Questions tagged [septic]
Questions related to septic systems
147
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Landscaping in a septic leach field
So we have nine people living in our house. Several teenagers means lots of showers and laundry. We have a pretty persistent wet spot at the end of our leach field but the system has been inspected ...
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Downstairs bubbling toilet when upstairs shower runs
What could cause the downstairs toilet in the middle of the house to bubble (and sometimes make the water disappear) when someone takes a shower upstairs all the way at the far side of the house?
Info ...
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2
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Why does my septic vent pipe cap pop off? [closed]
Why does the vent cap on the vent pipe that is located in our yard occasionally pop off? Does the vent cap need to be tightly secured? Thank you.
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What's the impact of Chlorine on prefabricated concrete ring well
I have a percolation pit made up of 5 cement rings.
I use this percolation pit to hold filtered water from septic tank.
I would like to drop chlorine tablet ( 1.67gm Water Purification Tablets, Each ...
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33
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Smart/Wi-Fi septic alarm monitors? [closed]
I'm looking for the way to be alerted remotely when I get a septic pump alarm in my summer house. The septic pump is a traditional one, with a buzzer that goes off when the float gets too high and ...
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199
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How to design my own septic tank filter
My building has septic tank on its southeast corner.
I have no manhole cover, i.e, upward/eastward/westward/northward access to my septic tank, it's all covered.
I can access it through south wall ...
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2
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Do we need an air vent pipe for percolation (septic) tank?
I'm going to set up water percolation tank( made of cement rings ) for filtered septic water from septic tank.
Is it necessary to have air vent pipe? but it could cause some foul smell.
Would it be a ...
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1
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Using a septic tank for toilet black water only
Can you use a septic tank only with black water from the toilet? I am planning to reuse the other water (shower, sinks, kitchen) and only use the septic tank for the black water coming from the toilet....
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Concrete pour: consolidation vs too dry mix
Resealed the outlet baffle on a septic tank, and noticed a smallish crack under the outlet on the tank extending about 18in down, a little bit of the grey water was weeping out of the crack. I poured ...
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4
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390
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Can I run septic effluent through a series of filters and get clean water out the other end? [closed]
Let's pretend that my leach field suddenly malfunctions ... but we need to continue occupying our house ... so we route the septic tanks effluent through a progressively more aggressive series of 4 or ...
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133
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Discovered old dry well or septic tank with muddy water - can I just fill it in?
My house has been on the sewer main for 30+ years (original house built 1959, at least three owners ago), but a hole opened up about ten feet from my foundation. Looking down, it's a round cavity, 4 ...
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Why is my toilet bowl filling up?
It's been 4 months since we moved in to the newly constructed house and the septic tank is quite large (like 10 feet length, 6 feet depth and 8 feet width).
Water seems to be backing up in the toilet ...
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Is it safe to have a drain in the floor out to the septic tank with no trap?
I had a contractor add an additional bath. When we were planning out the project, he mentioned my lack of a water heater valve drain pan. Instead, he installed a drain directly into the septic line ...
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How to stop foul smell in toilet
My toilet always leaves some kind of foul smell not sure how it happens , all the toilets and septic tank has vent pipe too.
I personally checked my WC and it's properly attached with floor and it's ...
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Does this septic tank have built in baffles?
I had a septic tank delivered and want to understand what needs to be done for the hookup (I'm not doing it myself, just want to be sure I understand the requirements).
I'd seen / read that you ...
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Digging out septic lid but going through unexpected material
I bought this house with a septic system two months ago, and we had the septic system inspected, which left two clear dug-up areas in the lawn. I am digging up what I think is the inlet lid (closer to ...
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Home condensation pump emptying into sewage pipe. Is this functionally okay?
I was looking at a house and noticed they had a condensation pump for a hot water heater going directly into one of the houses sewage pipes, which empties into the property's septic tank. See images ...
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Septic tank TLC (Europe)
We are getting some odors; at least partly from our septic tank. We purchased the house a year ago; and don't have any detailed plumbing schematics. So trying to work out what is currently happening; ...
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How to proactively detect a clogged sewer drain pipe?
Is there a way to detect that a sewer drain pipe has clogged and is in the process of backing up? I'm not looking for a) advice like "don't put grease or tampons down the drain" or b) here ...
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3
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90
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Sewer connection with lift pump, or septic tank?
My wife and I are considering a building lot.
The city ran a sewer line down the street in front of the lot early this spring, so connecting to the sewer is a possibility, but would require a lift ...
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2k
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How should I interpret these septic system diagram markings?
We bought a house built in 1996 with a sand filter septic system. We got the following diagram of the system:
but it might as well be ancient runes to us.
Specific questions:
What does "D.F.S.B....
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202
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Garage drain isn't draining, how can I figure out where it ends?
My house is a 1977 ranch with double garage underneath and it has septic tanks. A round drain in the garage seems to go to the left as that's where the vacuum hose goes when I put it in the drain, but ...
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2k
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Is an air admittance valve suitable on a sewage ejector pump basin?
My contractor recently installed a sewage ejector pump for a new basement bathroom that will feed waste to a septic tank. The pump will be handling a toilet, shower, and two sinks. I have some ...
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Septic PVC Collar Leaking - Surfacing Wastewater
Issue
I noticed a few days ago that the snow around my septic tank has been melting/iced. I didn't think much of it at first, because there wasn't much of an odor, and it was clear. However, after ...
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Running a gas line to the garage
Hey guys I need to run a buried gas line from my house to the garage. Its about 60 ft run. It passes through my driveway (gravel). How deep am I supposed to burry it to be safe? What line should I buy?...
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214
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Can salt water kill bacteria in septic tank
My septic tank has open bottom and as it's rainy season and the salt water from the ground (clay) is coming up to a foot, but I'm wondering whether it can kill all the bacteria (anaerobic, aerobic) ...
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Can sludge in septic tank prevent water from draining into the ground
I am just wondering whether sludge that settles at the bottom of the septic tank can block the water from draining(discharging) into the ground.
If yes then what are the steps that we have to take to ...
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140
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Do I need buffer walls in septic tank
I studied somewhere that a septic tank should have 2 buffer walls so one side water enters and all the sludge settles down in first chamber and the water that overflows above the first buffer wall is ...
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177
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Can someone help me identify these rough-in pipes in my basement?
I recently purchased this home and am interested in figuring out what these pipes are for, if not a rough-in.
I have a 3" pipe coming from slab at exactly 13" from wall on center.
Then three ...
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Cement holding tank
I have a new 1000 gallon cement holding tank with no plumbing or drains hooked up yet I went to the property today and it is completely full of water. Is it broken? Thanks for any help.
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Can open bottom septic tank weaken the building foundation
My building has a septic tank which is at the bottom of the groundfloor. Basically it's right underneath the building and it has open bottom.
I'm worried if this can weaken the soil (Clay ground) ...
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95
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Septic alarm went off. Pump running. Unknown valve in closed position. Is there DIY fix or tank needs to be drained?
Recently bought a home with septic system and alarm went off. I silenced it:
It seems it has been in continuous mode for at least last few months. First question - Is this the expected mode or should ...
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431
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Brittle material flaking off in toilet
just moved into my first rural property which is on well and septic.
Today I noticed that the upstairs toilet had a weird flat object lying in the bowl that seemed to have come loose from flushing. I ...
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397
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How do I troubleshoot my Septic Tank Alert and replace the float switch?
While tracing some errant electrical current, I ended up in the big concrete riser above the septic tank. The electrical is in there, rather than outside on a pedestal as is normal now. There, I ...
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Leach field absorption layer below trench
This is my first question here. I am in the process of designing a leach field. There is only a depth of 45cm (20") of soil (good perc test) after that another 20cm (8") of large stones in ...
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232
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Water softener - safe to discharge into septic?
Is it okay to connect a water softener discharge so it goes to the regular drain which feeds to a septic system, or may it cause harm or impair the system?
It seems like online there are articles ...
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504
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What should I do about accidentally penetrating a septic field line?
I'm buying a piece of property and recently did a perc test on it in order to find a suitable place for a septic system. The current owner of the property installed a septic system a few years back, ...
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859
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Should I install a second septic tank or add a long run for an outbuilding?
We have a barn in which we want to install a flush toilet (for human use). It is 53' from the home's septic tank.
Would it be better to install a septic tank near the barn to service the toilet and ...
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2
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860
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Green grass streaks over septic tank field
I've noticed in my yard where the septic tank is that there are two rows of green streaks of grass going in a single direction for about 20 yards or so.
Is this a sign for concern or normal for a ...
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1k
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Septic system was designed for 3 bedrooms but we need 4, what are my options? [closed]
We're looking to build an in-law space and for it to be legal it has to have a bedroom, which means our septic is undersized. The town has our house listed as three bedrooms (It's actually already ...
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124
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Propane and septic pipes
Is it safe to have a propane line (within a PVC conduit) cross a septic pipe (house to septic tank) underground?
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862
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Septic tank pumped 6 months ago, filter cleaned 2 weeks ago, toilet backing up again. Plumbing or septic problem?
I have a septic tank that was pumped out 6 months ago. The toilets started backing up and one was leaking from the base. I had plumber out, they snaked line to septic tank but said the tank needed ...
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What is this pipe? It leaks when the sink runs
I have a pipe that is halfway under a door jamb and inside the concrete floor which when I run a the sink water is now coming out of it. This pipe is next to our AC blower unit inside the basement. I ...
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Stacking septic leach fields
I am getting ready to build a house and the state code is 100 ft of leach field per bedroom. Due to the size of the lot I am limited to where I can place the house due to the leach field length code. ...
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2
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How to change waste pipe fitting with a small amount of male pipe to work with?
I'm adding a 4th bathroom to my home and need to update the waste pipe going to the septic tank from 3" to 4". The pipe coming out of the foundation immediately transitions from 4" to 3&...
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52
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Unknown wire in septic tank pump installation
I have a septic lift pump station. When I open the outdoor control box I find one wire-nut connection connecting the 12V 14-2 wire from indoor low voltage alarm box with wire to high level float that ...
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46
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Do I need an emergency septic pumping or to have pipes cleaned when toilets flood after cleaning filter?
I own a rental property with a septic tank built in 2010. There are about 5 people living there and it was last pumped out 18 months ago. Their toilets started flooding yesterday. I dug out the ...
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289
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well pump will not fill pressure tank
Just installed a Wayne WLS150 water sprinkler pump in addition to a 20 gallon pressure tank on our boat dock. The tank has a 40-60 pressure switch on it. Pump works well and pumps an enormous amount ...
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3
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11k
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Purpose of septic vents both in the yard and also through the roof?
My house has both septic venting that goes up through the roof and also a vent in the yard. What is the need for the yard vent? Is this vent a requirement (code or otherwise)? A "best practice&...
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Can a septic effluent filter be installed on a pumped system?
I have found only 4"+ and larger septic effluent filters, and they all are not rated for pressure or the flow rates of a pumped system. This leads me to believe that there are not effluent filters ...
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