Mystery --- Help solve.

The background facts:
1) I have a septic tank.
2) The bathroom tub would stop draining after 5 minutes of running the shower and start to back up into the tub.
3) The tub would drain eventually.
4) I poured drain cleaners down the tub drain.
5) Nothing on the market helped.
6) After the tub had 3" of water backed up... I flushed the toilet.
7) Went down like expected.

The toilet is at the same level as the tub.
So I would expect that if the septic tank is full..
there would be some overflowing --- or some increase in tub volume. Nope! just flushed all down... and the tub level stays the same??

Here is the mystery: I had the tank pumped.. and the tub now drains free.

Anyone have any idea of how that makes any sense?

Most likely your drainfield is plugged not allowing the water to percolate away. The toilet will flush because it has a higher hydraulic effect to force the water down. When you pumped the tank it created a vacuum effect allowing the tub to drain to a lower level. Try adding some good septic tank food to stimulate the bacteria growth in the tank and drainfield. Too much soap from laundry and bath water kills off the bacteria and leads to solid buildup causing problems. You have had a lot of rain in your area lately and it could be your system is just flooded with surface water.

I'm counting on the heavy ground water being the culprit here.

Not quite sure I understand Tom , So your saying that pumping the tank seemed to fix it ? Also were you there when the tank was pumped ?

The guy that pumped the tank should have been able to tell if it was the problem or not you were having as well as if your leech field could be plugged . As Bill said heavy recent rains could have a big effect by taking ground water into the sytem depending on your drainage on the property . But the guy should have been able to tell if there was a large amount of water coming back in the tank from the leach field .

Also if it was plum full of solids & he pumped it dry , It does need to at least partially filled back up with water to allow the bacteria to control the solids as they come in . Dumping spoilt milk down the closest sink drain will help start the bacteria in the tank as well as store bought products like RID X , allthough you need to be really carefull messing with those types of products as well as drain cleaners

All that being said , since the toilet flushed fine & didn,t raise the water in the tub I,d bet the drain cleaners finally did do the job , unless the tank was overlly full . Just My thoughts . Glad to here you got through it without to much shit though

Have you checked to see if your vent pipe is blocked (causing the vacuum)? If it starts to repeat (and since your tank isn't full), check the stack on your roof.

vent pipe would be my guess.

tsaw said:

The background facts:
1) I have a septic tank.
2) The bathroom tub would stop draining after 5 minutes of running the shower and start to back up into the tub.
3) The tub would drain eventually.
4) I poured drain cleaners down the tub drain.
5) Nothing on the market helped.
6) After the tub had 3" of water backed up... I flushed the toilet.
7) Went down like expected.

The toilet is at the same level as the tub.
So I would expect that if the septic tank is full..
there would be some overflowing --- or some increase in tub volume. Nope! just flushed all down... and the tub level stays the same??

Here is the mystery: I had the tank pumped.. and the tub now drains free.

Anyone have any idea of how that makes any sense?

Click to expand...

If the tub drained when you flushed the toilet, it's definitely a vent issue.

IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT

Before checking the vent, read THIS thread.

FYI Anytime I,ve ever ran acrossed a partially or fully plugged roof vent , the sink closest to the plugged vent will Gurgle as its trying to drain , Even sometimes when draining the tub or other sinks .

Since the tub draining was the only problem I,d find it hard to beleive its a vent issue allthough I supose its posible . The best way I,ve found to check a vent If you cant see anything in it with a good flashlite , There almost allways plugged in the top few feet in my experience is to Run a wire snake through it like used to run electrical wire . Or if someone can run some really hot water you can actually feel the warmth of the air coming out the vent pipe as well as here it .

For what its worth , Its still my opinion the tub drains was & maybe still partially blocked & needs to be snaked .


NEVER EVER use a leaf blower to try to clear it from the top though Sorry BC I couldn,t help myself , Great story though

bczoom said:

IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT

Before checking the vent, read THIS thread.

Click to expand...

hehehehehehe, now that was funny!

bczoom said:

Have you checked to see if your vent pipe is blocked (causing the vacuum)? If it starts to repeat (and since your tank isn't full), check the stack on your roof.

Click to expand...

Good tip! I have a and held blower. The tube of the blower will fit in the vent pipe. That will clear it out.

Another way to check:

Buy a quarter lb of C-4 or semtek.
Buy 4 radio controlled detonators.

Break c4 into 4 small balls, install a detonator in each.
Place one in each toilet in house and flush toilets. Place one in bathtub drain and drain bathtub.
If any are left over, flush down sinks.
Activate detonator.
If only your septic tank blows up, you need a new septic tank.
If your house blows up, you had a blocked line.

Sorry tsaw no advice, but loboloco...