Some of your advice is good, others are questionable. Baker's yeast does
nothing for a septic tank. Toilet paper is not a problem for a properly
built septic tank and keeping a pail full of ****ty toilet paper in the
bathroom is disgusting. Frost in Canada goes much deeper than 20 inches or
even 36 inches. In southern Ontario we regularly get 48 inch deep frost
sometimes up to 60 inches. Most septic tanks should not be 30 to 36 inches
deep to the top or the drain field will be too deep for proper operation.

I have a 35 year old septic system that is still working good. The rules I
work with is keep the amount of water sent to the septic tank to a minimum.
Do not send laundry water to the septic tank, powdered detergents clog up
the system and synthetic fibres from the wash water get flushed down the
drain field where they do not decompose causing the drain field to
permanently plug up. No cooking oils nor grease down the drains. Minimum
amounts of bleach and other sterilizers are used. Pump every year or every
two years maximum.

"Grandpa Dan" wrote in message
...
Cubby,
I don't know where you are living but frost doesn't go any lower than
approx
20 inches in the ground. In cases where there is no snow, frost may go as
much as 36''. I live in eastern Canada and the first thing I done when I
purchased my home was to dig up the tank to see the condition and put an
extension on the clean out. The piece that I have is approx 36'' deep. To
date(knocks on wood) I've never had any problems.
Here are some questions, things to look for and a few suggestions.
How much soil(deep) is covering your tank?
The tank should be covered ground level with at least 2-1/2 to 3 ft of
dirt
Is the vent in the roof of the home un-obstructed?
If the vent is bent,plugged or capped off, the system could get air
locked.
Is your sewage system up to code have a distribution box and septic field
with 4 lines running away.
This is the first question you should be asking and is there a sufficient
grade running away from the home.
Is there ground water from a spring anywhere near by?
If the ground is saturated wet from other sources such as changes made by
road work crews in the area to change ground water direction then you
could
contact the municipal government in the area to correct it. If the water
table is high or the distribution lines are not grade properly than you
would see problems.
Do you flush tissue paper down the toilet?
I have no idea how many people are using the toilet(s) in your home but to
get an idea, ask wife or yourself, how often do you buy bum wad? Once you
get an idea, multiply that and you can draw from that how much paper you
flushed in 6 months. It takes years for paper to break down in a tank. You
should instead put a small container in the bathroom lined with a bag and
discreetly dispose of the tissue tied up and tossed into a regular garbage
bag with the rest of the household trash. You could flush several packs of
bakers yeast in the toilet monthly, this promotes a healthy culture of
Bacteria in your tank.
In the basement of the home, do you have a clean out access where the
sewage
goes out?
If your plumbing is done right then it must have one of these per code, so
it would be wise to open it up and look for the obvious and run a snake
thru
it.
Do you have a back water valve? This prevents sewage from backing up in
your
home so you should find out if you have one and see why it is or isn't
working and if indeed the baffle in the tank is not clogged up.
What do you do with the grease from cooking? If you answer that you pour
it
down the sink or toilet than you have created your problem as the PVC pipe
acts just like an artery and a cholesterol build up and everything is
choked
off. The only difference is, grease sticks better to the inside of a cold
piece of pipe. thank god for that or we'd be all dead.
How do you know the septic or chemicals is the problem?
The tank under normal conditions when you open the lid should always be
full
of water but low in waste, that's common sense as the run out to the
distribution box is located at the top at the back of the tank.
If you are flushing chemicals(bad boy) than you must be flushing
everything
and anything. Cut back on the tissue paper, give up flushing everything
besides what it is intended for and it will serve you well. Give the pipes
a
good cleaning with a snake and hot water, remove and replace them if you
have to and make any necessary changes so it doesn't escalate into another
costly venture.
Mine has been working effortlessly for the past 10 years and I have yet to
open it for any reason.



"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