Blocked Soakaway

[Rhianfa]

My property has a septic tank that needs emptying more and more frequently. Does this mean the soakaway is blocked?

If so, is there any way to unblock it please?

Thx

[The Daring Dufas]

I think they're called field lines instead of soakaways. It's been many years since I dealt with a septic system but there are some nice fellows here with septic system experience who would be glad to tell you what you need to know. ^_^

TDD

[Dean Hoffman]

People in my area call them leach fields.

[The Daring Dufas]

I've heard that too but I never heard them referred to as soakaways. ^_^

TDD

[hrhofmann]

Back to the OP's problem.

How often do you have to have the tank pumped? Is what is pumped out of the tank sludge or very much liquid? If it is liquid and not sludge, then the drain fields are probably blocked. How many people in the house? Are they teenagers? What size tank? Have you added biotics to help the digestion? What part of the USA are you located, temperature and slois make a difference. How long have you lived in the house? Are you the original owners? Give us more info please!!!!!

[harry]

If it overflows, the soakaway/field drain/leachfield (take your pick) is likely clogged. This often arises through bad mantainence/not emptying the septic tank frequently enough which causes all the crap to overflow into the exit pipe and hence block the leachfield. Older septic tanks are prone to this, newer ones are designed to prevent this

Once it is blocked you have a major problem. Sometimes a temporary fix can be done by running a high pressure water jet through the leachfield pipes if they can be located. But in the end, the old leachfield/soakaway will have to be abandoned and a new one dug. This can be major expense and inconvenience.

[harry]

It is a UK term.

[harry]

The name is Welsh, she may not realise most people here are USAians.

[The Daring Dufas]

That explains it! ^_^

TDD

[The Daring Dufas]

But we'll still try to help our British cousins. o_O

TDD

[Pointer]

Prior to my acquiring the home the sometime in the first fifteen years from building, the entire leaching field was replaced for the pipe (a composite) was collapsing.

[Paul Drahn]

When the tank is emptied, only the solids are removed, the liquid is returned to the tank. If you are getting sewage backups to the house, then, yes, the leach-field/drain-field is blocked.

The people that pumped the septic tank should have also inspected the outflow trap to see if that is blocked. Probably ought to find a different company to pump and inspect the tank.

Paul

[Frank]

Your septic people should be telling you this. Many systems have different design. I've got two drain fields on mine to switch over if one becomes soaked. There is also a clean out port on one. Lot of times a septic owner does not know what he has as things may be buried.

When our kids were young, living at home we would have the tank pumped every 2-3 years but,now with just mom and I, it every 5 years. I'd say if you are getting pumped every few months, you have a problem.

[hrhofmann]

Our experience exactly.

[willshak]

Depending upon where in the US the septic tank owners live, they can be called 'leach fields', 'leach lines', or if the conversation is about septic systems in general, just 'fields'. As an aside, the length of leach fields is determined by the number of bedrooms, not bathrooms as one might expect, and usually 100' feet per bedroom.

[willshak]

I suppose there are no expatriot Welsh people living here in the USA?

[willshak]

What? How does the tank get emptied (pumped) of solids without the water being pumped out along with the solids? I've had my two tanks pumped over the years and when looking into the pumped tank the water level was near the bottom of the tank. The water is replaced when the toilets, baths or sinks are drained or flushed. BTW, the old nickname for the septic tank pumpers was 'Honey Dippers".

[Paul Drahn]

Ok, this may take a while. Our previous home on 1.76 acres, a 350ft well, and irrigation was started in 1924 as a 40 acre dairy farm. The house was added to many times and had been extensively remodeled just before we bought it. The owner had done a lot of remodeling himself, including putting in a new

1,000 gallon concrete septic tank and drain field.

There was an old concrete septic tank out in the West pasture with the main access port disintegrated and broken. I filled the tank with rocks taken from the area we wanted for a garden. I am sure the previous owner saw the old tank and knew they needed a new one.

About two years later, the septic system backed up into the house, toilets would not flush properly, etc. As I was retired, I decided to find the line to the septic tank and see what the problem was. A new tank should not plug up this soon.

My neighbor, Darrell, saw what I was doing and volunteered to help. He was a licensed sanitarian and had no pressing work. He brought his backhoe and began to uncover the septic tank. He soon discovered the tank was not been installed level. He explained the output must be lower than the input. Mine was not.

He told me there are three things in the septic tank. First the liquid. Second, stuff that sinks to the bottom of the tank. And third, stuff that floats on the top. The floating stuff is where all the problems occur. In my case, it floated up and was blocking the input line.

Darrell completely uncovered the tank, the line from the house, and the line from the tank to the drain field. The latter was very old, sun dried, brittle, 4 inch PVC pipe. An elbow was right at the output of the tank, a no, no. The previous owner had backfilled with dirt and rock and had broken the elbow with a big rock, so that was 50% blocked from day one.

In exploring with the backhoe, we discovered a third septic tank and drain field that was in perfect condition. That system had been in use at the time the new tank was installed, but the moron didn't know it! He only saw the defunked tank. So we used that good tank while fixing bad install. Took most of a week.

Darrell had the tank completely pumped and the solids and liquid hauled away. Then another company brought their concrete septic tank delivery truck and pulled the septic tank completely out of the ground while Darrell used his backhoe to level the gravel base so the tank would operate properly. He had to get into the hole and check for level several different ways. Then the truck replaced the septic tank.

Darrell check the top to see if the tank was still level. He also inspected the in and out ports and they were clear. The output has a concrete baffle so only liquid can reach the output. The baffle extends down a foot or so below the output port. This is important to understand. This is all that keeps the floaty stuff from migrating out into the drain field and plugging it up.

Darrell replaced the bad and broken parts of the PVC pipe and also installed a legal distribution box between the two drain field lines.

Then Darrell asked me to fill the tank with water. Why? So any new floatie stuff could not get to the output line. I used well water, but later realized I should have started up the irrigation system for the water. Anyway, the tank was filled and the line from the house hooked back up to the tank and all has been ok since.

Also, at my current home, my neighbor, who happens to be my company general manager, had Darrell replace his septic tank, a steel tank, with a concrete tank, and when the tank was pumped, the truck waited till the new tank was installed and then decanted all the liquid back into the tank. Only the solids and a little liquid was hauled away. This is SOP for the septic tank pumpers around here.

So, if your honey wagon is not restoring the liquid, and you are not prefilling the tank with water, you are being set up to have the drain field replaced. Pretty clever of the honey pot people!

Sorry if this gets too long, but I wanted you to understand how I came to be educated! The hard way.

Paul

[hrhofmann]

We had to install a secondary leach field for our septic tank output because when we had really rainy weather, the toilet on the lowest level of our house was VERY slow to flush.

When the first drain field is completely full, at a distribution box the overflow goes into a small holding tank that has a sump pump/float in it. When the overflow tank gets about 1/2 full, the pump pumps it out into a second drain field at some considerable distance from the primary drain field.

We are careful only to flush stuff down that can decompose, no dirt or anything solid that wil not decompose, and we get it pumped out every

5 years or so. The honey pot man sucks out the sludge from the bottom of the tank and as the water level falls, he monitors what is being sucked out. When it appears that what is being sucked out is pretty much sludge free, he stops, by mutual agreement. This way we retain more of the microbes that help to dissolve the sewage, the honey pot man pays less to dischrge his holding tank wherever he dumps it and charges less for a cleaning, so everyone is a winner.

If you are cognizant of what you flush, septic systems work just fine. Also, we have municipal water so don't have to worry about cross-contamination,

[Paul Drahn]

Perhaps your septic tank and leach field are not low enough in relation to your toilet. Was the lower toilet installed after the house was built?

The weather makes a big difference. We live in the high desert of Central Oregon. 2800 to 3000 ft. 8 inches of precipitation on average. All the liquid from our leach fields evaporates rather quickly.

Paul