Septic Tank Backing Up, Need Help Fast Please.

ntjpm · #1 11/20/10, 01:39 PM

I am coming to the masters to see if you can help me figure out what is going on.

We have a 750 gallon septic tank with a 350 gallon pump tank next to it that pumps the septic 285' to our drain field way in the back part of our property. We also have a Tank alarm on the system in the house so we can know in advance if their is a problem.

You should also know that we did not install this system, so my understanding of it is very limited to what I can see on the map I have and what we were told when we bought the house 6 yrs ago.

SOOOOO this morning I hear this glub, glub, glub sound coming from our downstairs toilet. Dh and I stared at it for a while and watched these big bubbles come out of the toilet. I reached over and flushed it and it started to almost over flow, so I grab the plunger and started plunging. As it started to go down in the toilet we heard a different glub, glub sound and turned around and icky stuff is now starting to come out of the bathtub. My 10 yr old was taking a shower so we quickly ran upstairs and stopped him.

So obviously my septic is backing up BUT my question for you is this, for some reason my tank alarm did not go off during any of this. Is there something else going on that I am missing??? The septic guy is coming out in an hour and I want to be able to point him in the right direction and not waste money if I don't have too.

Thank you so much,
Tracy in WA

fantasymaker · #2 11/20/10, 01:44 PM

Could be a blockage between you and the tank...or the alarm might be broke.

tinknal · #3 11/20/10, 02:05 PM

Could your vent be plugged up?

fishhead · #4 11/20/10, 02:34 PM

Does you alarm work? Try hitting the test button. Maybe it's unplugged or the breaker is off.

Either way it sounds like you will have to get it pumped unless your pump that moves the liquid to the drainfield isn't working for some reason.

jross · #5 11/20/10, 04:48 PM

Before you go nuts, first check the inlet plug at the solids tank. It is located at the inlet of the tank, before the big round cover. You may find it plugged with paper ( women)and grease solids. Take a stick, or something and push the smelly goo down into the tank. The inlet plug should be a wedge shape hunk of concrete with a wire ring on it. Look carefully as it may be rusted off and you will have to pry the plug out with a shovel. In any case, stand back and wear knee boots when you pull the plug. After that, if it isn't working, then check the prior suggestions.

mistletoad · #6 11/20/10, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jross

Before you go nuts, first check the inlet plug at the solids tank. It is located at the inlet of the tank, before the big round cover. You may find it plugged with paper ( women)and grease solids. Take a stick, or something and push the smelly goo down into the tank. The inlet plug should be a wedge shape hunk of concrete with a wire ring on it. Look carefully as it may be rusted off and you will have to pry the plug out with a shovel. In any case, stand back and wear knee boots when you pull the plug. After that, if it isn't working, then check the prior suggestions.

Obviously the first think is to stop flushing the women...

Tree roots caused this problem for us - our downstairs bathroom drainpipe is separate from the upstairs on and is is much nearer the tree line. We replaced a section of the pipe a couple of weeks ago and found a mat of roots about 8 inches thick. That doesn't trigger the alarm.

ntjpm · #7 11/20/10, 05:43 PM

Well here is the update for ya all.

We have dug 3 holes, all 2' deep. Main tank was overflowing so they pumped it out. Water was still not draining from the house so we dug for the inlet check thingy (sorry forgot the technical term) and it was partially plugged so he unplugged that and lots of water game gushing out.

However he wanted to double check the pump tank to make sure the pump hadn't stopped working which would have backed the main tank up and then plugged the baffle. So we dug our 3rd hole and sure enough pump not pumping.

It seems now I need a new pump (ours is 22 yrs old) and maybe an electrician in case the water that filled the pump tank shorted out the wiring.

Forgot to add the yes we checked the circuit breaker on the pump and it seems fine. Also checked and the Alarm goes off if I test it but for who knows what reason it didn't go off when the pump stopped working. (gotta figure that out)

Two years ago it was my stove going out the week before Thanksgiving and now it is this. I have 14 people coming over on Thursday and the possibility of snow in the forecast. Fun, fun, fun......

Thanks for all the input I really appreciate it.

Tracy in WA

fantasymaker · #8 11/22/10, 09:35 AM

Sounds like you may need a port a pot for the Holidays....might wanna run a space heater out there too!

fishhead · #9 11/22/10, 01:10 PM

The alarm may not be working because something is interferring with the float that turns it on.

Pink_Carnation · #10 11/22/10, 06:30 PM

I would guess that the float needs to be changed out as well. A broken float can cause the alarm to not go off.