Need advice on slow draining septic tank

[koobla]

I have a few questions. I’ve been researching for a few hours and I am coming up with multiple options.

After our heavy rains on the mid-atlantic US my abused septic is grumpy.

1.) A few days ago I noticed sewage smell. I popped the access lid and the septic tank lid had overflowed. The “water” receded after a little bit. It left some sludge on the cap. The septic was put in 1994 (not heavy users, the first two owners were single kid families). It may have been pumped in the nineties but not in the last 10 years if at all (as indicated from the previous owners). We bought the home a year ago.

2.) Called to get it pumped and before the honeydipper came it overflowed again due to my water system regenerating. He pumped it out and said something was wrong and he would need to excavate to find out what was going on (typical answer? or someone trying to run up a nice bill?)

3.) I don’t have any wet spots in the field or anything that would jump out as an indicator of field failure. When he pumped out the waste, nothing came spilling back into the tank (he said would have been a clear indicator of a failed field). Is that a good indicator?

4.) We’ve really had a lot of rain recently and its slowly drying out. (could this be a culprit? I’m guessing if so, water would have spilled back into the tank.)

5.) I used bleach (about 1.5gallons) about a month ago to cleanse my hot water heater and I’m wondering if that might have killed off bacteria causing the overflow? Possible blockage?

6.) Since the septic tank has overflowed, I’m guessing sludge may have spilled over and be heading to the distribution box? How should I deal with that issue to hopefully avert a crisis?

Any help would be appreciated. Sorry about the numbers, I just want to give as good a description as possible. My spidey sense says to call in a professional with a snake camera in case its a simple blockage. (we have not flushed anything except toilet paper, don’t flush grease, etc.)

Does it ring a bell to anyone, or does anyone have any advice before destroying the yard and dropping a lot of cash I don’t have? If it could be a simple blockage, what is a good course of action.

Thanks in advance for your time and help.

[Author]

Posts