How to relive positive pressure in my system

I have a simple septic system in my log cabin. A kitchen sink, bathroom sink, shower, and toilet. It had about 3 feet of exposed 4" PVC drain leading to the septic system that the previous owner had patched a leak with some sort of caulk type substance, which actually worked ok to this point. This past week, my new dog chewed through the caulk/sealant and exposed a 1/2 gap. I bought a coupling and repaired the septic line properly. However, since then my toilet will not flush and bubbles when Either the sink or shower runs. Since everything was functioning well before, I assume I have introduced some sort of positive pressure in to the system. There is a single vent stack for the drain line.

I work in home repair & renovations, but plumbing has always been an area I have avoided. It's not a simple task getting a professional out to my cabin since it is pretty remote. Does anyone have a suggestion as to how i can relieve the pressure in the system, or is this a more serious matter?

Thanks in advance!

Your tank may have filled because the water could not move into the field lines. If designed properly that should not happen, but tanks can settle over time.

You could pump the tank, or wait to see if gets better with time. It may not.

You could have other problems.


Good Luck.

I infer you don't know then the tank was last pumped. If so, I suggest you get the tank pumped before doing any more flushing or showering. The penalty for continuing to use a full tank (loss of the septic field) is too large to continue looking for other reasons first. Even if you thought that the tank being full was only a 25% probability, consider the expense of ignoring that 25% chance.

By "not a simple task ", are you implying that it is hard to describe the route, or that the path may not be passable by a pumping truck? If the later, maybe the septic tank person can suggest somebody with a smaller rig.

The damaged pipe may not have leaked before because it was not full of water. I do not think fixing the pipe caused your problem. My thought is there is a blockage below that point. There should be a vent out the roof that vents positive pressure. If there is a blockage and the pipe is filling with water it may not vent properly.

Smooky,
I think you're dead on. My current hypothesis is that the previously "repaired" section wasn't completely airtight, and was actually venting through it slightly. I cut my vent pipe where it enters the crawlspace...water from the outside and a TON of dead wasps came pouring out. I have no idea how long the stack hasn't been venting, but I'm pretty sure that by me completely sealing the drain system, it revealed that the vent was the issue. I'm headed to the home store to buy some new pvc to rebuild the vent because it broke at an elbow as I was sawing through it - probably a little brittle from the years. Hopefully all will function well when I'm done.

Thanks for the suggestions. I really appreciate it.

Smooky knows some Shit. lol


Sorry I could not resist.


Have a Great day.