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SEPTIC SYSTEMS HOME
SEPTIC INFO ARTICLES
  Info for Home Buyers or Owners
  Septic System Design
  Septic Inspection Testing
  Septic Maintenance Repair
HOME BUYERSGUIDE
  1-INTRODUCTION
  2-YOU NEED TO KNOW AND DO
  3-SEPTIC SYSTEM COMPONENTS
  4-WHAT GOES WRONG
    4-1 TANK FAILURES
    4-2 PIPING FAILURES
    4-3 LEACH FIELD FAILURES
    4-4 OTHER SEPTIC TROUBLE SIGNS
  5-HOW TO INSPECT & TEST
  6-FINAL OVERVIEW
SEPTIC SYSTEMS ONLINE BOOK
SEPTIC PUMPING REPAIR
SEPTIC TREATMENTS
SEPTIC CONSULTANTS
SEPTIC AUTHORITIES
BOOKS REFS CODES
SEPTIC SYSTEM DESIGN BASICS
DESIGN ALTERNATIVES
List Your Service/Product

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Plumbing Water Septic
Accuracy & Bias Pledge
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Snow melting over the septic tank - might be normal or might indicate a problem - an expert can find clues and perform tests that reduce risk of a costly surprise

Home Buyer's Detailed Guide to Septic Systems - Buying a Home With a Septic Tank
SepticAPedia ^©

Chapter 4-4 Other Signs of Septic System Trouble

Advice for buyers of a home with a septic system - what to do

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This chapter discusses other things that can go wrong with a septic tank or septic system, of special concern to home buyers. Septic backups, failures, breakouts, odors: This document provides advice for home buyers who are buying a home with a private septic system: homes using a septic tank and drainfield or similar soil absorption system. Chapter 4 in this file outlines what goes wrong with septic systems and their various components. Chapter 5 recommends and describes septic inspection and test methods in more detail, explains how to be sure your septic inspection and septic test are conducted properly, tells you where to get more septic system information about a given property, and warns of unsanitary or dangerous site conditions. Use the links at page left to navigate this document or to go to Other Resources. The Green links at left show where you are in our document & website. Also see The Septic System Information Website. © Copyright 2008 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left.

4-4 OTHER SEPTIC TROUBLE SIGNS - Other signs of trouble with a septic system

Slow or sluggish fixture drains: Slow flushing toilets (such as shown in this photo), shower or tub or sink drains, can indicate a developing septic system problem, though it could also be a partial drain blockage. That is, slow fixture drains may be system-related but it could also indicate just a clog in the interior piping or sewer line.
You should have the interior piping checked before proceeding with an investigation of the sewage disposal system. See Diagnosing Clogged Drains: A First Step for Homeowners for a guide in how to determine if a slow drain is a clogged pipe or a septic system problem.

Washing machine backups: Large volume wastewater discharges (such as, washing machines, dishwashers and bathtubs) may cause either a backup, as noted above, or, an overflow of sewage above the septic tank or leaching field. If this condition is usually at its worst during and/or directly following a heavy rain event, then the septic system is indeed suspect. If backup alone occurs independent of wet weather, you might first check for a partial blockage of the main drain that has occurred some distance from the house. In such cases a small discharge will simply be held by the main waste pipe, draining slowly past the blockage, while a large discharge will cause a backup.

Septic or Sewage Odors: Foul septic odors in storm drainage piping, catch basins, footing drain piping or curtain drain discharges may indicate that sewage from your property or an adjacent one is entering these ground water systems.
See "Sewer Gas Odors diagnosing, finding, and curing septic tank and sewer line smells" and if odors are occurring in wet or cold weather, be sure to see see "Sewage Odors in Wet or Cold Weather - Septic Odors or Sewage Odor Diagnosis & Repair Guide for diagnosing and eliminating cold weather sewer gas odors"

SEPTIC SYSTEMS HOME
SEPTIC INFO ARTICLES
  Info for Home Buyers or Owners
  Septic System Design
  Septic Inspection Testing
  Septic Maintenance Repair
HOME BUYERSGUIDE
  1-INTRODUCTION
  2-YOU NEED TO KNOW AND DO
  3-SEPTIC SYSTEM COMPONENTS
  4-WHAT GOES WRONG
    4-1 TANK FAILURES
    4-2 PIPING FAILURES
    4-3 LEACH FIELD FAILURES
    4-4 OTHER SEPTIC TROUBLE SIGNS
  5-HOW TO INSPECT & TEST
    5-1. ASK ABOUT THE SYSTEM
    5-2. VISUAL INSPECTION
    5-3. LOADING & DYE TEST
      WHAT'S A DYE TEST?
      TEST LIMITATIONS
      FLOODING TESTS
      PROBE TESTS
    5-4. PUMP THE TANK
    5-5. ADDED INVESTIGATIONS
    5-6. ASK OUTSIDERS
  6-FINAL OVERVIEW
SEPTIC SYSTEMS ONLINE BOOK
SEPTIC PUMPING REPAIR
SEPTIC TREATMENTS
SEPTIC CONSULTANTS
SEPTIC AUTHORITIES
BOOKS REFS CODES
SEPTIC SYSTEM DESIGN BASICS
DESIGN ALTERNATIVES
List Your Service/Product
More Information

InspectAPedia ^TM Home & Site Map
Plumbing Water Septic
Accuracy & Bias Pledge
Contact Us

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.

Home Buyers Guide to Septic Systems - Chapter Index

HOME BUYERSGUIDE
1-INTRODUCTION
2-YOU NEED TO KNOW AND DO
3-SEPTIC SYSTEM COMPONENTS
4-WHAT GOES WRONG
    4-1 TANK FAILURES
    4-2 PIPING FAILURES
    4-3 LEACH FIELD FAILURES
    4-4 OTHER SEPTIC TROUBLE SIGNS
5-HOW TO INSPECT & TEST
  5-1. ASK ABOUT THE SYSTEM
  5-2. VISUAL INSPECTION
  5-3. LOADING & DYE TEST
    WHAT'S A DYE TEST?
    TEST LIMITATIONS
    FLOODING TESTS
    PROBE TESTS
  5-4. PUMP THE TANK
  5-5. ADDED INVESTIGATIONS
  5-6. ASK OUTSIDERS
6-FINAL OVERVIEW

SEPTIC SYSTEMS HOME
SEPTIC INFO ARTICLES
  Info for Home Buyers or Owners
  Septic System Design
  Septic Inspection Testing
  Septic Maintenance Repair
HOME BUYERSGUIDE
  1-INTRODUCTION
  2-YOU NEED TO KNOW AND DO
  3-SEPTIC SYSTEM COMPONENTS
  4-WHAT GOES WRONG
    4-1 TANK FAILURES
    4-2 PIPING FAILURES
    4-3 LEACH FIELD FAILURES
    4-4 OTHER SEPTIC TROUBLE SIGNS
  5-HOW TO INSPECT & TEST
  6-FINAL OVERVIEW
SEPTIC SYSTEMS ONLINE BOOK
SEPTIC PUMPING REPAIR
SEPTIC TREATMENTS
SEPTIC CONSULTANTS
SEPTIC AUTHORITIES
BOOKS REFS CODES
SEPTIC SYSTEM DESIGN BASICS
DESIGN ALTERNATIVES
List Your Service/Product
More Information

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More Information on Septic System Testing, Diagnosis, Repair, Maintenance, Design, & Alternatives

Diagnosing Clogged Drains: A First Step for Homeowners
Don't Flush these things into a septic system
What Goes Wrong with Septic Systems? in the Home Buyer's Detailed Guide to Septic Systems - Buying a Home With a Septic Tank
SEPTIC FAILIURE CAUSES in our Online Septic Book - Details Address: How Does Each Septic System Component Fail? - What to Look For During a Septic Inspection - Step by Step Diagnosis

The Septic System Information Website
Directory of Professional Inspectors available via Internet (Some of these inspectors offer septic system testing and inspection)
Diagnosing Clogged Drains: A First Step for Homeowners
Performing a Septic Loading and Dye Test - How to perform this test (separate document)
Septic Tank Pumping Guide: When, Why, How to pump the septic tank
Table of Required Septic Tank Sizes: Septic Tank Capacity vs Usage in Daily Gallons of Wastewater Flow & How to Calculate the Size (in gallons) of a Septic Tank.
How Big Should the Leach Field Be? - table of soil percolation rate vs. field size
Home & Outdoor Living Water Requirements
Table of Required Clearances: Distances Between Septic System & Wells, Streams, Trees, etc.
Septic System Inspection Methods and Procedures, - online illustrated class for building and septic inspectors
Septic Systems Inspection, Testing, & Maintenance- online textbook. Detailed how to inspect, maintain, repair information

Original Source Credits

Portions of the original text were provided by the CT Department of Public Health and Addiction Services. Daniel Friedman (web author) has made extensive edits and content additions to the original file.

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CONTACT Daniel Friedman - Dan is a senior ASHI home inspector, nationally recognized expert on building inspection, building failures, and sick building investigation Contact Daniel Friedman for website content suggestions or for fee-paid consulting