"James "Cubby" Culbertson" wrote in message
...
Hiya,
I had my septic tank pumped out around 6 months ago after it backed up.
I made an assumption that I had killed the bacteria off due to a number of
projects in the house that ended up with me washing some chems down the
sink (was stripping sealed saltillo floors). Anyway, 6 months later and
it appears it's backing up again. We've been very careful not to put
bleach/chlorine/etc... down the drains. We lived in the house 3 years
without even a sign of trouble and now to have to pump it twice in 6
months seems a bit much. After the last pumpout, I installed a riser and
cover just to prevent having to dig it out the next time. I'm wondering
if I should have stuffed the riser with insulation or not? Could it be
that the thing is just frozen? We've been seeing temps in the teens at
night and the low to mid 30's during the day and it's been very dry
(haven't noticed any spots in the leach field that are wet either). I'm
not really all that familiar with septic systems so am hopeful someone out
there might have some advice. I can always call the pumping service and
get the lowdown from them but if there's something simple I can do or
check, I'd prefer to do that before paying a fortune for Sunday service.
I suppose I could pull the lid and see what's what. Thanks much for any
advice you may have.
Cheers,
cc


Normal septic system consists of the tank (which holds and decomposes
solids), this flows into either a leeching pit or a leach field ( which
dispenses the liquid). If tank keeps backing up than the outlet to the leech
system or the leach system itself is plugged. Common cause is roots in the
pipe. If trees/shrubs are allowed to grow in the leech area than roots area
the problem.