Thursday, December 12, 2013

What to Do When Your Septic System Alarms

Many modern and alternative septic systems have alarms to notify the homeowner of a potential problem. Though it can be annoying when the system alarms and you are forced to think about your septic system, this could prevent the system from backing up in your house. Proper maintenance and operation will extend the life of your system and save you money in the long run. So, what does it mean if an alarm sounds and what should you do? There are a series of straightforward steps to take.
  • Silence the alarm so it does not drive you and all your neighbors insane. 
  • Determine what type of alarm it is. Typically it is either a high water alarm or if you have a blower for an ATU tank the blower may be out. 
  • If you have a blower, feel the casing of the blower motor to make sure that the blower is operating. You can also often hear the hum of the blower. If not, call a licensed and certified septic repair company (not a septic pump out company) to replace the blower. You have a day or two before the undertreated sewage starts flowing to your leach field and begins to damages it. Get it fixed before that happens.
  • If it is not the blower, then it is probably a high water level alarm in your septic tank or your secondary tank. 
A high water alarm is caused by either too much water going into the tank or not enough going out. A high water alarm if not properly addressed will cause septic waste to ultimately back up into your house, though that may occur after your drainfield is fully damaged. A typical septic system has four main components: a pipe from the home, a septic tank (or two), a drainfield (alternative systems might have drip fields, sand mounds or peat tanks where a traditional drainfield is not possible or has failed), and the soil. Many systems also have pumps to move the liquids from the home to the septic tank or from the septic tank to the drainfield, and all systems have pipes connecting the tanks and drainfield. There are also Alternative systems that have additional components such as; float switches, pumps, and other electrical or mechanical components including additional treatment tanks and filters which can clog if not cleaned and replaced regularly (depending on what you flush down the toilet or pour down the drain). It is the alternative systems that typically have alarms.

A high water alarm is caused by one of two things either too much water flowing into the septic tank or not enough water flowing out. If too much water is flowing in you either have a plumbing leak or a running toilet. After several years, the flapper in the toilet tank should be replaced because it does not always seal properly. Check every toilet (and tank) as well as all sinks for dripping faucets. Usually, it takes something like an incompletely closed faucet or running toilet to cause a septic tank to over fill. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, one out of every 10 homes has a leak that is wasting at least 90 gallons of water per day, look carefully for leaks.

The high water alarm is not likely to be caused by excess sludge in the tank, but it can happen when the tank has not been pumped for years and you have a couple of days of high volume usage or doing a month’s worth of laundry in a single day. That is what typically causes the septic system to backup during holidays and parties. A broken septic tank lid can also allow rain and runoff to enter the septic tank and over fill the tank. If it has not rained recently, or you were not running the hoses or a sprinkler, then that is unlikely to be the cause of a high water alarm.

If the problem is not the water entering the tank, then there is a problem with water leaving the tank. This could be caused by pump failure, a blockage in the line to the drainfield which may include a clogged filter, or clogging in the drainfield itself. You need a septic service company to determine what is causing the problem, though check your circuit breakers to make sure that any pumps have power and you could pull the filter in the white pipe between your tanks.

The basic design of a septic tank will only work if the sludge is not too thick on the bottom and the grease and scum is not too thick on top, and if the flow to the tank is not excessive. If there is too much waste on the bottom of the tank or too much water flowing to the tank, there will not be enough time for the solids and liquids to settle out before the tank starts releasing water containing large amounts of fecal waste to the drain field. The fecal waste will over time clog the drainfield. Also, if there is too much grease and scum floating on top, the scum will be released to the drainfield. A septic system is not a trash can. Don’t put dental floss, feminine hygiene products, condoms, diapers, cotton swabs, cigarette butts, coffee grounds, cat litter, paper towels, latex paint, pesticides, or other hazardous chemicals into your system they can end up clogging the filter and/or lines if carried from the tank.

In addition, the National Small Flows Clearinghouse has seen septic distribution pipes plugged with a “noxious fibrous mass” that was grease and cellulose from toilet paper that only occurred in homes with water softening systems. A clog in the distribution system will also cause a high water alarm as the septic water cannot be released or pumped to the drainfield. It is believed that the brine in the conventional septic tank interferes with the digestion of the cellulose fibers and can be carried over into the septic systems drain field. A study in Virginia involving two adjacent septic field dispersal systems in a shared mound have shown that the trenches that received the septic effluent with water softener brine discharges formed a thick, gelatinous slime layer that clogged the infiltrating surface, while the trenches receiving no salt water discharge remained open with a normal microbial clogging layer. Commercial septic tank additives may assist in the breakdown of fecal waste, but do not eliminate the need for periodic pumping and can be harmful to the system. Saving money by not pumping your septic tank could result in the need to replace your drainfield.

Septic tank wastewater after preliminary settling and in alternative septic systems undergoing secondary treatment flows to the drainfield, where it percolates into the soil, which provides final treatment by removing harmful bacteria, viruses, and nutrients. The waste cannot contain too much solid material or scum. High quantities of solids in the waste stream will overwhelm the drainfield. Initially, nitrogen and fecal bacteria will be released to the groundwater as the soil becomes saturated with solids and scum. Eventually the perforations in the pipes to the leach field through which waste water flows become clogged and the waste backs through the system. If a high water problem is left unaddressed, the septic system will back up into your home. Before the septic backs up into your home the high water alarm will sound.

60 comments:

  1. Is there a way to install an alarm onto a septic tank? We have an older septic tank without one, and I'm always paranoid because I never know what is going on with it. I would rather know ahead of time if there is a problem with the system, especially if it can tell me when the septic tank needs pumping. Can you get an alarm separately? http://www.southernsanitarysystems.com

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  2. Amelia, A septic tank alarm is simply a level alarm and can be installed on almost any tank. While the cost of the level gauge is not high, the cost of running the electrical wires from the tank to the house and connecting them to a buzzer can be high. My septic tanks alarm both inside and outside the house. (Prince William County regulation. )When I had to replace my wires, I rented a trencher to do the job.

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  3. 11 inches of rain in one day...my high water alarm went off at 1am. I'm thinking it is most likely caused by a flooded yard. Everything looks fine except for the standing water...what should I do?

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  4. We got 11 inches of rain in one day. My high water alarm went off at 1 am. I am thinking it is just because of too much standing water in my yard. Everything else looks fine. Any suggestions?

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    1. It does sound like the problem is flooding. Only time will solve the problem. Minimize your use of water and wait.

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  5. Hello,
    My home is a new construction, 3 years old. It has been occupied for past 9 months. It has a Fast wastewater treatment septic. When it rains a lot, the high water alarm goes off. The septic company thinks there is a leak inside the tank and wants to seal the tank from the inside for $2000. The backyard and the drain field area seems to have poor drainage. After it rains there is some standing water.
    I was wondering if there is a recommended process to diagnose the problem before they seal the tanks. Also, the plumbers have not been able to find a leak from any fixtures in the house. Thank you

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    1. Hi Sam, I assume you are talking about the MicroFast system. It operates by blowing air into the system that is intended to force the water up above the partitioned media. So where is the high water alarm installed? When the system alarms have you opened the tank to check the water level? Is the top of the tank allowing water to infiltrate during rain? Are you sure it is a high water alarm and not a blower alarm due to a short in the system? When the system alarms is the blower operating? It may be that the system is not properly calibrated rather than the tank is leaking. If the tank was leaking, on non-rainy days the water would leave the tank. If you shut off the zoner and/or pump from the tank (depending on the installation) after a few dry days you could see if the water level goes down in the tank. Maybe a licensed septic system designer could help you diagnose the problem, by checking the system. Where are you? Please email me directly at info@washingtonadvisors.com so I can get more information from you.

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  6. Hello, we recently had a heavy rain and afterwards I noticed our audible alarm went off but was not very loud. The red alarm light is not lit but the alarm is still audible. The green light is lit as if the system is working properly. If I move the switch to the test position the audible alarm is very loud but when i move the switch to a normal operating mode the audible alarm is only about 25% of the volume as the test alarm. It also did this once last year but the audible alarm went away after a short time. I removed the lid of the septic tank and the level does not appear to be high. Any suggestions on what this may be?

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  7. Though my crystal ball is out of order, it sounds like you may have a short in the system. This could be a loose wire or if you have and ATU blowers it may be failing.

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  8. My septic was leaking months before I figured it out. I had the septic repaired in September 2016. I can still smell it some when it rains on the turned up soil from the repair. Now I have found that my well is infected. I tested positive for bacteria and e-coli. I shockedmy well and retested, it's back again. How long do I have to wait for my area to be clean again? Will it just be a fewmore months for nature to clear the area? Or could this take years?

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  9. Your geology, recharge rate, weather, distance from the septic to the well, depth of the well and concentration of bacteria will determine how long it will take. Install a disinfection and filtration system. email me at eward@washingtonadvisors.com

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  10. Noticed that my alarm was going off (unknown for how long, think a few hours) saw that the breaker was tripped. Turned back on. Now I hear a pump outside near the tank lid. Should I be worried?

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  11. Probably not, but keep an eye on it. The alarm went off because the level in the tank was too high. The tripped breaker had prevented the pump from operating, so when you turned it back on, the pump turned on to move tank contents on to the distribution field- all normal. The question is why did the breaker trip? So keep and eye on it.

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  12. Last spring we learned this house had a septic pump and the pump hadn't been properly hooked up electrically properly so had malfunctioned causing backup into the garden. Turns out the alarm was behind a pretty faux fireplace wall in the basement and there was no way I was going to let him hammer into the $2500 wall to get at it so he rigged the wiring another way and got the pump working. We cannot get to the audio switch since it's still in the wall. The alarm just went off which we believe is because we had heavy snow melt plus I did one load of laundry and dishes. All we can do is shut the power off at the electrical box to stop the alarm. Of course, if we do that, the pump has no opportunity to pump. Do we just wait for the ground water to move and leave it off for a few days while minimizing water use? Do we keep trying it every few hours, or what?

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  13. Most alarms are high water alarms. I do not know how your system is set up and where the pump moves the septic water from and to. From your description it is not clear to me what is going on. Email info@Washingtonadvisors.com

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  14. I am about to have an advanced septic system put in. My understanding from the engineer is that the alarm is outside, can be heard several houses away, and I will have to go outside to turn it off.

    I am envisioning it going off when I am not home and driving the neighbors crazy, or going off in a blizzard and I will have to make my way out there (I am no spring chicken.)

    Is there some sort of alarm that would instead, ideally, call my cell phone or something? Or that could be in the house and I could turn it off before I leave and back on when I return?

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  15. Hello Elizabeth,
    We are house hunting and are interested in a house with a septic system. Septic systems is definitely something we are not experienced with. The information you provided above was extremely informative and helpful.

    We have made an offer on the house (built 1978)barring the results of inspections including the septic system.

    There is an alarm installed with a red light. Are there any concerns that we should have or questions we should ask? I'm thinking that there may have been a previous issue -hence the alarm installation...

    Thank you,

    T & S

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    1. That is probably a high water alarm that notifies you if the septic tank is overfull possibly about to backup into the house. If that is the original septic system, it has probably reached the end of its natural life. Get the maintenance and pump-out records, have the systems inspected and evaluated by DPOR licensed onsite wastewater system operators/installers and DPOR licensed onsite soil evaluators.

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  17. How do ypu turn off the high water alarm

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    1. There should be a switch to silence the alarm, but you need to lower the water level by identifying the cause- a leaky faucet or toilet, a clog in the septic system piping or too much sludge. Call a septic service company.

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  18. This morning I discovered a toilet that had been running all night due to the rubber sealer being opened by the bleach disc. This evening I noticed the red light on the alarm and a minor buzzing alarm. I shut off the alarm but the red light is still on. Had this 2 year old system inspected when I moved in about 3 months ago and it was pretty low at that time and we do not excessively use water. Shall I assume its a too full intake tank and once the red light goes out I am ok? Also, the alarm is not very loud is that a first stage alarm? Its a new system with three tanks.

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    1. It will probably be fine in 24 hours when the excess water works it way through the system. It's just a float alarm and the sound is what you get.

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    2. Thanks so much for the prompt reply and you were absolutely correct, red light went off a few hours later.

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  19. My septic alarm goes off anywhere from 1-3 times a day/night for the past 2 weeks. The red high water light isn’t coming on but the green “run” light isn’t on either. I.T used to stay lit. I pushed the fuse in to make sure I.T was secure and the green light came on and stayed on for a little while but is back off. We’ve cut back on water isgahe haven’t done laundry or used the dishwasher haven’t had rain so I don’t think it’s the water level. Any idea what I.T could be? Maybe the fuse needs to be changed in the box?

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    1. Please email me at info@washingtonadvisors.com and include the type of septic system you have, the equipment components and the age of the system.

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  20. Hi Elizabeth, we had an alarm going off in a our vacation rental. Guests found a running toilet, they “adjusted” it during their stay. After they left, we found they broke the toilet lever, we replaced the toilet guts & that day new guests said the alarm was going off every 2 hours over night. They didnt notify us after that, so assumed the high water level had worked itself out. We had the septic pumped in Oct ‘17 & last winter, also then replaced the pump “brain” due to septic smell. Now, 4 days later the septic alarm appears to keep going off. Is this normal to take this long to process high water? That is not normal for past alarms. There is another bathroom I intend to check today, but is there anything else I should look for or be concerned about? We havent really had long standing cold weather to think a broken pipe could be the problem, if that could even be a problem. Should my next step be to call a pump tech?

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  21. We had an alarm go off in our vacation rental during a guest stay. They found a running toilet & said they fixed it. After checking out, we found they broke the tiolet lever, we replaced the guts & thought that would be the end of it. That day the next guests said the arlam was going off every 2 hours over night. Thinking the system just needed more time to process the high water. Those guests never notified us again. Now today, 4 days later the alarm is going off. I have one more bathroom I can check, but is this normal to take 4 days to process a high water alarm? Should I be looking for something else? We pumped the tanks in Oct ‘17 & last winter when we needed to replace the pump “brain” causing septic smell. We havent had extended cold weather to cause frozen pipes, if that could even be a problem. Is there anything else I should be doing or should I now call a pump tech? Thanks for your help.

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    1. From you description I have no idea what type of system you have, what equipment your system has and what type of alarms you have. So my recommendation would be to call a septic design and service company.

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  22. We came home to our high water alarm going off. Went out and shut it off. Had the septic guys out who pumped our tank but neglected to clean our filter as it was “to hard to get to”. They were unable to tell us the problem as water didn’t seem to be entering the tank and we haven’t been using excessive amounts of water. Household of 3. We do and have had a culligan water softener for about 4 years. Not sure if that is the issue as Culligan assured me it would not be. The pump is working. The only thing the septic guys could think of is that my laterals need to be cleared but I would need to wait until spring when the ground thaws. Meaning I would have to have it pumped continuously until then at $350 a pop. Would you happen to have any other suggestions? Desperate for advice. Thank you

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    1. You could try to clean the filter and cut out the water softener for now, but you may have a much bigger problem.The water softening system consists of a mineral tank and a brine tank. To clean or regenerate the beads, a strong salt solution from the brine tank is flushed through the mineral tank. The excess sodium solution carrying the calcium and magnesium is typically flushed to the septic system and ultimately the leach field and groundwater, and these conventional salt-based water softening systems contribute problems with your septic system:
      Brine backwash in the conventional septic tank can increase the flow to the septic tank and can interfere with the digestion of the cellulose fibers and reduced scum layer development, carryover of solids and grease to the distribution system.If this has happened your laterals may indeed be clogged. Without knowing the configuration of your system and what equipment you have I cannot be of much more help. Try another septic company.

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  23. Hi,
    Last night our septic field alarm went off. My husband silenced the alarm but the red light is still on on yhe post by the tank lids. We 4 months ago got it drained and 2 years go got our pump replaced.we have had all of our snow melt, and we have had a lot of rain the past 2 days. Is this something I should stress having someone come out , or is it a wait it out situation. I have tried making phone calls but they are all saying they are super busy! Thank you!

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    1. It sounds like excess water in the system and it will right itself in 24-48 hours. Give it some time and you should be okay.

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    2. Thank you so much for your reply!

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  24. I have a water softener because I have extremely hard water. Could that have a bad impact on the lines? Also, the alarm went off with the red light on. I haven't had the septic tank pumped in 3 or 4 years. Could it be that the tank needs to be cleaned out?

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  25. I moved into a new construction home in February of 2018. The three instances where we have had extended rain the high level septic alarm has tripped. I ha e notified the installer each time and he has been adamant that the rain is not the issue. Seems like a huge coincidence to me but I am brand new to septic systems. Also, the house is in Prince William County and I noticed in an earlier posting you mentioned indoor alarms are required in PWC. We don't have an indoor audible alarm. Should I mention this to our builder/septic installer?

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  26. I have a drip system. We had a real bad rain on Thursday. Which lead to the alarm going off Thursday night. Around 11am on Friday the light had went away and everything seemed normal. Well I took a shower before work this morning to come out to see that it's a light rain and hear that the alarm is buzzing again and the light is on. I dont hear the pump when flipping the switch from auto to off, to manual, to off etc. I'm worried and I dont know if it's from too much water in the drainfield or I'm the pump needs replacing

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  27. A high water alarm is caused by one of two things either too much water flowing into the septic tank or not enough water flowing out. See above for all the reasons. Water is moving out of the tank, though slowly because the alarm turned off on Friday. It's back on after a shower and a light rain. So the system can tolerate only about 20 gallon of additional water at the moment. I would call a service company. Pump the tank (it will give you time). Then check the pump. It could also be that there is back pressure coming from a saturated drip field and drying out may work, but pump the tank to give yourself time to let the system normalize. Protect your drip field it costs thousands of dollars to replace or repair. Have a professional check the system. There are too many variations in geology and system design for me to have a good idea of what your system looks like and its condition is based on age and maintenance.

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  28. Elizabeth, as you know we've had our fair share of snow and below freezing weather the past two weeks in Loudoun County, VA. I received the first high level around around 8 last night on the traditional septic system I have circa 2004. I manually ran the pump until the alarm light cleared and then placed the pump from hand back to auto. The alarm went off again at 0430 this morning and I did the same. My wife called with another high level alarm at 1:30 this afternoon; therefore, I'm seeing a pattern of the alarm going off every 8-9 hours. There was nothing unusual going on at the house like a leaking toilet or laundry or anything... just all the snow that should be melting as soon as we go above 32F tomorrow... we've been single digits and teens the last 3-4 days. I don't recall seeing the pump light lit when the high level alarm came in and that was why I manually ran the pump each time. The high level alarm cleared in about 30-45 seconds which means I probably only lowered the level to just below the float alarm level each time. If the alarm comes in again, I'll silence but will not take the pump out of auto, reduce water consumption, and see if the situation rights itself. My initial thoughts are much like the guidance you have provided as a correlation to the weather event and I just need to wait until the drain field and yard is back to normal. Other than that, I'll try to see how the pump relay is working for the system to call upon the pump... because when I manually run the pump for a less than a minute, I'm able to clear the alarm for up to 8 hours which is just leaving me thinking perhaps my pump is not cycling properly in Auto. Please let me know what you think and I can gather more info on the actual system as needed.

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    1. The control floats in the pump tank should have turned on the pump before it alarmed. The control floats are set so that a specific volume of waste water is sent to the leach-field. When the effluent in the pump tank rises to the level of the "on" float the pump is activated and pumps the level of the effluent down until it reaches the "off" float setting. This is not happening, but your pump is working on manual. You may just have a failed control float.

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  29. Hi Elizabeth, thank you for the advice you're giving on this blog. My question is, would the pump tank consume excessive electricity if the water level is too high, or some other issue causes the alarm to be on? Our alarm went off after a snowstorm and power outages and afterwards we had a major power usage spike. We silenced the alarm for now and suspect the high water issue may resolve after a few days but in the meantime, could this be causing high electricity consumption?

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    1. The power outage stopped the pump from tuning on. When the power came back up, your pump turned on and started pumping like crazy (we hope). Pumps use a lot of power. Also, its possible that when the power came back on other things turns on at the same time...water pumps, sump pumps, compressors, etc. uses lots of electricity. If everything is working- you'll be fine. Keep an eye on it.

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  30. Is there a way to quite the blowers? Just an annoying hum coming from the box. Thanks

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  31. My septic has 3 covers, during the slightest rain .75" there were bubbles coming up from the lids. It sits under water due to bad water grading, which we are having fixed. The last time this happened, the electrical socket was under water for a few hours frying it. We called out a septic company, that told us to change out the outlet and to temporarily hook the septic up to an extension cord. Let the pump run for 15 minutes, shut off for 2 hours and repeat. We have changed out the outlet and are now back on the extension cord running 15 min off 2 hrs. to try to get the excess water out of our septic, due to rainwater. Does this sound normal? Can we let the pump run longer without burning it up? Our leach field, is fine.

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  32. I think our blower is bad. We had an alarm this morning and resetting it is not working. The housing around the blower is not humming as usual. I am currently in the process of trying to get a repair company out to look at it. In the meantime are we ok to use the household water as usual (toilets, washing machine) or should we not use any of our services until it is repaired?

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    1. It will probably take several days up to a week to get the part replaced, so conserve water! What will be going to your leach field will not be properly treated. Don't do laundry and try to use as little water as possible.

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  33. About a week ago, my recirc alarm (light and audible) started going off for about a second every time the recirc pump switches off. Water levels look fine in both the recirculation and discharge tanks. The relay that switches the recirc pump has a lot of soot on it, but it's been like that ever since I first had it serviced about 13 years ago. Any idea what is going on?

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  34. My recirc alarm sounds for about a second every time the recirc pump shuts off (every 30 minutes). Water levels in the tank look fine. The relay that switches the recirc pump has a lot of soot, but it's been that way as long as I've had the system under service (about 13 years). Any idea what the problem could be?

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    1. Without knowing what kind of system you have, the equipment and wiring plan, I can't really be of any help. If you only have a level alarm and the pump- it is not recirculating, but moving the septic out of the tank. It could be a failure of the level alarm itself if the pump is working and the level in the tanks is fine. Call for service.

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  35. Hi Elizabeth,

    I have a fast system that works well until we get heavy rains, then I get a high water alarm. I called a septic contractor who thinks there may be a crack in my primary tank, but can't tell unless we dig up the yard.

    My leach field is uphill, so I have a secondary tank with a pump. If I switch the pump to manual, I can pump the tank out and the alarm goes off. My question is whether there is a harm in leaving the pump in manual in times of heavy rain and letting the low level float control the power to the pump?

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  36. Yes there is. If the level is too high in your primary tank the path of least resistance is to back up into the house.

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  37. Hi, thanks for the quick response. I'm sorry I was not more clear.

    When the high level alarm sets, I'll switch the pump on in manual mode. once the high level alarm goes off I'll switch the pump back into automatic mode, but in periods of heavy rains the alarm can go Off daily.

    The pump tank has a low level float that will shut off power to the pump when triggered. If I leave the pump in manual mode and switched on, this float will prevent the pump from going dry. I'm trying to determine if using this low level float to control power to the pump is harmful to the pump? that way in period of heavy rain I can just turn the pump on and leave it until the rains let up.

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  38. It should not have an excessive impact on your pump, but you realize that you are essentially bypassing the working of the septic tank and pumping dilute but untreated sewage to your leach field. This will significantly reduce the life of your leach field.This will also contaminate the aquifer with untreated sewage potentially contaminating the nearest wells with E. coli. FIX THE TANK!

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  39. Hello Elizabeth. My name is Jim. I have a concern about a new septic system with pump and alarm that was installed on my property when the new house was built. Everything is new, the house, the well that was drilled,the entire septic system, everything new, with construction completed in November 2018. Unfortunately I haven't been able to move into the new house due to the well water being contaminated. Okay, onto my concern regarding the septic system. The septic alarm is going off, even though the septic system isn't being used. I keep the main power breaker turned off to the house and also keep the septic pump breaker and the well water pump breaker turned off individually, but I do turn on all of these power breakers from time to time, maybe once every couple of weeks, to cycle the well water pump for a few minutes, flush the commode. I let the water faucets run for around 5 mins, then after turning the well water pump breaker off and letting the water lines drain from the faucets. After that, I wait for about an hour, and after making sure everything seems fine, making sure the septic pump has completed pumping any water that it needs to, I then once again turn off the septic pump breaker, well water pump breaker, and the main power breaker to the entire house. On 3 different occasions within the last year, when turning the power breakers on, the red alarm light comes on and septic alarm has sounded immediately after turning the power breaker on. Then after letting the pumping system run for awhile, the alarm and red light shuts off. What could possibly be causing this even though the water and septic system are not being used? Could this be caused by rain water/ground water getting into the septic tank causing it to overfill allowing the float mechanism to rise and set off the alarm when turned back on? If so, what can be done to eliminate this problem? The septic system has to pump moderately uphill to a drain field. Any ideas and advice would be greatly appreciated.

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  40. We just had a brand new septic system installed one month ago. There are two 1500 gallon tanks and an Aquaworx pump system. There are only two of us in the household. The other day we came home to our alarm going off. We could silence it but then it would go off again in about 20 minutes. We called the contractor and he had us disconnect the alarm. The next day someone came out and found a problem with a seal on one of the risers on the second tank, and rainwater was getting in. He said he could not fix it properly until we are not having rain. I live in WA state and the rainy season has begun with a vengence. I notice that the light on the Aquaworx panel is on solid now. Also the ground around the riser is very muddy and water is collecting around it. The entire area where they installed the tanks is soft since they installed them and no place for the water to go. We have been trying to divert the water to our field, which always floods but now is worse since their heavy equipment has been there, but at least it has someplace to go. It is still pooling water anyway. Does the solid light on mean that our pump is running all the time? Is this incident ruining our system or flooding our drainfield? What should I do? It has been almost one week since the alarm first went off.

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    2. This sounds like the high water alarm. As long as the water is too high and the system set to automatic the pump will try to operate and bring down the water level. Check the pump to make sure it is operating, override it to manual to make sure the pump turns on. There may be another cause of the problem- pump failure, improper installation, clogged pipe etc. Contact the department of health, it sounds as if dilute raw sewage is being released. I am not sure you should be using the septic system until it is repaired. Because the tank is overfull, the contents are just flowing out of the tank without settling. This will shorten the life of your drain field. It is a new system...so it's probably not too horrible. If the area gets too wet the tank could pop out of the ground.

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  41. We recently moved into a home with a septic system. It had a lot of work done prior to us moving in including: repaired lateral ends, all three risers were replaced and sealed, and the pump was replaced.
    Yet, each time we get heavy rains the high water red light goes on. We live in the PNW so this is pretty often. Is that just something we need to get used to? The glaring red light makes me panic a bit.

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  42. No, this system is not working properly. You are taking on groundwater. You need to check if you have a leak in your tank (or tanks). If it is taking on groundwater in the rain, it is also probably leaking untreated sewage when the soil is dry. Maybe they should have replaced the tank also.

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