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What to Problems to Look for Indoors During a Septic Loading & Dye Test SepticAPedia © Enter your search terms Submit search form   Search This Website - InspectAPedia.com

• Where to check indoors during a septic loading and dye test - where to watch for leaks and backups
• Where and how to confirm that test water is flowing into the septic system
• How to perform a septic loading & dye test, step by step - what to do indoors during the septic test

This chapter provides indoor actions & details of the Septic Loading and Dye Test procedure for testing the function of septic systems, focused on condition of the effluent disposal section, also known as a leach field, seepage pits, drainfield or drainage field.

Use of this information at other websites is prohibited; reproduction in electronic or printed form is prohibited. © Copyright 2008 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

HOW TO PERFORM a SEPTIC DYE TEST - How to Properly Conduct a Septic Loading and Dye Test

Septic dye tests involve flushing a special florescent dye down a toilet or other drain. The dye itself does not make anything happen. It is simply a colored indicator that can identify water found outside as having come from the fixture where the dye was introduced.

It's the volume of water introduced into the system that forms the actual "test". If waste water is coming to the surface (an unsanitary condition indicating serious septic failure) one may see dye in that water, provided the septic system is flowing at common rates.

When suspect wet areas are observed, if the system has no maintenance history, if the area is known to have problem soils, or if other historic or site conditions raise question about the condition of the system we recommend that the inspector perform a dye test.

SEPTIC TESTS: WHAT TO WATCH FOR INSIDE - What to Watch For Inside the Building

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  Check for in-building drain leaks: At the start of your septic dye test, inspect the fixture drain and (if a basement or crawl space expose the drain piping) check for other leaks in the building.
  
  Once, with permission of the owner, we began a dye test from the second floor of a building only to hear screams of horror from the occupants of the floor below as red dye erupted from their ceiling.
  
  Always be sure that there are no leaky traps or drains before you leave water running in a building.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Watch for sewer line backup in the building - indicating system blockage.
  
  Check all fixture drains before leaving water on.
  
  Check floors below running fixtures for signs of current or previous leaks.
  
  Don't risk flooding or damaging the building by leaking or overflowing fixtures. If leaks prevent testing, document this information.
  
  Check fixtures periodically during the test period, to assure no leaks or overflows.
  
  
  
  
• 
  Find the main building drain sewer line or waste line:
  
  If you didn't do this before, locate the sewer pipe exit point in the building.
  
  Confirm that the tub/sink drain for the fixture being used to load the system is in fact draining into the sewer line.
  
  It is important to take this step early in the test cycle, and to check all building areas to be sure that you are not inadvertently spilling water (and dye) anywhere inside.
  
  
  
  
  
• Confirm test water runs in septic drain line: Feel and listen to sewer pipes to assure that water is running through them to the sewer system.
  
  
• If the passage of water into the septic drain line from a sink or bath tub cannot be established or if only toilets drain into the septic system it may be necessary to use a garden hose to provide water into the toilet to test the system, or to warn the owner/client that the test is inconclusive for this reason as well as other limitations. (Beware of unsanitary cross connections; don't leave the hose in place when finished.)
  
  
• Trace all sewer piping (note visible components, report areas where there was no view or no access). Note locations of kitchen, laundry, bathrooms. If there is more than one exiting sewer pipe, introduce a different colored dye, and begin an additional test of measured flow at the appropriate fixtures. Record bathrooms that may have been added since original construction (permit may have been required.)
  
  
• Check lowest plumbing fixtures for backup: Check for bathroom fixtures at house level lower than exit point of main sewer line. Confirm presence and operation of appropriate sewage ejector pump or other permitted destination for such waste lines. Watch for septic backup and overflow from fixtures low in the building - during your test if the main waste line is blocked, or perhaps you will see evidence of prior backups and overflows.

Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

SEPTIC SYSTEMS HOME
SEPTIC SYSTEMS ONLINE BOOK
SEPTIC DYE TEST PROCEDURE
HOW TO PERFORM A SEPTIC DYE TEST
WHAT TO DO BEFORE
OUTSIDE SEPTIC INSPECTION
  IMMEDIATE FAILURE EVIDENCE
  LOOK FOR COMPONENTS
  DIFFICULT SEPTIC SITES
  RECENT SEPTIC WORK
  SEPTIC SAFETY
STEP BY STEP SEPTIC TEST
  INSIDE SEPTIC TEST STEPS
  WATCH FOR INSIDE
  OUTSIDE SEPTIC TEST STEPS
  SEPTIC FAILURE SPOTS
  SPOTTING SEPTIC BREAKOUTS
SEPTIC TEST VOLUMES & DYE AMOUNTS
  SEPTIC TEST WATER & DYE TABLE
  SEPTIC TEST FIXTURE FLOW RATE
  HOW TO SET THE SEPTIC TEST VOLUME
REPORTING SEPTIC TEST RESULTS
PUMP THE SEPTIC TANK
SEPTIC DYE TEST WARNINGS

Technical Reviewers & References

Particular thanks are due to experts and also consumers who read these articles and suggest corrections, changes, and additions to the material. Content suggestions, technical corrections and content critique are invited for any of the content at our website.

• Daniel Friedman - principal author/editor of the InspectAPedia ^© Website
• Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, for permission to use illustrations from their publication, The Illustrated Home which illustrates construction details and building components. Carson Dunlop provides home inspection education, publications, report writing materials, and home inspection services. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
• Critique, contributions wanted: Contact Us to suggest text changes and additions and, if you wish, to receive online listing and credit for that contribution

More Information About Septic Systems - Onsite Waste Disposal Design, Maintenance, Repair

• Return to the septic system textbook: Inspecting, Testing, & Maintaining Residential Septic Systems
• The Septic Information Website
  
  
• Safety Warnings to Septic System Inspectors
• Testing Water for Real Estate Transactions - Water Test Cheating Warnings for Home Buyers and Home Inspectors.
• Home & Outdoor Living Water Requirements
• Septic Tank Capacity vs Usage in Daily Gallons of Wastewater Flow calculating septic tank volume and septic tank size required
• How Big Should the Leach Field Be? - table of soil percolation rate vs. field size
• The Home Buyer's Guide to Septic Systems
• Material Safety Data Sheet MSDS for Red Septic Dye from Tramfloc.
• MSDS for Septic Dye Tablets from Tramfloc.
• MSDS for Septic Dye Liquid from Tramfloc.
• Septic Dye Technical Data Bulletin from Tramfloc.
• Tramfloc, Inc. source of septic system testing tracer dyes
• Bright Dyes Inc. source of septic system testing tracer dyes
• Pollard Water source of septic system testing tracer dyes

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