What will clean out a septic tank and drain field that has kitty litter in them?

Question

Just put a drain field in about 8 years ago. Had to have it pumped out 6 weeks ago and toilets are already starting to back up again, and the shower has standing water if we take too long of showers. Wife just revealed that she has been flushing kitty litter for years. It could also be roots from our maple tree. Any suggestions? I figure I'm going to at least have to get it pumped again which is 150 bucks, but I wonder if there are chemicals or other suggestions that will help.

The kitty liter has been dumped into the toilets for the last two years.

Answer 1

Has nothing to do with kitty litter. Impossible to flush the kind of quantity down the drain that would plug up the tank, let alone the draingage finger lines.

You probably have a bad finger system that doesnt have enough crushed rock under the drain tiles and that has flooded out and isnt draining in your clay soil.

Nothing short of a dig up and restore the finger system will do the job.

I suggest also, that when you do this have a dry well built to dispose of washing machine wash water. To do that simply dig a pit about 4x4 feet and fill with large crushed stone. Cover the top and run the lines from the washing machine into there. That washwater with detergent and chlorine raises cane with the septic bacteria.

Dont be fooled into buying useless products that supposively add enzymes and bacteria to your septic tank. Plenty of bacteria and enzymes in there already.

Answer 2

If your home was built within the last decade or two, you should have a clean out plug in the basement. It should be in the end of the waste line that comes through the basement wall and connects to the house waste pipes. It is a plug you can remove to clean out the main waste pipe going to the septic tank. If you have one of these plugs, I would wait until your plumbing has had a chance to drain, maybe early in the morning would work for you. Take the plug out, and have a large container under it to catch the water that remains in the pipes. You can use a plumbers snake to see if the pipe is clogged and maybe clear out some or even all of the blockage. Also run the snake up the pipes into the house to see if they are also clogged. Cat litter will tend to stick to the pipes if it is a clay product. If the pipes are clear, time to wonder if the previous pumping of the tank has stirred up some of the solids left in the bottom. Your drain field may well be clogged, but it is far cheaper to check the indoor plumbing, then the tank and as a last measure, the drain field. I don't think there are any chemicals or enzymes that will clear out a drain field. Most will break down solid waste, but not cat litter. Hope things go well for you and that it turns out to be a rather small and inexpensive fix. Oh, I almost forgot...check the traps in your plumbing under the shower and anywhere else that backs up. It could be a simple matter of a clog there that has things moving slow. Good luck.

Answer 3

Have it pumped out again and this time watch your 'honeydipper' make sure that all solids are pumped out of tank and not just the liquid.
The kitty litter should have nothing to do with plugging your field as the solids would do more harm to your inside plumbing than to the septic field. the kitty litter would just fall to the bottom of the tank and not drain to the septic field.

Sometimes fields that are plugged can be re vitalized if allowed to completely dry out before being used again.

How to do this? During the hot months pump system every few days (or couple, depending on the tank capacity) until completely dried out. I know that this could be a little expensive but it is worth trying before ripping up your yard on the more expensive repair.

Answer 4

Kitty litter doesn't dissolve, I'm afraid. You may need a new tank if she dumped a lot in. Once the capacity of the tank is diminished then the solids don't have the time to break down and will block the drain field causing a back up. Explain the problem to the septic guys, maybe they can pump it out, but I doubt it. In the mean time, if you use RV toilet paper that will help as it is fast dissolving. Also add Rid X, this will help breakdown solid waste.

Answer 5

There could be a plastic pipe that sticks up out of the floor, or it particularly is on the exterior point, and capped off. this may well be the place your tank is placed, and could be placed between the drain field and your place. some human beings will use a backyard decoration to hide the cap. some county clerk places of work would have this concepts, or the state's organic components branch would have maps with properly places and/or septic tank places. sturdy success

Answer 6

There are some commercial strength enzymes for this. Similar to Riddex--I don't know if that is spelled correctly. However, I have no clue if this will work on bio-degrading the kitty litter. You can buy the enzymes at most home improvement centers and commercial cleaning supply distributors.

Good luck.

Answer 7

your lines are plug ed up you need a pro with a auger to clean
.
out most likely its tree roots (please wife no more kitty litter)

i do not think you will have to have it pumped out agian you have pluged line