Any advice about how to unblock an outside drain? It's the drain between the toilet and the septic tank.?

Answer 1

Hi Annika550. Had this exact problem recently. True, you may need to have the tank emptied but if you know it doesn't need to be emptied your blockage is likely to be due to a build up of paper and waste products in the underground drain pipe. We knew our bio-digester was OK so as a temporary fix we used a rubber plunger in the toilet bowl and the bathroom basins as they all run into the same drain. The "fall" on our underground drain is not very steep so a blockage was no real surprise. Since I kept on about rodding the drain my husband gave me a set of (gift-wrapped) drain rods at Christmas. Anyway I loaned him my drain rods and the toilet now flushes normally. He opened up the manhole cover in the garden and rodded back towards the toilet and forward towards the bio-digester. When you open the manhole cover, the inspection chamber should not be full of water as this indicates a blockage coming back from the septic tank. You need to find and open any other manhole covers between the toilet drain and the septic tank. There is often one just before the tank itself. Make sure you have rodded the whole length of the pipe. My drain rods are from Screwfix who we both rate high for choice,price,convenience & quick delivery. My husband also gave me a ring with five diamonds in it so he's not all bad...Good luck.

Answer 2

Our tank did this a while ago, it turned out one of the pipes had been damaged, and all sorts of drained bits and pieces had formed a blockage there. We had to dig up all the pipes to discover this, and I fixed it by shoving the cimney brush up there and dislodging the muck with some vulgar thrusting motions. We had to raise the pipe up to stop the block from reforming, which was hard...ring your septic man/plumber and see if they have any suggestions first, then have a dig. It's smelly, messy backbreaking work. The other possibility is you're using a lot of water at a time, and the pipes dont let it flow away fast enough. Try moderationg water use, and do some little tests to find out how fast your water is flowing away or to see if you have a block, get someone to watch the tank, and then turn on the shower and get them to see how much water pours into the tank. If it seems very slow, or overly dirty youve probably got a block. Or a pipe has just moved too far to be effective anymore. And remember consulting your houses plan, it may reveal an obvious answer.

Answer 3

Septic tank must be cleaned every 2 or 3 years.
Close all household windows and doors.
Send children and old people away from the house at least 1 hour before work begins and allowed home at least 2 hours after work is completed.
Both children or adults can be endarged by machinery,open manholes or gases.
No 1 = Empty septic tank by authorised company.
No 2 = Purchase good strong rubber gloves.
No 3 = Tape measure distance from manhole to septic tank in order to calculate exact number of rods required.
No 4 = If you have a number of manholes from outside house to the septic tank, start roding from the nearest manhole to the septic tank and then wash with 2 or 3 buckets of water - free flowing water = clean/unblocked area.
No 5 = Repeat roding/washing exercise @ each manhole.
No 6 = Place unscrewed rod in @ 4 or 5" plastic pipe,thus ensuring that rods remain straight and easy to reuse.
No 7 = Diary "re-roding exercise" @ 3 monthly intervals.

Answer 4

You should have an access manhole outside between the house and the septic tank. You have 2 options, buy or hire some drain rods and try clearing it yourself or get a jetting company out ( like Dyna-rod ) Make sure the septic tank does not require servicing as this can cause 'backing up' in the drain pipework.

Answer 5

Yuck! There are two ways to handle this. You could rent a 2 inch power snake and clear the line yourself. It is a messy job and requires you open the clean out or remove the toilet to access the drain.
The other is to hire a drain company (Roto Rooter). Hiring a professional allows you to stay clean, but more importantly your chance of cracking the pipes out to your septic tank are greatly reduced. Spending $400 on these guys could save you thousands in possible repair costs (digging up and replacing drains) "Your mission IS possible"

Answer 6

Drain rods are the answer but its not a job for the faint hearted . After rodding to clear the blockage treat with a good drain clear chemical eg . Mr Muscle .

Answer 7

Unscrew the top of the house trap (large one near exterior walls).

Then use any kind of heavy duty auger including maybe renting a powered one.

Are you sure the problem is not in the septic tank itself (not cleaned and clogged with solids at inlet or outfall side for instance)? If it is get that straightened out first.

Answer 8

Get some drain rods from your local DIY or harware store. These are big long flexible pokey poles for shunting sh!t along.

Alternatively you could phone a local plumber who'll come round and deal with your poop with a pressure hose, for a price obviously.

Cheers.

Answer 9

Go to Wicks and buy some drain rods. They are quite cheap and will do the trick provided that you can get them into position.

Answer 10

Best and cheapest way is with drain rods,