Our newly installed sand sand filter septic system smells terrible. What can we do to stop the smell.?
We installed this system to the T by the county dept requir 1 yr ago. We don't have a pump system at the end of the septic tank as I have read that others have. Our pipe is 6 foot above our roof. Do we need more lenghth there? The ground isn't saturated anywhere that I can tell. I put a bacteria disk down the toilet 1x a week to help with decomposition. Sometimes the smell is so bad it takes your head off. The smell comes from the pipe over the roof line and also from the vent pipe over the drainage fields. I keep chlorine tabs down the chlorine tank, (last tank) as we are supposed to before the water comes to surface. It doesn't seem to stink at the water run out area. Just from the pipe over the roof and from the vent over the drainfields. It almost seems like we have alot of draft that runs through system from the vent pipe. I have even put plastic over this to stop the draft. Not sure if I am hurting anything by clogging off air flow, but just desperate to stop this smell
Public Comments
- obviously the system isn't working and you need an expert ( where did the original plans come from ? ) if the design and installation is correct then you are exceeding the capacity of the system or your soil is not the proper type ( did you have a 'perk test' and why the sand system instead of a tank and leach field system ( clay soil ? ) the type of sand and distribution would seem to be critical ( you would have to have an even filtration and you would have to have an adequate colony of LIVE anabolic bacteria
- The smell is more than likely coming from the roof vents. You might try extending the roof vents up about a foot or so. This is a common occurence. Pay attention to the weather conditions and wind direction to see if there is a common factor to when the odor is at it's worst. Good luck.
- You are killing one operation with another. You are using decomposition chemicals but then you are using chlorine tablets which will react with the decomposition chemicals. Have your septic system emptied and purchace the bulk starter systems, normally in the form of large bags which you put in the bottome of the system. They are readilly available from B&Q and mosts Farmers stores in the Countryside. You should empty your septic system every year anyway. If you do not have a soak away pipe at the end of your septic system then crust will build up in the tank and should be removed by vaccuum tanker.
- change the whole thing or throw it away..
- anytime you use sand for filtering you have problems!sand is the worse material for grabbing and not only holding onto but,creating new smells altogether.
