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This closure has been a long time coming. The best answers to a clogged up septic field are nearly imposiible to find. There is propaganda everywhere to sell us one product after another. Septic plumbers want to sell an EXPENSIVE new drain field.
My best advice today is to start by adding risers to the tank & all of the D-Boxes, pump out the septic tanks & then hydro blast all of the laterals. Don't waste time & money on chemicals. As you watch the videos I have provided in the report below, you will see why chemicals are FUTILE to correct a failing septic field. Videos show us how effective hydro blasting the latrals are, and they become totally clogged up over the years.
Anything less is going to be temporary and result in never ending aggravations,
For details & videos, see the Wrap-Up near the end of this document:
http://tinyurl.com/Septic-Solutions
Grizz
So like others I was having issues. After my research, at the time it seemed an aerorator was the answer, ch-ching $1500 later got one installed. A few months later the black sludge from the yard is gone!
Yay!
Then ~6months after that, ponding over my tank =( It seems the 'silver bullet' wasn't the answer, or I had compunded issues: I do have a single chamber tank, and high clay content soil, hard/well water with salt softner. That seems to be a deadly combination too; and could be why many folks around me have the sprayer style tanks (not sure of the name, it empties off fluid like a sprinkler)
So more research, finally found this place, Try oxy clean to 'clear' the lines, tried that, no help. Try jet washing them, bought a clog hog, seemed they were clear, I did get a little black sludge to come out; but thats all, the hose went it's full distance easily.
So then tried septic seep, it says it breaks up the 'hardpan' of clay soil & salt, and aparently oxy clean breaks down into salt; and that's been my 'homemade' laundy ingrident for years.
Well it's been about another 6 months, no more flooding over the tank, altho it's been more drought than rain in that same period.
BUt now to my question, I still have the ends of my lateral lines dug open, and even after adding septic seep, 2 of the 3 are always holding water, the 3rd only at rainy times.
So should they always be holding water, or should they 'dry' out at normal water usage?
Again nothing backing up to the house; not overflowing the tank?
escape08
9 y
2,069
So here's the whole story in hopes that someone might pickup on a key here or there:
So new house/septic Jul 2008. Didn't do anything but throw some RidX down the toilet semi regularly (monthly unless I forgot). Reading online at different intervals to pump I finally got it pumped out Apr 2014. 4 person house (adults as 2 are teens). Hard well water run thru a salt water softner (does not drain into tank/field). Also soil is very clay.
So about 6 months after pumping I start getting soggy yard & then black sludge in the grass. Do some googeling (unfortunatly did not frind Grizz's huge topic) and determined we needed to convert to areboic system. Ordered & installed an aeroator into my single chamber tank. A few weeks later sludge is gone, no more tank overflowing. YAY! it's fixed....
Until a few months ago, tank is now overflowing with any high usage (laundry day, etc). Lids are just a few inches under dirt, and the bubbling action of the water thru the lids washed away the dirt, and left a pond over the tank. Granted at the same time the area is recieveing record setting rain fall; so I chalk it up to over saturated soil. But it's still happening, and rain is few & far between at this point. So back to the google; and now I find Grizz's awesome write up.
I have been searching for a "D Box" with no luck, 110+ days and cement like soil made it difficult to dig. Bur I finally made progess this weekend, I found the ends of 2 of 3 lateral lines (the 3rd should be easy to locate now). They were not capped, just the holely PVC in gravel, ends open. Bought the clog hog, and started at the tank to the field, nothing came out, ran it 100' up the 150' lateral lines, and had a tiny bit of black sludge come out.
And finally I found where the 2 connected (septic drain line & lateral field), and it's just a 3' T over the lateral PVC lines. But it rinsed out clean, no clogs, no sludge.
I tried adding a box of Oxi Clean to laterl line #1, and added hose water for several minutes, but it just filled up the pipe with standing water. I did see some foaming action going on, but almost a week later the water is still in that pipe, hasn't drained or evaporated yet.
At this time the aerator is not running, but I'm not sure it was the culprit either as the lines seem clear.
I also have been using homemade laundry soap for the last few years, it's basicaly a combo of Borax, Baking Soda, Fels Naptha (soap), Washing Soda (Soda ash?) & Oxi Clean powder.
Now reading that salt & clay don't like each other, the fact we have salt soft water (minamal I'm sure but adds up after years), oxi clean I guess breaks down to salt, salt in all the foods, etc
My conclusion is the clay has 'hard pan"ed into no accepting anymore water.
Anyone agree/disagree?
I'm planning on ordering septic seep to add to the lines to see if it helps.
The T pipe (vs a D box) that I accidenly broke with the shovel 
The end of my lateral line (the upright pipe is what I used to feed the oxi clean into the lateral line
If not, is it possible to convert a 1000 tank into the kind that have sprayers, or is that a completly different system/setup? (most of my neighbors have this type, not sure the name of it.)
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