I would dig up the distribution box next. You need to see if the water is
getting to it and if the leach lines are full. Then you need to figure out
how many lines you have and where they run. Then you need to figure out how
to add more or sharply reduce the volume you are sending to it. Perhaps do
laundry in town and/or reduce the number of people living in the house.
Maybe separate the gray water and treat it with a wetland or bog. Your
leach field is probably too small to handle the volume being sent to it and
needs to be made bigger. Two fields can work well. One field can rest
while you use the other.


"James "Cubby" Culbertson" wrote in message
news
Hiya,
Well in December I wrote asking about the possibility of a septic freezing
and causing a backup. We determined this wasn't the problem. I had the
tank pumped and the guy who came said everything looked fine. It backed
up after a large number of washes in the washing machine and he said we
may have just overloaded it. So here it is only March and the damn thing
backed up again. They've pumped it just now so I have a little time
before cursing it again but I wanted to research a few things. My leach
field is dry. There are no wet spots or standing water at all. I have
put enzyme in it in the past but I'm wondering if something like this:
http://www.amerisep.com/septic-free.html would work. Seems like snake
oil to me. Otherwise, what would you septic wizards recommend? I don't
know if there's a distribution box (I seem to remember the tank has three
lines heading out of it so I'm guessing there's not a D-box but I could
very well be wrong on that account). If I have one, do these things get
plugged up normally? The guy that pumped the system said the lines
rarely plug up and said the field must be bad. Of course this guy is
working for a company that would love to come in and destroy my yard and
charge me $$$ doing it. So before the backhoe arrives to rip down my
fence and destroy my sprinkler systems, any and all recommendations on
what to check/do are most appreciated.
Cheers,
cc