Septic system experts needed - drain field issues

[Dual EE]

The concrete tanks can have problems too. Mine had a baffle fall over on the gray water side. When it fell, it broke off the elbow on the discharge line. Without the elbow any floating solids can go directly into the drain field. I imagine an earthquake is what knocked the baffle over. That was a fun smellyy job to replace.



I also have rerouted my gray water from my septic. Wash machine and the 2 bath tubs gray water is now used to water my lawns. The lawn loves it. So now the only thing entering the septic tank is toilet and kitchen sink water.

 

[Alan Reagan]

Seven years is a long time but with no more sludge that we have seen in the two pump outs, the septic service said that's fine. The recommendation is 5-7 here if you are treating the tank monthly.

 

[RGardner]

Do you route your gray water into a holding pit or how do you handle it? I have my kitchen water all go out to a series of envirochambers under the lawn.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Update: VERY good news...

A day or two after they pumped out the tank, they came back... the only evidence was that the mud was back on the cover. Fast forward to today... I called them to figure out what they did after they pumped it out.



They had to machine the black iron outlet pipe (tank outlet…) because it was clogged up from corrosion/iron deposits (probably from the freakin water softener dumping in the septic system!). They also ran all kinds of water through the drain field and it handled every last bit of pressure/flow that they could throw at it!



The guy on the phone claimed that the drain field is A-OK. They threw a few thousand psi of water at it and it took at least 10gpm like a champ!



About the only bad news is that the bill is in the mail and I didn’t ask him how much it cost to do this… I'm guessing a few hundred ($300) bucks, which is fine with me, because I'm not about to put a ladder down into that thing to have a look-see.



Thanks for the advice and words of wisdom. I hope that other people might be able to learn from this thread - just like other non-diesel threads on the TDR.



Thanks again,



Matt

 

[Alan Reagan]

Do you route your gray water into a holding pit or how do you handle it? I have my kitchen water all go out to a series of envirochambers under the lawn.

Mine all goes in the tank. I like the idea of the envirochambers though.