on Sunday my wife ran the washing machine and dish washer at the same time and both of the toilets gurgled and the water drained from them and water backed up into both showers. We have not had a problem since. I do not know if it is the vent on the roof or if the septic tank is full. We had the tank drained 3 years ago. I have a septic guy coming tomorrow afternoon to drain the tank. I asked him if the tank wasn't full if he would still charge me and he said it would still be about $150. It's a 1,000 gallon tank and we have 3 people in the house.

My wife is always on a lot of antibiotics and some of them are very strong. This is why I was thinking it is a full septic tank.

Does it sound like a full tank or a vent problem? I don't want to pay the guy to drain the tank then it turn out to be just a vent problem.

 

Not sure what your wife being on antibiotics has to do with a full septic tank.
A septic tank should always be full of liquid to the top and the solids settle to the bottom.
If the tank was full you would not be able to flush the toilet or run the sink without it back up into the drains.
I'd want to be there when it gets pumped to see if as it empty's water runs back into the tank from the leach field.
If it does then the field has failed or there's an issue with the distribution box.

 

Antibiotics kill the bacteria that digest the solids in a septic tank. Right? Thanks what I have been told as well as what I have read online.

Why would you say it's the leech fields? The septic guy i spoke with on the phone said it sounds like the tank is backing up and causing a blockage at the T

 

Missing my point.
If the tank is full of liquid and not solids then the leach field may have failed.
It's very common to have an older leach field fail.
Yes certain chemicals can stop the solids from breaking down, but for it to have caused a back up the solid's would have had to have back up to the outlet for the leach field, Not likely in 3 years.

 

If it was a clogged drain field problem wouldn't it be a constant problem? We have not had any problems since Sunday. Also we have been having an off and on sewer smell from the kitchen sink. Not sure if that could be related.

Trying to figure out if I need to cancel the septic guy and have a plumber come out?

I should point out that the house was built in 2006 and the tank got full in 4 years (pumped in October 2010). We have since had a child (5 year old) who is using the bathroom now which would make it fill up faster. My wife worked before our child was born and she does not work now. Is 3 years really to soon for it to fill up when it filled in 4 years previously?

 

Have the tank pumped... Cheap insurance... Post back on what the septic guy says...

If water does come back from the field when he pumps they the feild may have issues...

Yes you could destroy a field in no time. Especially if solids are getting into the field.. Failed baffle? No filter?

It would be in your best interest to add a filter to the outlet...

Last , human waste has more bacteria in it then anything off the shelf... I dont think your wifes use of antibiotics will affect your septic.....

Again tank will always be full of water. Septic guy will let you know if its active or dead in the septic. There should be a scum layer and when he pumps a sludge layer. He will tell you.

Please let us know....

 

The tank was FULL!! It turns out I have 2 septic tanks. The main one drains into a second one which feeds the field lines. The second tank had ONLY water in it.

 

My system has 1 tank but 2 compartments. The 2nd compartment/tank would have less solids than the 1st. IF your 1st tank is almost all liquid, it generally means your drain field isn't operating correctly. It's the drain field's job to disperse the water. The tanks are always 'full' before the sewage water can go out to the drain field.

 

No you don't understand. The pipe coming from the house goes to the 1st tank. Then a pipe goes to the 2nd tank. I have two separate tanks that sit next to each other. The 1st tank was full to the lid of "solids" and the 2nd tank was full of ONLY water. The field lines are connected to the 2nd tank so no solids get to the field lines.

 

That is the way it's supposed to work. The 1st tank does the bulk of the work and the what makes it to the 2nd compartment is further 'cleaned' so the water that makes it out to the drain field is as clean as possible. If there are a lot of solids in the 1st tank, then the drain field should be operating correctly.

 

I actually have 2 separate tanks that are connected by a pipe. Not a 2 chamber tank with a divider wall. The septic guy said he had never seen anything like it. There is NOT a pump in the 2nd tank it is a gravity fed system. Kinda like this picture but with a pipe connecting them.

Anyone know if this is a special system of something? I understand It's a good thing that there are no solids in the 2nd tank. I just want to know and understand what system I have.

 

I'm not a septic system expert but have lived with septic tank systems for 40 yrs or more. IMO there really isn't any difference between your system and mine - yours is just bigger and cost more. When I lived in fla, a single tank was the norm, here in east tenn the norm is a 2 compartment tank although I have heard of a few areas that required a 3 compartment system. Basically the more compartments/tanks, the cleaner the water is that makes it to the drain field.

 

It is not normal, but it works really good.

Most of the time when you have 2 tanks it is for a pump, large system or a ATU.

Did they pump the 2nd tank?

They should pumped at least some of it to see if water back drained into the tank.

I would check the outlet tee & pipe on the first tank also.

Did you get a lot of rain this weekend, because your drainfield could have got flooded.

It also sounds like you need to have your tanks pumped every 2 years.

If you aerate the 1st tank you can have it pumped probably every 4 years.

 

Exactly my setup. My house was a custom built and the previous owner was an engineer who had it built. I always thought it was a good system but as marksr says it just costs more. But my house was built in 1967, maybe today the 2 compartment tanks do the same thing in a simpler manner. But your house is pretty new, so who knows?

Maybe the septic guy who said he never saw anything like it is too young.lol

 

Dont aerate the first tank... No way!!!!

OK you had the first tank pumped ...good...

How big was the second tank? Did you have that pumped? Was that 2nd tank solid or did it have holes in it?

Was it small like a distribution box for the laterals? He should have pumped the second tank to see if water came back from the field...

Let us know...

 

The level of liquid in the septic tank should be about 9 inches below the top by a few weeks after pumping and when everything is working normally. If the tank is absolutely full then there is a good chance the leach field has failed, unless a rain storm has saturated the leach field.

A two chamber tank or two single chamber tanks offer added protection of the leach field from grease (scum) and fine particulate matter (sludge) both of which clog the field and retard absorption (equals leach field failure).

Now that the (first at least) septic tank was pumped the technician should have been able to tell you about how long it should be until the next pumping, since you know when it was previously pumped. Or tell you roughly how much sludge was in the tank so you can figure out the time interval for the next pumping yourself. Also any problems inside the tank (missing baffles or T-pipes) should have been corrected at this time.

It is correct to pay the "full" charge for pumping the septic tank even if it is far from full. Repeated pumping in less than a year's time is usually a waste of money because (usually) too little sludge to migrate to the leach field has accumulated. But repeated pumping may be needed as an emergency measure when you know the leach field has failed and you are waiting to get that fixed. Here, the septic tank's role has changed to that of a holding tank.