I bought a house built in 1975 and the septic system is original to the house a couple of months ago. Last night I had my first back up in the basement from the septic. The septic guys came out this morning and noticed a root growing in front of my inlet valve. They hit is loose the the water from the house came flying out.

When I had the house inspected, and I am new to the septic tank world, so maybe it was my ignorance, but the inspector noticed the root at the inlet valve, but told me it wasn't any issue as he flushed over 150 gallons out of the house to do his stress test on the system and there were no clogs and the drain field was fine.

My questions are:

The septic guys from this morning want to replace the inlet up to the house. After looking in the basement, it looks to be cast iron running out of the house. The septic guys want to charge me about $2000 for the repair. Is it worth it? They showed me what they did by knocking the root out of the way for the house to drain. Couldn't I just save money and do that? Or with the age of the system, these clogs might cause other serious problems down the road for the septic as a whole.

$2000 is a lot of money and I have called to other companies and they have told me different things to do, so i was seeing if someone who has some experience, that isn't trying to sell ice to an Eskimo give me some insight. Thanks.

 

How far away from the Septic Inlet is the tree where the "root(s)" originate ?

Wouldn't you first want to deal with the cause of the blockage ?

Copper sulphate can discourage the invasion by roots; but how valuable is the tree which is so intent on invading your waste water system ?

That's the culprit.

 

The main drain line from house to septic tank is a simple component.

Replacing it will not cause complications with other components of the septic system.

Alternatively you could have the line reamed out. Here you would have to open the septic tank hatch(es) and verify that pieces of roots and debris dropped into the septic tank (no problem) versus hung up at the inlet baffle (big problem).

Subject to local codes and laws you could replace it yourself. You need to be sure it is continuously sloped downward.

Ask about things one at a time here and most likely one of us could tell you which ones are easy to do yourself.

 

Problem is I would have to guess which tree's roots are at the inlet, I have about twelve tree on the perimeter of the property, and yes if I know which tree it is I would go ahead and get myself some firewood for this winter. The closest tree is about 40 feet away from the septic itself.

Thank you for the tip on the Copper sulphate

 

Have the roots mechanically cut with a snake and treat with root x Have a video inspection done to make sure pipe is intact and in good codition

... Then yearly after that

Pump the septic tank every 3 years


RootX : Homeowners : FAQs

 

If you replace the drain line, roots will not attack it (until it leaks in which case the roots will try to grow and follow the water).

 

I agree with AllenJ. The only way a root could get into the pipe is a crack or separation has occurred in the pipe. Spend the money and have the pipe replaced. If you don't, you will have many problems later on. You may have recourse to have the previous owner fix it. The inspector should have noted the roots in his report.

 

What county are you in ?
Unless the inlet pipe is broke you should not need to replace it. Just have a drain cleaner polish the inside of the pipe with a cutter head.
Just because you have roots in your tank does not mean you have roots in your pipe.
Your outlet pipe probably is ready for replacement.
Your tank is probably a mid-seam tank & the roots are getting in the mid-seam & between the top slab & top section of your tank.
If your taxable income is less than $300,000.00 a year & you would like to have MD pay for a new BAT wastewater treatment system. MD will pay for it & 5 years of maintenance.
Here is MDE's website on it Bay Restoration Fund Pre-application for Financial Assistance for OSDS Projects.
There are 4 systems to choose from & I would recommend one, but I do not know if that would violate this forum's policy. There is only one I would put in my house.
If you get the new system installed you will get a much better price on replacing the outlet pipe, because they will be already there doing work.
The Bay Restoration Fund only pays for the removal of the old tank, electrical hook-up, new tank, installation of the tank & 5 years of maintenance. That 5 years of maintenance does not include pumping of the tank. The service provider will let you know when it needs to be pumped. The service provider is suppose to sludge judge the tank at least once a year.
Also, septic inspections in MD are a joke. Most inspectors do not do a proper inspection. The only requirement is that the inspector pass a MDE approved course.http://www.mde.state.md.us/programs/...20Transfer.pdf