There is a huge backstory to this post but I will attempt to keep it short, sweet and to the point.
I bought a home years ago in foreclosure. Therefore, no records of any sort of regular upkeep, outstanding issues or anything of that nature. In fact, the house was sold to me as "City Sewer" only later did I find out (through a series of very unfortunate events) that the home had a 1000 gallon septic tank.
The home was built in 1985.
There are 5 of us in my family (4 of us girls) and I am a private Chef who recently (no need to explain why) am no longer preparing meals in my clients homes, but rather my own.
Over the years septic issues have plagued my family. I can never run more than one load of laundry, we have to space out showers, only run the dishwasher at night, etc. etc. Oh, and, none of this can happen if it rains.
The first plumber that I had come out years ago said that my field lines need replacing. He never dug them up or anything of the sort. The system simply backed up into the downstairs shower. Mind you, this happened after days of rain and me railing out about 6 loads of laundry (unaware at this point that the home was on septic). I did not have the money and simply had the tank pumped knowing this issue would return sooner than I may like. Thankfully a couple years went by before it did.
Fast forward to November of 2021 when the system again backed up. I suspected a clog as new symptoms appeared (gurgling sink in downstairs bathroom and water being sucked out of downstairs toilet.
Again, I had a plumber come out and was told that there had been a grease clog at the entry point to tank but that the main issue had to do with the pipe leading to the field and dirty lines. I received the following quote:
"Pumping - Pump 1,000 gallon - $325
Pumping - Overfilled Tank $100
Drain Field - Tail out with Baffle Tee - $1,875
Drain Field - Hydro Jet Drain Field - $475
Drain Field - Back Pump Drain Field - $655
___________________________________________
Total : $3,430
Again, I did not have the money for all of that (remember I have 3 elementary aged girls and this was just before Christmas).
Three days ago, after a solid 7 days of heavy rain my system backed up again. I had hoped it was all the rain and a super busy work week adding tons of extra water to the system and so I gave it a break.
Now, after multiple super sunny warm days and continuing to let the system rest my sink is gurgling when I flush the toilet upstairs or downstairs and the water in my downstairs toilet continuously gets sucked out of toilet. I am literally scared to flush the toilet and do not know what to do.
So, I guess my question is, could this plumber really know that replacing that one pipe out and hydrojetting the lines will fix the issue? What if there are tree roots, cracked pipes, unusable soil...etc etc.? Is there a possibility that hydrojetting the old pipes could damage them causing further issues and costing more money? Could this be a "vent" issue? I do not even know what that means exactly, just read about it.
I am so at a loss here and do not know what to do. I will end up having to finance the repairs with a high apr and I just want to believe that when I do the system will finally function properly.
Can anyone help? Pleaase? Perhaps you have heard of a similar situation and solution that I might try...any and all advice is so very appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I bought a home years ago in foreclosure. Therefore, no records of any sort of regular upkeep, outstanding issues or anything of that nature. In fact, the house was sold to me as "City Sewer" only later did I find out (through a series of very unfortunate events) that the home had a 1000 gallon septic tank.
The home was built in 1985.
There are 5 of us in my family (4 of us girls) and I am a private Chef who recently (no need to explain why) am no longer preparing meals in my clients homes, but rather my own.
Over the years septic issues have plagued my family. I can never run more than one load of laundry, we have to space out showers, only run the dishwasher at night, etc. etc. Oh, and, none of this can happen if it rains.
The first plumber that I had come out years ago said that my field lines need replacing. He never dug them up or anything of the sort. The system simply backed up into the downstairs shower. Mind you, this happened after days of rain and me railing out about 6 loads of laundry (unaware at this point that the home was on septic). I did not have the money and simply had the tank pumped knowing this issue would return sooner than I may like. Thankfully a couple years went by before it did.
Fast forward to November of 2021 when the system again backed up. I suspected a clog as new symptoms appeared (gurgling sink in downstairs bathroom and water being sucked out of downstairs toilet.
Again, I had a plumber come out and was told that there had been a grease clog at the entry point to tank but that the main issue had to do with the pipe leading to the field and dirty lines. I received the following quote:
"Pumping - Pump 1,000 gallon - $325
Pumping - Overfilled Tank $100
Drain Field - Tail out with Baffle Tee - $1,875
Drain Field - Hydro Jet Drain Field - $475
Drain Field - Back Pump Drain Field - $655
___________________________________________
Total : $3,430
Again, I did not have the money for all of that (remember I have 3 elementary aged girls and this was just before Christmas).
Three days ago, after a solid 7 days of heavy rain my system backed up again. I had hoped it was all the rain and a super busy work week adding tons of extra water to the system and so I gave it a break.
Now, after multiple super sunny warm days and continuing to let the system rest my sink is gurgling when I flush the toilet upstairs or downstairs and the water in my downstairs toilet continuously gets sucked out of toilet. I am literally scared to flush the toilet and do not know what to do.
So, I guess my question is, could this plumber really know that replacing that one pipe out and hydrojetting the lines will fix the issue? What if there are tree roots, cracked pipes, unusable soil...etc etc.? Is there a possibility that hydrojetting the old pipes could damage them causing further issues and costing more money? Could this be a "vent" issue? I do not even know what that means exactly, just read about it.
I am so at a loss here and do not know what to do. I will end up having to finance the repairs with a high apr and I just want to believe that when I do the system will finally function properly.
Can anyone help? Pleaase? Perhaps you have heard of a similar situation and solution that I might try...any and all advice is so very appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!