Home Buyer's Detailed Guide to Signs of Trouble With Septic Systems InspectAPedia® -
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.
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.
Curtain drains or intercept drains can protect septic drainfields in areas of wet soils or surface and subsurface groundwater
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"
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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.
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
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