Are the toilets in your home backing up? This would probably be the most disgusting and the most awful thing that you could ever experience from your own septic system. There is nothing more terrible than just doing your business in the toilet and then having it back up again when you flush. You can never forget that and you would probably be upset for an entire month or until everything is all right. One toilet is enough but when the other toilet in your house back up all t the same time, it can pretty much be classified as a dire emergency.
Your septic system is something to be regarded as a living organism. Just like you, when it is not taken care of, it gets sick. And when your toilets back up, it is a symptom that something should pay attention to. Your toilets are backing up because you may have blockages in your indoor drains and pipes or your septic system might be failing. What should you do then if you suspect that you have a septic crisis? Read the following:
1. If your toilet is backing up all of a sudden, you should check all the drains as well. Do this by running water down each drain. If the water is not running down or is running down slow, it is possible that you have a clog or a blockage. When you discover that all your drains have the same issue, then your septic tank is really backed up.
2. Go to the toilet in the basement or on the first floor of your house. If they back up as well. It is a sign that your system is backed up and worse, your septic system is really failing.
3. Make a visual inspection of your septic system but don’t just look at what is superficial. Check the pipelines, d-box, and drain field. Upon inspection of your drain field, try to look for wet, squishy, and black water areas that have a very foul smell.
4. Get a plumbing snake and run it down your toilet or drain to check for clogs. Solid wastes, a broken pipeline, or damage by tree roots may cause this. If the snake gets t clear the line, then your septic tank is definitely not backed up.
5. You could hire a septic professional to lift the lid of your septic tank and measure the height or thickness of the sludge or scum that has accumulated. It the measurement from the bottom of the tank yields less than a foot to a foot, you have to pump out your septic tank. Some septic tank covers do not have a riser. If your septic tank cover is like this, then just have one installed so that your tank will be easier to access next time.
Remember that water always gets its way. Your tank may already be overflowing or full and obviously, this doesn’t permit the wastewater to get in anymore. That’s why your toilets back up. Have you septic tank empties and pumped out. You should’ve done this on regular basis (every 3 or 4 years). You could also have the solidified soaps residues removed if you use the powdered kind. It is more ideal to use liquid detergents.
Another reason why your toilet is backing up is that your drain field might be failing. This is caused by the heavy sludge accumulation in your septic tank that has not been pumped out regularly. The sludge has been stirred up and dispersed into the drain field that caused it to be blocked and fail. If this is the case, you should seek the help of your septic professional and have your septic system assessed. If the drain field can still be saved, then you will have less expense. But if you’re septic system needs to be replaced, then you have to be ready for a large amount to be spent.