Septic Tank - 2020/2021
A new blog about how my septic tank is backing up and trying to figure out why now? I need to get a lighter lid instead of the 200 lb. lids made of concrete that are not easy to move or even check what is going on weekly. Composite lids to me with a handle are the way to go along with expandable foam which will if it works, seal it from all the rain which we of course get here in Ontario get most of the year. The most septic back ups occur during the winter where the septic beds are flooded with water which makes the whole system shut down. This is climate change at its worst. However, the Septic Tabs from the dollar store seem to be doing something. I will post pics from my GoPro camera on a weekly basis if needed.
Jan. 25 - Had people over for a nice dinner and the downstairs toilet was flushed and it all came up in
my shower room. Nice, just when you have a ton of dishes to do along with company.
We could not use water or flush our toilet for over 24 hrs. until the poop guy could
get here to pump it out. $319.00. How many times do you want to do that? Well, in my case
many as needed.
April 11 - Same thing again. I had a ton of cake like waste on the top of both tanks when the poop
guy came to pump it out. It seems that our septic bed was still flooded with ground water
even though we had little rainfall at the time. Had to get the poop guy again and this only
lasted 73 days since the last pump out, OUCH!
April 30 - I had a septic tank guy out to take a look and he didn't even give me any tips on
helping my current system work better. Immediately proceeded to install a new system
which would put me back around $25,000.00. He seemed to have a close relationship
with the County Inspector on what to do. She even mentioned his employees by name
who would go under my deck to dig out a new pipe line!! I wasn't ready to ride off my
current system just like that. I realize with current codes that you can't touch anything
connected to your septic tank without a permit and I am sure she would turn down most
of what any company would want to do to fix it besides moth balling it and installing a
completely new system in. How bloody comvenient...
May 17 - Checked it and it seems to be working much better than ever. I saw in the second tank
there was no or very little cake like layers on top. Now that has never happened before.
We have been using Septobac pouches every other day for 2 weeks. Maybe, just maybe
this is breaking down our waste and helping the beds do their job? I really don't know a lot
how these systems work, but I am learning fast.
May 17 - We had a lot of rain and it still seems to be working now, but you never know. The rest of
the week is forecast to be dry, we will see... Pics to come soon.
May 19 - I need to waterproof this with a new piece of plywood and some expandable foam. This is
temporary until I can buy a composite piece of plywood. It will be expensive, so make sure
the septic tank is working so you won't waste money on it.
May 22 - Will finally get around to check the first tank today to see what is going on. Hope it is not
caked like it always was, and worse than that the last few years. The Septac tabs seem to be
working which did surprise me. Looks like I need to add 2 pouches every other day for as
long as we live here.
May 24 - Finally had a peek in the first tank and it looked like the second one. I assume the poop
is on the bottom and it is leeching out to the back yard as it should. Despite what my wife
says I am going to keep the same schedule for the time being. Every other day until an
expert in this field says to change it. I am going to use some draft stop caulking that you
can just pull off if you need to. I use it for around some windows and it does come off
very easy. Not sure if it will stick to the plywood where this is. Kind of stinky and damp.
Need to buy some composite plywood and make a real good tight fit so not a lot of rain
water can get it. Caulk it too so if it is working, all I need to do is peel it off when it needs
to be pumped out which is every 3 months or so. I would say every 3 months in the winter
and only once in the summer. Hell, I don't know. I am sure if we get a big rain again in the
winter, it will need pumping for sure. Not very forgiving.
Jan. 25 - Had people over for a nice dinner and the downstairs toilet was flushed and it all came up in
my shower room. Nice, just when you have a ton of dishes to do along with company.
We could not use water or flush our toilet for over 24 hrs. until the poop guy could
get here to pump it out. $319.00. How many times do you want to do that? Well, in my case
many as needed.
April 11 - Same thing again. I had a ton of cake like waste on the top of both tanks when the poop
guy came to pump it out. It seems that our septic bed was still flooded with ground water
even though we had little rainfall at the time. Had to get the poop guy again and this only
lasted 73 days since the last pump out, OUCH!
April 30 - I had a septic tank guy out to take a look and he didn't even give me any tips on
helping my current system work better. Immediately proceeded to install a new system
which would put me back around $25,000.00. He seemed to have a close relationship
with the County Inspector on what to do. She even mentioned his employees by name
who would go under my deck to dig out a new pipe line!! I wasn't ready to ride off my
current system just like that. I realize with current codes that you can't touch anything
connected to your septic tank without a permit and I am sure she would turn down most
of what any company would want to do to fix it besides moth balling it and installing a
completely new system in. How bloody comvenient...
May 17 - Checked it and it seems to be working much better than ever. I saw in the second tank
there was no or very little cake like layers on top. Now that has never happened before.
We have been using Septobac pouches every other day for 2 weeks. Maybe, just maybe
this is breaking down our waste and helping the beds do their job? I really don't know a lot
how these systems work, but I am learning fast.
May 17 - We had a lot of rain and it still seems to be working now, but you never know. The rest of
the week is forecast to be dry, we will see... Pics to come soon.
May 19 - I need to waterproof this with a new piece of plywood and some expandable foam. This is
temporary until I can buy a composite piece of plywood. It will be expensive, so make sure
the septic tank is working so you won't waste money on it.
May 22 - Will finally get around to check the first tank today to see what is going on. Hope it is not
caked like it always was, and worse than that the last few years. The Septac tabs seem to be
working which did surprise me. Looks like I need to add 2 pouches every other day for as
long as we live here.
May 24 - Finally had a peek in the first tank and it looked like the second one. I assume the poop
is on the bottom and it is leeching out to the back yard as it should. Despite what my wife
says I am going to keep the same schedule for the time being. Every other day until an
expert in this field says to change it. I am going to use some draft stop caulking that you
can just pull off if you need to. I use it for around some windows and it does come off
very easy. Not sure if it will stick to the plywood where this is. Kind of stinky and damp.
Need to buy some composite plywood and make a real good tight fit so not a lot of rain
water can get it. Caulk it too so if it is working, all I need to do is peel it off when it needs
to be pumped out which is every 3 months or so. I would say every 3 months in the winter
and only once in the summer. Hell, I don't know. I am sure if we get a big rain again in the
winter, it will need pumping for sure. Not very forgiving.
June 1 - The pipe from the house to the septic tank is plugging up a lot. Not sure why. I have a theory
that for months or even years the build up from the tank going back to the house just caked in
the pipe and stayed there, or a lot of it. Plumber coming to check it out.
June 4 - The plumber used a camera in the pipe from the tank to the house. A lot of crap was trapped
on the top of the pipe. It looked like buttermilk in the first tank. It seems to be rising, but it is
just floating on top. I check it daily. The pipe from the house has a slight bow in it where stuff
collects. I need to do a sort of drano schedule to keep it clear. It is not far from the tank, so I
try to make up something to clear it. I hav to make sure it is sturdy and not get caught up
in the pipe and break off. Now that is a disaster. The kitchen sink was plugged to. He had to go
28 feet with the auger to clear it. That also needs a drano schedule to keep it clear. My drain
pipe from the sink had a wow in it also because the strap broke and it was hanging down a bit.
2 inches to be exact. It was up hidden by the ceiling tiles. Need to check it weekly and I also
need to instal new tiles, something like fiber board tiles, more sturdy. I still think my septic
tank is too slow. Going to buy plexi-glass so that I can see what is going on way easier than I
am doing now. If I think it is working fine, I can then go ahead and seal it.
June 12 - Level still down to where it should be in the first tank. It does have a layer of gunk on top, but
not as thick as previous layers which needed to be pumped out as it was on its way back up
to the house and gunking up the pipe. It would plug up my pipe and start coming up my
dowstairs shower. Hope that never happens again, but won't be surprised if it does.
June 17 - Same. 24 more days to go to hit 3 months between pump outs. Haven't done that this year yet.
I am going to buy some plexiglass and make clear covers for both tanks. A handle on each
one and some caulking that your can pull off easily which is quite common and not hard to
find.
July 1 - Haven't opened a tank in 2 weeks or so. Seems to be working fine though. No rain at all, but
that won't be an issue in a dry backyard anyway, at least for now. In winter, yea, a big issue.
July 28 - 3 1/2 months since the last pump out. So, it does work, at least in the summer. Still adding
Septobac every other day or so. Still going to make a plexi-glass lids and some sort of
sealer around it to give it a better seal. It has to peel off easy though since I can't get at it that
well.
August 28 - Had a lot of rain today and a few days ago. Haven't looked in my septic yet, but will soon.
44 mm of rain in the last 3 days. More coming next week on the days that I play ball.
2021
Still using Septobac every other day. I haven't pumped it out since April 11, 2021. Seems to be working
fine as far as I know. I always smell something when the dishwasher is on or getting heavy use. No idea why. As long as it doesn't come in my shower where it always goes first, I am good. Going to take a peek soon so see where I am at. Hopefully the pipe coming going out to the tank is not getting plugged like last year. As long as it doesn't cake up and start to go back into the house, I will continue to be good. Not sure how often to get it pumped out. $320 a pop, so you have to be sure you need it because of the crazy price. Once summer gets here, I check it once a week. Takes just 5 minutes to do that.
APRIL 20 2021
Smelled septic outside and checked the tank. Didn't take long to see that it has stopped working. Not even going out to the beds. just liquid covering the plywood covers. If I had used concrete lids, it would of come in the house like last year. Getting a new system because I can't live here like this and can't sell it as it is, although Elsie would do it.
Comments