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Septic Tank filling too quickly

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  • 15-01-2024 6:08pm
    #1
    Donie75
    Registered Users Posts: 1,109 ✭✭✭


    Hi, I moved into a new (to me) house last year. The engineers report said that the septic tank was an old style block built unit. The tank is filling up every 2-4 months and I need to get a company in to empty it. I have a feeling that the percolation area is no longer working and is draining rainwater into the tank.

    I noticed that the grants for upgrading septic tanks have been increased from €5k to €12k recently. Has anyone gone through the process of getting a new modern tank fitted and a new percolation area set up?



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    #2
    brokenbad
    Registered Users Posts: 1,367 ✭✭✭brokenbad


    How old is the house exactly?

    I had a similar problem on a 40 year old bungalow we purchased few years back - had to get the septic tank emptied every 6 months after foul water kept backing up the pipe to the access cover and all over the yard....

    It turns out the perforated cap on the outlet pipe which allows the foul water to drain to the percolation area was partially clogged with deposits of wipes, toilet paper and sh**te. The guys who emptied the tank never bothered to check this and just emptied the tank without jet washing it at a cost of 200 euros per time....

    I got another company in on the 4th time to empty it in the space of 2 years and they jetted the inlet and outlets - that was 3 years ago and i haven't had to empty it since.

    Might be worth checking that first before you consider any upgrades - most of the drain empty companies have cctv they can use once the tank is empty to investigate if the outlet pipe is clogged.



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    #3
    Donie75
    Registered Users Posts: 1,109 ✭✭✭Donie75


    Thanks for your reply. The house is an 80’s bungalow that had a major refurb and extension 12 years ago but it appears to have the original septic tank. The water table is pretty high here in the winter.

    I have asked the guy who empties the tank to clean the inlet and outlet pipes. Thanks for the tip. Fingers crossed



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    #4
    User567363
    Registered Users Posts: 52 ✭✭User567363


    Hopefully its just crap blocking the drainage


    If there is a man hole on the percilation side empty a clean wheelie bin full of water into it


    I had problems when the tank for about 10 years old, it would back up every few days, rodding would get it going again, but blitzing the percolation side fixed, been 5 years now



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    #5
    Lumen
    Registered Users Posts: 31,019 ✭✭✭✭Lumen


    After years of trial and error, my approach to dealing with OG septic tank issues is:

    1. Dump a load of biological washing powder in it. Like a whole big box, but not all in one go. A few cups initially, and then one cup flushed down the toilet every couple of days until the box is empty. This will break down a lot of congealed fats. You can to get this treatment overflowing into the percolation area to get at blockages there.
    2. After a bit of a pause, dump in a big batch of septic tank bacteria (you can buy this from agri stores).
    3. Periodically flush a smaller amount of septic tank bacteria to maintain active digestion.

    It's the combination of breaking down the solids and keeping the thing fed with bacteria that works.

    The one single thing that made the most difference was switching from non-bio to bio washing powder. I think I read somewhere that non-bio was recommended for houses with septic tanks, but that's not my experience.



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