Septic tank back up!

[JoeR]

This is a new one to me! My septic tank backed up, and it was pumped out 16 months ago! My house is less than 4 years old. Now I start to panic that I have a defective drain field. So, I called the septic pumping company, and the guy tells me it is probably my septic filter. After hearing this, I think he is pulling a fast one. He said he would be out the next day, and I said, "I gotta see this, and I will be there!". I am thinking he is going to rip me off, and I am ready for him to prove his point. So he opens the tank and sure enough it is full and putting back pressure on the drain from the house. I say, where is the elusive filter! He says it is on the other side, and he digs out the septic tank cover for the other side. Sure enough, he opens it, and pulls out a plastic strainer looking filter! The water rushes into the drain field in seconds! I said what the heck is this?? A filter on a drain field? He said it is a good concept idea, but grease, slime, and hair plug it up fast! Now I sit here just amazed! I have a septic tank filter!

At my old house, I never had a filter and it didn't get pumped but every 10 years... This filter has caused me some money!

Should I leave the filter out, or put it back in? All I can say is the filter is like a pool strainer, with about the same 1/8" openings. The thought of cleaning it is a little disturbing. Almost like the TV show, World's dirtiest jobs...


Thanks,

Joe

[Pat]

Joe, It is a good news bad news deal. The good news is that you have a filter which protects your leach field from stuf that can plug it and render it totally useless and force its replacement which is a major major pain in the drain.

The bad news is that instead the filter plugs up and requires service. Better to service the filter periodically than to ever have to redo the leach field.

Someone could have two sets of filter media and periodically (even before needed,probably) he could swap the filters. Then there would be no panic rush to clean it right then and get it back in service. You could take your time and maybe imerse the dirty one in lye or whatever to disolve hair (a chief contaminant) and whatever else like grease (another bad thing if not digested properly.) If it were me I'd be looking for a better way to access the filter than calling a septic guy to dig it up. Install an access riser with lid at the surface and hide or camoflage it with landscaping if needed for aesthetics.

Having a filter is a good thing if you want the septic system to last a good long time.

Now stand by for a barage of annecdotal claims of how filters are not needed because THEIR septic system worked fine without one etc. etc.

The filter wasn't put in there to be a PITA it is there for good cause and is a GOOD THING. The major points of grief for you were 1. ignorance which has been cured by experience and education and 2. having only one filter and a big hassle to access it. Both of these items can be remedied at moderate cost.

Best of luck whatever you choose to do.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[JoeR]

Thanks Pat! I feel the same way you do, but access is a real problem with this filter. I too think the filter is cheaper than fixing a drain field. I wish the filter design was a little more refined, such as ease of access and the filter itself seems to clog easily. Septic tanks don't have a constant flow of fluid to keep material from building up on the filter, so the small openings on the filter are not a good idea.

Thanks,

Joe

[Pat]

Joe, If your access problem is not the digging which could be replaced with a riser assy with cover at the surface but is instead difficulty in R&R of the filter assy then there is hope. There are filter assemblies to be bought for adding on to a system. perhaps you could retrofit a different filter assy and make it a lot easier to deal with. I like the idea of having at least two filter elements, one intalled and one in reserve for a "quick change" which will let you put off the cleaning task till a convenient time and allow for a good soak in lye or whatever to disolve hair and such.

Best of luck whatever you decide to do.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[MarineJAG]

A Septic Filter is new to me as well. I have an older house w/out such a device and have had the septic open a couple of times. There is a t-pipe on the exit of the septic which is suppose to keep solids from entering the drain field. Is there something wrong with this time-tested concept to where we now need filters?

[Pat]

Marine Dude, I have this older car with a manual crank start. Is there something wrong with this time-tested concept to where we need electric start?

Sorry, couldn't resist. I know you have a sense of humor and will survive the jibe. Just like old home remedies with camphor, sulphur, and such have been replaced by modern pharmaceuticals, there have been advances in technology with septic systems. (See also THE INFILTRATOR system, a replacement and vast improvement over gravel or chunked up old tires in the leach field .)

No, filters are not a must. Neither is looking both ways before crossing the street but both are prudent and practial responses to extant reality.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[MarineJAG]

[img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] I guess with that car you are set in the winter never needing to worry about your battery going dead.

[RobS]

Hi Joe, I have the same filter in our new house (actually, just outside of it [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] ). Our old house did not have one and that may have been the reason we had to pay some extra money at sale time for a new septic field. They claim a major contributor to failure of the field was solids from the tank.

So we have this filter now. I had the same experience you did less than a year into the house. I was sure it was a field problem and was frantically looking up the warranty info. Called the builder and they mentioned the filter. Builder told me how to clean it and it's not bad at all.

You'll need a length of 3/8 steel rod and a hose. Bend the end of the rod into a short "L". Just a couple of inches on the short leg. You can bend a similar leg on the other end for a handle if you like, or a welded on "T" handle would be even better. Use this new tool to lift the lid then on down into the water for the filter. It's not too far below the lid level. Hook the "L" into the handle on top of the filter, twist and remove straight up. Water will flow out the outlet pipe which you have now exposed. Use the hose to rinse the filter right back into the tank and replace. Takes about five minutes total. I take a very satisfying shower afterwards which gets any errant gookies off and reminds me of my success as the water flows down the drain.

They recommended to us to rinse the filter twice a year and pump the tank every other year. I don't like that I have to do that, but it's still cheaper than a new field system. Apparently, there are a lot of things in our waste these days that weren't in our parents waste [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[JoeR]

That's a good idea on the tool Rob. My wife and I have been discussing this, and she says to leave the filter in, but then I asked a question. Does the filter prevent damage to the drainfield from ignorance? Like people who flush cigarette butts, or tampon applicators, and hair. Or does the filter actually extend the life of the drainfield? I noticed drainfields are different too, and they no longer use rock. Could the filter be implemented to overcome a design change in the septic field? If there is no rock, then larger material would not deposit in the large openings and would stay in the pipe since it can't infiltrate the sand.

On Monday, I plan on calling the County Environmental Health Department so I can get the reasoning behind all this. I really want to understand the reason in the design change. It seems the same design has worked for 50+ years, and suddenly we changed. Maybe the drain field has changed, and we need to better protect it??

Sorry for the rant, I am just typing as I think since this has me really wondering.

Thanks,

Joe

[egon]

The filter probably keeps synthetic materials from clothes etc. out of the drain field. They may not react to bacterial action and plug the field.

Egon