The kitchen sink won’t drain. Is that a plumber’s job, or is it the septic tank?
It’s one of the most common questions we get, and the answer saves people real money. Call the wrong trade and you pay for a visit that doesn’t fix anything. Here’s how to narrow it down in about five minutes, without touching a tool.
Ask One Question: How Many Drains?
One fixture acting up almost always means a local clog. A slow bathroom sink is usually hair. A slow kitchen sink is usually grease and food. A single toilet that won’t flush right usually has something stuck in its own trap. The rest of the house works fine, because the blockage is between that fixture and the main line.
Several fixtures acting up at once points downstream. The kitchen, the tubs, and the toilets all share one main line out of the house, and that line feeds the septic tank. When everything slows down together, the problem sits where they all meet: the main line, the tank, or the drain field.
Watch the Lowest Drains
Water takes the easiest way out. When the main line or the tank backs up, wastewater comes up first through the lowest openings in the house: a basement floor drain, a lower-level shower, a downstairs toilet.
Try this. Run the washing machine or a bathtub upstairs, then watch the downstairs shower drain. Water bubbling up, or a toilet gurgling down there, means the backup is past your indoor plumbing.
Clues That Point to the Septic System
- Slow drains all through the house
- Gurgling in toilets when other fixtures run
- Sewage odor outside near the tank or drain field
- Soggy ground or unusually green grass over the field
- Trouble that’s worse after heavy rain or a big laundry day
- No record of pumping in the last three to five years
Clues That Point to Indoor Plumbing
- A single fixture is slow and everything else is fine
- The problem started right after something went down that drain
- A plunger or clearing that one trap fixes it for good
What Not to Do
Don’t pour chemical drain cleaner down a drain when you suspect the septic system. It won’t reach a full tank, and harsh chemicals can kill the bacteria the tank depends on. Don’t keep flushing to “see if it clears.” And when more than one drain is backing up, stop running water until somebody looks at it.
When It’s Past the House
When the trouble is in the main line, the tank, or the field, that’s our work. Action Septic Tank Service handles septic pumping, sewer line cleaning, hydro jetting, and line and drainfield repair across North Atlanta, and has for more than twenty years. We’ll find where the blockage actually is and fix that. We’re open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and provide emergency service.
Call Action Septic Tank Service at 770-922-1434 or visit actionseptictankservice.com to schedule service.