r/septictanks

My domestic water system is very hard (iron/manganese) and it's impossible to keep rust stains from forming on the porcelain toilet bowl. I've found the best cleaning solution to be 20º Baume diluted half and half with water. I remove as much standing water in the bowl and pour in a pint of this solution and let it stand for twenty minutes, then scrub and flush (1.6 gallons). I do this about once a month. This flows into a 750 gallon plastic septic tank.

How destructive is this to the biology of the tank? Would following this treatment with a dose of baking soda mitigate any bad effect? If so, how much to use? Or would it be smarter to not flush at all, use a bilge pump to empty the solution from the bowl and dispose of it somewhere else?

I just had the tank pumped and I'd like to maintain the best conditions until the next pump out.

Ugh. Okay, so a very tired mother of a baby thinks she might have flushed a few non-flushable wipes down the toilet instead of putting them in the garbage as she intended. Since the trash has wipes in it anyway, she can't even say she's 100% whether she actually did it or not.

Totally understandable to have a "brain fart" when you're up all night breastfeeding. The question is what to do now . . .

The way I see it, assuming she really did flush them, there are a few things that could have happened:

1. One or more wipes snagged somewhere in pipes or baffle at entrance to septic (but we have a very short run of maybe 10-12 feet from the toilet to that entrance.

2. Wipes sank in septic tank.

3. Wipes are floating in septic tank.

In those cases (and it could be all three), here's what I think I should do:

1. Monitor drains for backup; it it happens try snaking cleanouts myself, and call for professional help if that doesn't work.

2. We are extremely lucky and will be fine until our next pump out in three years.

3. Eventually, the floating wipes will clog the effluent filter. Instead of the usual annual cleaning, I will give it a few extra cleanings this year, maybe every 3-4 months.

Thoughts? Thank you!!!

In May of 2025, our septic tank alarm went off, indicating that the tank was full. We had it pumped and all was well. About 3 weeks later, alarm went off again. Pulled the cover off and sure enough tank is full again. Called the same guys back out and had it pumped again. They said that the pump was likely bad. We’d only lived in the house for about 6 months, but it was built in 2016 and as far as we could tell, the pump had not been replaced in all that time, so it going out after 9 years seemed reasonable. We replaced the sump pump and again, all is well. After about 6 months, the alarm goes off again. Pump is not pumping. Husband troubleshoots and discovers that gently tapping the discharge pipe with a shovel gets the pump working again. For the past 6 months, are septic tank alarm has gone off every 2 to 4 weeks. Pump just isn’t pumping. Every single time, husband has fixed it by gently tapping the discharge pipe with a shovel. The float is fine and is not getting hung up on anything, but we’ve moved it a few times to confirm.
Any idea what could be causing this? Tapping the discharge pipe temporarily fixes it, and I’m hoping that a professional may recognize what is going on.
Do we just have a defective pump?

$2250.00

Dig outside of tank to uncover discharge line. Install tee fitting inside of septic tank and install outside cleanout on discharge side.

Anybody around the Lowell area have a septic field fail? If so what did it cost to fix? How did you fix it? What did it cost?

And I don't want to now rant! But all the homes outside of the city that I am looking to buy, have them. I live in a state surrounded by five ginormous lakes!!! Problem : I don't want to be restricted with water usage .... I like to be able to use water whenever I need it. I don't want to be restricted with any bathroom tissue usage...and What brand am I allowed to buy.... what brand am I NOT allowed to buy... OH Well, You're allowed to buy anything that says septic tank safe. Oh hold on there no you're not. You're better off buying the 1 ply. It dissolves quicker. Yeah I know, it dissolves in my hand while I'm using it. Not a good option. and what time to take a shower and , "Don't Go off taking One of those long showers now!..... They use up too much water! ".... "Also, it's best to use one of those modern toilets that don't flush crap down." Yeah, I love flushing twice. ...and don't forget to tell all your guests how many toilet paper squares they're allowed to use at one sitting. What a nightmare!! 😖😫😮‍💨

We have been renting a property on septic since June 2024. We were careful, had nets over the sink drains to catch food waste, didn't drain any oil/grease, never did laundry excessively, no exotic toilet papers, etc.

Well, in August 2025, the bathtub and kitchen sink started gurgling​​ whenever someone flushed the toilet. We thought it was a blocked drain, but after only a few days we ended up having septic backing up into the tub. Landlord ended up having the tank pumped, which cheesed him off slightly as it was supposed to be good until this year.

We were extra careful after that and thought we'd be good until our lease was up in 2027. Everything was fine until tonight, when the tub and kitchen sink gurgling started again. I am freaking out and don't know what I'm going to tell the landlord in the morning. Does anyone have any insight into what could be going on? Also, what can I do on my end?

If it makes any difference, the house is 100 years old and has all sorts of problems. However, I was informed that the septic tank was installed within the last decade.

ETA: All our drains seem to be draining fine except for the bathroom sink, which I thought was clogged with soap scum, but now I'm not sure.

At my house I have what is called a Spray Irrigation Wastewater Disposal System and I used to have a service contract with a company that no longer does it. I have a solid grasp of the general idea of how and what to take care of, especially given the previous homeowners notes on it shown in the picture.

I know the sand in the sand filter system needs replaced but I don't know how much sand it would take or what kind you would use for it. I called one company who works on these systems but they want $400 just to come out and put eyes on it. I just had a guy out who cleaned my filer, pumped the solids, and looked over everything and charged me $320 for all of it. However, he doesn't know the sand needed or how much to give me a quote to replace it. So I am hoping someone can help me with that so I don't have to pay $400 just for information.

I can also provide pictures of my actual system if that would help. I believe the sand filter is 60 sq ft if that helps any.

Edit: Spelling.

Escarpment setback

I’m dealing with a new sanitarian and his interpretation of intersecting layers is much different than mine.

I can get the required 125’ per 150 gallons to fit in the only suitable area for a repair and maintain a 25’ setback from the natural down gradient escarpment.

He drilled one 10” deep hole in the center of the proposed area and has determined I need a 50’ setback unless I install a pretreatment system.

The rule is open to interpretation and his seasoned predecessor would have definitely approved my plan.

Any soil or regulators or designer people with suggestions on how I could “argue” this?

Adding another 20k for a pretreatment system when I feel he’s misinterpreting the rule is really bothering me.

Every company claims their toilet paper is septic safe (looking at you, Charmin, you big liar), but this isn't always true. Is bamboo toilet paper ok for septic? Truth time!

septic installed early 2000s; i purchased the property in 2022; no issues until recently. mid-atlantic region, on the coast special designated flood plane. due to soil conditions, the distribution box and drain field are another plot of land about 700ft away from house & septic tank

• first septic alarm in mid-march; got it pumped out and told: "water table too high" - ok, believe it, we had a ton of rain
• few weeks later alarm goes off again; get pumped "electic to pump looks bad" - run new electic to septic pump
• last week alarm goes off AGAIN; call a different septic company for service:
  • pump is running but its not moving anything
  • truck drains some fluid; open discharge line and tons of backflow into tank. tech wants to find distribution box to see if its dry (fluid not getting to dbox) or full (not draining to field)

distribution box not marked, we cant probe deep enough; thinking depth needed 13-15 inches but ground is too hard to get past 9. walk the lot looking for some kind of marker; use health department schematics, no luck.

ongoing troubleshooting:

1. scope the discharge line looking for break or clog: but the scope is only so long and cant do the entire lengh of line
   1. is it possible to locate the scope and install secondary access/clean out so they can scope the first xxxft then move to access and scope further
2. excavate second plot in order to locate distribution box
   1. i dont know what it would mean and possible solutions if the drain field is "full" or cant leech any more

inspector who claims to have looked at the distribution box at time of home purchase is not answering phone calls

company that installed the septic says they instaled pvc markers back when originally installed (early 2000s) says "we put it where the home owner pointed so schematics might not be accurate; also people bush hogged those lots a while back and ripped all our markrs out"

So for the past week, and foreseeable future, kids and i are taking outdoor showers; paper plates; and flushing as little as possible.......getting towards the end of "this is a fun adventure; like camping" and moving towards "how much money is worth getting this solved tomorrow"