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Being a former city gal, had no experience with septic systems until moving to the country. Our house and septic is only 2 yrs old. Last night it backed up into the basement shower and toilet Have heard of this malfunction happening to people but how can this be with a newer system and only 2 people using the bathrooms??
There are lots of reasons for septic failure. Do you do a lot of laundry/dishes? Do you flush things that are not septic friendly? Was the system designed & installed correctly?
Are you in a developed community? Are others near you having problems? Do you have a high water table where the house is built?
Have you tried Rid-x, a bacteriological treatment for the septic system, an effective means of helping the system because it does not
act as a caustic and degrading agent, often serving to erode away the well. I'm sending you a link which might help you in some way,
if only to broaden your own knowledge. I hope that you find an affordable fix, I just hate dealing with septic (cesspool) problems!
You don't want to use Rid-X to add bacteria to your septic system (as one septic expert pointed out to me, think about it, we add plenty of bacteria just by using the system as intended!). Best possible case, you're flushing money down the toilet. Worst case, it can cause some problems of its own.
If the system is only two years old, I'd figure one of two things as being the most likely causes (other than that, as mentioned above, it's the pipes, not the septic system, that has a problem) - either it wasn't installed correctly, or you're putting things down it that you shouldn't (which can cause problems in city systems, too, depending on what you're putting down there). Do you use toilet paper that's septic system safe? (Says so right on the package, but I have to look for paper that isn't these days!) Do you flush anything that it says on the inside of the ladies' facilities in public restrooms not to flush? Do you have tall trees growing near the septic system (not as likely with a two-year-old system, but possible). Was the system installed by a licensed installer who had a clue?
We live in a rural area--nearest neighbor 5 miles. Don't use much water; don't do laundry and the DW is not connected here as the well is kaput and we have to haul water. I never put anything down the toilet that shouldn't--BUT I'm not sure about the TP brand. Thinking that the heavy monsoons this past summer and last winter's heavy snow could be contributing factors. The installer was licensed and came well recommended. Hopefully it's just a clog somewhere.
One other thing - do you have soil with a tendency to "move", clay, for example, that expands and contracts more than most with variations in weather (mostly rain/dry)? We are on such soil, and the one problem we did have was that the soil moved in such a way that the connection to the tank itself moved so that it was not correctly attached, and that did eventually cause it to back up because it was filled with muddy clay. Got that fixed, replaced the connection with one designed so that it would accommodate such soil conditions, and haven't had another problem.
One other thing - do you have soil with a tendency to "move", clay, for example, that expands and contracts more than most with variations in weather (mostly rain/dry)? We are on such soil, and the one problem we did have was that the soil moved in such a way that the connection to the tank itself moved so that it was not correctly attached, and that did eventually cause it to back up because it was filled with muddy clay. Got that fixed, replaced the connection with one designed so that it would accommodate such soil conditions, and haven't had another problem.
Most of the soil is "caliche" clay--that slippery stuff that's impossible to drive on. The installer lives in the area so he knows what he's dealing with--don't think this is the problem--other than the clay holds the rain water....we'll soon see.
Cal a septic pumper out. Not only will they be able to locate the tank, but it will get pumped, and they will probably be able to fix the clog too.
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