Help!!! I NEED PLUMBING ANSWESRS... PLEASE?

Question

I just spent $100 to get my septic tank cleaned.. Now I still cannot flush my tolit, or shower with out water backing up in the tub.. I have bought a 25' long snake to clear my pipes,and found nothing. I have used Liquid Fire, Drano, and Rid Ex.. so far nothing has helped.. Does any one have any clue what is going on,, i really cant afford too much more, and im all out of answers.. My plumber said it was greese in the pipes, but I have tried every thing that he suggested.. Im desperate here, some one please help.. please only reply if you are serious.. And there are no tree's around me, so it can not be a root stopping it up..I've already had that checked as well.. DO YOU HAVE ANY ANSWERES
THANK YOU SO MUCH
MICHELLE

Answer 1

If you only went 25' then you might need more of the snake the problem is out farther...

Answer 2

As long as there is resistance, you should be able to use a plunger to apply pressure to the clog; I'm surprised no one else mentioned that. Just make sure to tape off any extra drain hole in the tub or sink since this relieves pressure. The toilet should allow good suction; you can really apply a lot of hydraulic pressure if you do it right.

If every drain is slow, then the clog is between your house and the septic, so you would need a snake that could go that far. If some drain work fine and other are clogged, well go in the basement and follow the drain pipes to try to locate the clog.

What kind of pipes do you have? If they are PVC, shoot, just get new ones and replace any that might be a problem (I have 4" cast iron, hard to replace).

If it's grease, Tide poured down the drain should really degenerate the grease. But I would expect grease to be primarily under the kitchen sink, so you could start there.

I have also used a shop-vac with some success on some clogs. But wear earplugs; those suckers are loud!

Answer 3

Sounds like the blockage is past where the pipes for the toilet and the shower meet. I haven't had much success in the past with chemicals in situations like that. If you have access to where the main pipes are (basement, crawl space, etc.) see if there is a cleanout on the end of or in the middle of the main line, remove the cap and try snaking through there. Another option is something I know as the drain king which is a piece that screws on to the end of a garden hose. It looks like a black rubber tube when not in use but if you put it in the pipe and run water through it, it will fill up like a balloon and force water through the pipe without letting it back up, sometimes the pressure will clear out the pipes. If all else fails find the cheapest reputable rooter guy you can. It might cost from $100-$300 but it will be worth it for clean feet.

Answer 4

since you know where the septic tank is now
go to the local rental place and rent a power auger (Electric) or long snake with an end that looks roughly 3" x 5" twisted metal (they ll know)
lift the cover, don't worry it wont fall in however you be careful not to (a friend is a must to have when looking inside) the gas that is down there will kill you.
look where the drain pipe terminates into the septic tank and send it back towards the house.
there will be much a lot of back-forth
where good leather gloves or the like there of.

If you don't do this deed then at least you'll know what someone like ready rooter will do.
don't remove the clean out caps on the inside of the house there will be a big mess.

Answer 5

Call a sewer service to root out the drain with a real powered drain auger/root cutter. Ideally they will remove the toilet and go straight into the toilet flange--it's not as big a production as you might expect. Your hand snake may be able to clear a wad of toilet paper but it's not going to be able to scrape the walls of the pipe. Ask around to find a reputable local sewer service--the nationwide franchise chains can be really hit or miss in terms of their staff. If it turns out to be at the the tank inlet like someone already suggested, the sewer service can take care of that too, although it will probably involve a backhoe.

Answer 6

So I asked my boyfriend, who I a plumber and works for his brother's company Crown Plumbing in San Jose, CA, and basically, he said that if you try to do it yourself you will probably end up making matters worse, and Drano, and Rid EX work when the problem isn't so big, so he suggested to call a plumber and he'd troubleshoot the problem, and it shouldn't even cost you $100, it should be less than that, if someone is charging u over $100 for this job then you need to look around. GOOD LUCK!

Answer 7

We are not mentioning names, but, someone has plugged your toilet drain! Lets assume everything but the bathroom drains. That is what I got from your description. I know you didn't run the snake through the toilet or tub. So the blockage is close to the toilet. Most tubs drain from 2" pipe into a 3" pipe above the toilet side. Turn the water off, drain the water from the toilet. Remove the toilet from the floor. run your snake down that drain and you WILL find the blockage!

Answer 8

I had the same thing happen to me in my mobile home and I went and bought this gadget that fits on the garden hose.You attach to the hose and put it down a pipe and it swells up to keep the water from coming out and spurts quick and hard down the pipes ,it helped get rid of my grease with cold water but it would probably work better with hot.Hope this helps.

Answer 9

You need to check the sanitary vent on the roof without the proper venting the water will not run.Climb up jamb your garden hose in and flush it out then put a cap over it,more the likely its full of leavesThink of how when you place your finger on the end of a straw an d it holds the water in well if you place your finger on it then put it in the water it wont go in.

Answer 10

On the off chance that you actually do have greasy buildup in the pipes I'd start by draining a full load of fully hot soapy (use a full quart bottle of Pine-O-Pine) tub water down the drain to help dissolve any grease clogs that might be present. After that I'd drag my garden hose up to the roof and flush my vent trap with lots of water before the freezing weather hits in Kentucky (I'm psychic) since the described symptoms could also indicate a clogged vent stack (especially in the fall when leaves drop). (lengthy descriptions of reasoning follows) You are indicating slow water drain to your field, for the water to drain well the system need to be able to replace liquids in the drain piping with air-thus clogged air vent stack equals slow drainage equals backups into low drains like the bathtub.

Come to think of it, flush the vent stack first. Get up there and with water running shove the hose as far down the stack as you can. Have one of your kids (I told you I'm psychic) inside by the tub to watch for backup (and run turn the water off before things flood). If that doesn't improve the flow *then* do the hot soapy water trick. Since you've got a septic field you should use dishwashing liquid (like Dawn) instead of the Pine-O-Pine or you might need to re-activate your field with one of the bacterial additive products (I don't have a preference here).

Answer 11

Most likely the inlet baffle filter is cloged.
Snaking or cabling the drain will nothing to help this.
You will need to dig the tank up.
Open the inspection port on the inlet baffle.
Pull the filter out, and clean it.
Its messy but it should work fine