and then down through gravel? Do this about every foot on both the 150' tile lines. What size bit should I make? I don't want dirt to wash into the hole I drill on top of tile. Would 1/2 inch be to big?

o see if the pipe(s) are so clogged that nothing will flow thru them, I would dig up the ends and remove /cut off cap and see if there is flow.before anything else.

David G · Sep 20, 2020

It will need replaced.

JK-NY · Sep 20, 2020

How old is your drain field? Do you know what type of pipe was used? New to older- it could have pvc (plastic) , orangeburg, or clay tiles. Do you have a distribution box down stream of the tank? If so I would recommend digging it up and make sure both lines get equal flow. Then you might be able to rent a power snake and try running it down each line while flushing with water, preferably with the end of the last pipes open so you can wash everything out and check for flow. You could have a crushed pipe where the water bleeds out. That might be another place to dig. Would it be possible to add on to the existing lines?

marloweg · Sep 20, 2020

6 years two people 1000 gal tank over full of solids don't thing so. if so your tank was not working any trees around drain field with in 50 feet ?

Steve A W · Sep 20, 2020

Did you mean four inches or four feet?

moresmoke · Sep 20, 2020

First question, does your area allow you to do any work to your septic without permits? If you have to go through permits and planning, you will need a new drain field in a new location. If you don’t, dig it up, put in a clean sand base and 6” of topsoil over the top. Seed with grass.

I agree with some of the others that the tank being full after 6 years is odd. I know of many tanks that have not been pumped in many many years and have had no problems.

dpendzic · Sep 20, 2020

I wouldn't drill holes thru the top of the tile--do your best to clean out the lines and then add chemicals that they add to cesspools to dissolve the solids

DoubleO7 · Sep 20, 2020

Thats why in the other thread on this I asked:
"How deep is the line? [b:0d62d1e93a] (4" to 6" dirt above tile means it is plugged up with roots from whatever is growing near it. I bet there are a lot of " healthy" plants)[/b:0d62d1e93a]
And are you sure the end is not where it is bubbling up?
You might be off by 10%?
It could also mean that your tank has been letting solids, paper, washer lint and you know what into the lines. And all of those particles have been filling up the voids/holes/slits in the line as well as the media around the lines.
The line is not yet plugged but the effluent no longer can get out of the lines like it use to and is bubbling at a point of least resistance.
Some effluent is still seeping out elsewhere but not as fast as it once was.
[b:0d62d1e93a]Same thing can happen with too shallow lines and plant roots filling up the voids/holes/slits in the line as well as the media around the lines[/b:0d62d1e93a]

Trying to drill a bunch of holes thru the drain line would be tough to do. Are you going to move the dirt off the line to do it?
Your drill bit will likely slide off to the side 95% of the time.
And the the holes will be a waste of time if line is plugged up stream anywhere.
Where are you located? Must not be where frost goes deep or your drain field would freeze up solid every winter. Well south of mason dixon line?
Might want to have your shower/bath/sinks/softener/non toilet lines go into a seperate drain field.

Glen SW Wi · Sep 20, 2020

If your tank was full you should have had things backing up in the house. Would your toilet still flush? I would find the end of the drain field pipe as mentioned earlier and if plugged run a hose up the pipe to flush out any solids. If you can flush all the solids out recap the end of the drain tile and see if it improves the situation. Might take a while to test things because with a 1000 tank it is going to take a while until you will be getting any fluid to the drain field from the tank.

DaveBN · Sep 20, 2020

First off, you use more water than you think you do so 1000 gal won't take long to fill. Second off, if your working in the back yard or other obscure area I wouldn't worry about a permit.
I would dig up the pipe going out of the tank and see what it looks like. Is it plugged and what type of pipe. Let the tank overflow onto the ground or in a hole until it gets fixed as it should just be gray water.
I add Rid-X every couple of months to prevent your problem.
We're there small flies(sewer flies) around while the tank was open? If not your tank was not working properly. At least that's true in Michigan.
Dave

JK-NY · Sep 20, 2020

As for the drilling through the top of the pipe idea, you are going to have dirt come in through the top hole for sure. This would be a poor short term fix that would lead to replacing your drain field . It wouldn’t take much dirt coming in from the top to cover the hole out the bottom and then you are back to square one. Maybe if you made up some wooden dowel that would be a snug fit for the holes you drilled— but by time you do all that you could have done more effective repairs. Any possibility of tree roots in the lines? A power drain cleaner can cut through some roots with the proper bit.

P I Pete · Sep 20, 2020

I had my septic tank pumped a year ago hadn't been pumped since it was put in about 16 years ago. Pumper guy said it was in fine shape, when it was new had renters with kids for 3 years then wife and I been here since. Also last year had the drain field jetted, 2 inch pvc with holes, guy, said it was almost clean.

Pete

Oregon Tractor Jack · Sep 20, 2020

20 years ago my drain field was starting to plug up. The septic company came out and "rodded" out the drain field. They had a huge pressure washer system that would was pushed through the drain field. The water jet was facing backwards and pushed the hose into the drain field. All the debris were pushed out and back to the distribution box. The debris were then vacuumed up into the honey pot. It wasn't cheap, but lots less than a new septic system. So far its still working.

OTJ

Mark-Ia · Sep 20, 2020

uncover your distribution box and see if it's also full. From there you can flush your drain tiles with a garden hose until clear water comes out.

flying belgian · Sep 20, 2020

Just dug up the end of both lines. The backed up lines immediately drained out until my hole was full to level of water in tile which is now only about 3/4 full. Before I had tank pumped lines were full. Even pushing up through ground. Also diameter of pipe is 10". So had the tank pumped on Tuesday and a quarter of the water in tile has drained away now that I'm not adding to it. There is no sludge in the water.

1948CaseVAI · Sep 20, 2020

You most likely have bio-mat that has grown around your drain field pipe. Bio-mat is impermeable so the field needs to be replaced. If you ever wish to sell the property, or for your heirs to sell the property, you have to fix it correctly and legally. It is simply one of the hazards and expenses of living rural.

jdr1943 · Sep 20, 2020

I will probably regret posting this mine has been in operation for over forty years no trouble never been pumped four daughters for the first ten fifteen years the man who installed it said as soon as it is inspected take the washing machine water off of it i by passed the washing machine hooked it to the gutter line down into the woods still using it now it will most likely start leaking maybe not since only me and ma are using it.

DoubleO7 · Sep 20, 2020

What all goes into the septic system will dictate how long it will work as intended.

"Some chemicals from medications, such as antibiotics, antibacterials, and chemotherapy treatments, that do not completely metabolize in your body and are expelled in your waste. These chemicals can disrupt the biological action in your tank and drain field causing it to fill with solids more quickly.Feb 8, 2019"

above from Michigan State University.
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flying belgian · Sep 20, 2020

Just dug up the end of both lines. The backed up lines immediately drained out until my hole was full to level of water in tile which is now only about 3/4 full. Before I had tank pumped lines were full. Even pushing up through ground. Also diameter of pipe is 10". So had the tank pumped on Tuesday and a quarter of the water in tile has drained away now that I'm not adding to it. There is no sludge in the water.

David G · Sep 20, 2020

That sounds really plugged up.

kcm.MN · Sep 20, 2020

I, too, am having trouble understanding a 6 year old septic system that becomes clogged. Every septic I've had worked trouble-free. But then, that was before Wet Wipes, etc. Also had good drainage in soil.

My parents always added something similar to Rid-X. Got to where they couldn't find the old stuff anymore, then they switched to Rid-X.

Also, we never had a garbage disposal for the sink, so didn't have excessive solids from that. And I know a lot of people put literally everything down their sinks, including meats, fats and oils.

We use a composting-type system. It's more effort, but with the long, hard-frozen winters and the excessively high water table, it's easier for us to do it this way than to mess with normal septic system. ...We are an exception to the rule, but for most people, septic systems are still the way to go.

showcrop · Sep 20, 2020

You will need a new field before long regardless of how it happened. You can buy some time with 15 gallons of concentrated H2O2. Just dump it in the distribution box and it will clean out a good portion of the biomat. It will dissolve the material tha id plugging the pipes.Don't let the effluent run out on the ground. It is not gray water it is considered black. If you have any trees overhanging the field you have roots from the tree in your field.

kcm.MN · Sep 20, 2020

Belgian, have been thinking about something since I posted a little while ago. I started thinking about how much it costs to install a septic system these days. The last price I know of was, the wife had one installed in 1997, I think, at a cost of $8,000 or so. Knowing how code has changed to make things "better" over the years, I have to assume you paid at least that much for yours.

So $8,000 into 6 years means it cost over $1,300 a year just to flush your toilets and drain your sinks/showers. Wow, that sure opened my eyes a bit!

showcrop · Sep 21, 2020

(quoted from post at 18:00:34 09/20/20) Belgian, have been thinking about something since I posted a little while ago. I started thinking about how much it costs to install a septic system these days. The last price I know of was, the wife had one installed in 1997, I think, at a cost of $8,000 or so. Knowing how code has changed to make things "better" over the years, I have to assume you paid at least that much for yours.

So $8,000 into 6 years means it cost over $1,300 a year just to flush your toilets and drain your sinks/showers. Wow, that sure opened my eyes a bit!

Yes, except that he told us that it is 60 years old.

Will this work?

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