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Default HOUSE WASTE TRAP IS ALWAYS CLOGGED---HELP !!!

Hi All,

I have been living in the same house for over 30 years. I am about 50 miles
north of NYC in rural Putnam County, where there are no sewer systems. We have
our own septic system. I have no problems with the septic system itself, as I
have the 900 gallon tank pumped out every 2 or 3 years. However, the house trap
gets partially clogged with what appears to be soap, and if I don't scrape it
off of the inside of the trap, my toilet downstairs starts to flush slowly. It
only builds up on the house side of the trap--the septic tank side of the trap
never gets any buildup. Every 2 or 3 months, I unscrew the house side cap, and
instead of a 3 1/2" hole, I have about a 2" hole. There is usually a build up of
what appears to be soap about 1" thick on the inside walls of the trap. I take a
screwdriver, and scrape it off, flush the downstairs toilet a few times, and it
all goes into the septic tank, and the downstairs toilet is good for a few more
months again.

When this problem started (about 8-10 years ago), we switched from powdered
soap to liquid soap in both the washing machine and dishwasher. I figured that
the powdered soap was not dissolving completely, and that was the cause of the
problem---evidently, it wasn't, as the problem still exists. It's a white mushy
coating, like congealed soap. I told my wife to cut down on the amount of soap
in both the washing machine and the dishwasher, but it still happens. Back then
both of my kids were still in the house. As of about 5 years ago, they are both
out of the house on their own, so the frequency of usage on the washing machine
and dishwasher has gon down considerably, but the buildup is still the same. Is
it possible that the buildup is some organic compound ???

Any ideas how I can cure the problem ???


RON

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Default HOUSE WASTE TRAP IS ALWAYS CLOGGED---HELP !!!

(Ron in NY) wrote in
:

Hi All,

I have been living in the same house for over 30 years. I am
about 50 miles
north of NYC in rural Putnam County, where there are no sewer systems.
We have our own septic system. I have no problems with the septic
system itself, as I have the 900 gallon tank pumped out every 2 or 3
years. However, the house trap gets partially clogged with what
appears to be soap, and if I don't scrape it off of the inside of the
trap, my toilet downstairs starts to flush slowly. It only builds up
on the house side of the trap--the septic tank side of the trap never
gets any buildup. Every 2 or 3 months, I unscrew the house side cap,
and instead of a 3 1/2" hole, I have about a 2" hole. There is usually
a build up of what appears to be soap about 1" thick on the inside
walls of the trap. I take a screwdriver, and scrape it off, flush the
downstairs toilet a few times, and it all goes into the septic tank,
and the downstairs toilet is good for a few more months again.

When this problem started (about 8-10 years ago), we switched
from powdered
soap to liquid soap in both the washing machine and dishwasher. I
figured that the powdered soap was not dissolving completely, and that
was the cause of the problem---evidently, it wasn't, as the problem
still exists. It's a white mushy coating, like congealed soap. I told
my wife to cut down on the amount of soap in both the washing machine
and the dishwasher, but it still happens. Back then both of my kids
were still in the house. As of about 5 years ago, they are both out of
the house on their own, so the frequency of usage on the washing
machine and dishwasher has gon down considerably, but the buildup is
still the same. Is it possible that the buildup is some organic
compound ???

Any ideas how I can cure the problem ???


RON

================================================== ======
Remove the ZZZ from my E-mail address to send me E-mail.


Guess you really NEED to know what it is before you can figure out how to
fix it.

Take a sample to a septic company, plumber, local extension serice are a
few thoughts.

Fo instance, any chance it's grease. That can turn white and mushy. THen
it can get hard as a rock in clumps. I can only guess just like you.
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Default HOUSE WASTE TRAP IS ALWAYS CLOGGED---HELP !!!

Ron,

One of the best household hints I've found on the interrnet came from
this newsgroup. It really works. Put a couple of large pots of water on the
stove and bring to a boil, run the hot water in the tub to heat up the pipe
and crud, por the boiling water done the drain. Repeat in all the other
sinks, tubs, and shower stalls. DO NOT DO THIS TO TOILETS.
I do this every 2 months or so, whenever the drains seem a little
sluggish. It works very well. Be careful when carrying the pots of hot water
around.

Dave M.


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Default HOUSE WASTE TRAP IS ALWAYS CLOGGED---HELP !!!

On Apr 16, 7:58*pm, (Ron in NY) wrote:
Hi All,


Next time you clean it out, grab a screwdriver full and take a whiff.
If it's soap, it'll smell like soap. Here's a big hint for you,
though:

IT'S NOT SOAP.

If, after 8-10 years of scraping this goo out of your trap, you
haven't figured out that it isn't soap, especially after changing the
type of soap you use, and reducing the amount of soap you use, there's
no hope for you.

Have you even bothered to look at what else you put down your drains
to see if perhaps that's the cause of this mysterious buildup?

The buildup is GREASE, animal fat. I bet you have bacon and eggs for
breakfast every morning, or lots of pan-fried foods. Whoever does the
dishes takes the hot pan with the still-liquid grease and rinses it
down the drain. By the time it hits that trap, it's cooled enough to
congeal and stick to the walls of the pipe, building up over time.

Get a wad of the stuff you scrape out and take a whiff some time. If
it's soap, it'll smell like soap.
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Default HOUSE WASTE TRAP IS ALWAYS CLOGGED---HELP !!!

"David L. Martel" wrote in
m:

Ron,

One of the best household hints I've found on the interrnet came
from
this newsgroup. It really works. Put a couple of large pots of water
on the stove and bring to a boil, run the hot water in the tub to heat
up the pipe and crud, por the boiling water done the drain. Repeat in
all the other sinks, tubs, and shower stalls. DO NOT DO THIS TO
TOILETS.
I do this every 2 months or so, whenever the drains seem a little
sluggish. It works very well. Be careful when carrying the pots of hot
water around.

Dave M.



Well if it is grease, this will get it out to the septic tank. And if
you're reall lucky out in the leech lines.
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