Sewage in the house, and what to do first
Greeley Quality Septic Septic Backup Help in Greeley
A backup is the septic system telling you it cannot move water any further. Here is what to do, and what usually happens next.
- Greeley and nine towns within 20 miles
- Written price before any digging
- Licensed, insured local contractors
- Weld and Larimer County rules covered
Greeley Quality Septic takes calls from Greeley homeowners with sewage backing up into a tub, a shower or a basement floor drain. The first job is almost always a pump-out, both to stop the backup and to see why it happened. What follows depends on what the pumper finds when the lid comes off.
A backup caught early is a $475 to $800 pump-out and maybe a cheap repair; ignored and pumped repeatedly, the same failing field becomes a $22,000 to $29,000 replacement with sewage in the yard meanwhile.
$475 to $800 for the pump-out that starts it
Most backups start with a pump-out, which around Greeley typically runs $475 to $800 for a tank up to 1,000 gallons, plus digging time if the lid is buried. If the cause is a blocked line or a failed part, minor repairs typically run $300 to $800. If the field has failed, the conversation moves to leach field repair or replacement.
Get a price: (970) 442-7072Signs of a backup, from mild to urgent
- Water rising in the lowest shower or tub when a toilet is flushed
- Gurgling in several drains at once
- Sewage coming up through a basement floor drain
- Every fixture in the house draining slowly
- Wet ground or a sewage smell over the tank or field at the same time
What to do right now
- Stop using water. No laundry, no dishwasher, no showers, and as few flushes as possible. Every gallon that goes down the drain has nowhere to go but up.
- Keep children and pets away from any sewage, inside or out, and do not wade through it without boots and gloves.
- If the system has a pump and an alarm, check whether the breaker for the pump has tripped.
- Call, and describe where the water is coming up and what the yard looks like over the tank and the field.
The three usual causes
A full tank
If the tank has not been pumped in years, the scum and sludge can block the outlet. A pump-out clears it, and the pumper checks whether the baffles and filter are intact.
A blocked line or failed part
Roots or a broken pipe between the house and the tank, a clogged effluent filter, or a failed pump on a pressure system. Each is a repair, not a replacement.
A failing field
If water flows back into the tank from the field as soon as it is pumped, the soil treatment area is not taking water. Pumping buys days, not a fix.
Not sure what the system needs? Describe what you are seeing and get a straight answer on what it usually takes.
Call (970) 442-7072Why backups cluster in spring and summer here
Around Greeley the irrigation season raises the water table on low ground near ditches and rivers, and a field that copes in winter can be saturated from below by June. Along the South Platte in Evans and the Cache la Poudre near Greeley and Windsor, USDA soil ratings flag flooding and a shallow saturated zone on many sampled points. A backup that appears every summer and fades by fall is a field telling you it sits too close to the water.
After the backup
Clean up anything sewage touched with care, ventilate, and throw out soaked porous materials. Then get the cause named in writing. If it was a full tank, set a pumping schedule. If it was the field, get a soils evaluation started before the next season, rather than pumping your way through it.
Sewage on the floor right now
Stop all water use in the house and keep everyone away from it. Then call and describe what you see.
Call (970) 442-7072Questions people ask
Why is my septic backing up into the house?
Usually a full tank, a blocked line or effluent filter, a failed pump, or a leach field that has stopped taking water.
How much does it cost to fix a septic backup?
It usually starts with a pump-out at $475 to $800. Minor repairs typically run $300 to $800; a failed field costs far more.
What are the signs my septic is about to back up?
Gurgling in several drains, slow drains everywhere, water rising in the lowest tub, and a smell over the tank.
Can I use water while my septic is backed up?
As little as possible. Every gallon goes back up the drains until the tank is pumped or the blockage cleared.
Will pumping fix a septic backup?
If the tank was full or a filter was blocked, often yes. If water returns from the field, pumping only buys time.
Often done together
-
Septic tank pumping
Emptying the sludge and scum layers before they reach the leach field, on a schedule set by the tank and the household.
-
Septic alarm and pump repair
Engineered and lift systems rely on a pump, and the alarm is how the system tells you the pump has stopped keeping up.
-
Leach field repair
When one leach line fails, or a field starts to struggle, there is often still something worth saving.
Talk it through before anyone digs
Say what the house is doing, how old the system is and when the tank was last pumped. You will hear what the job usually involves, what it tends to cost, and whether it needs digging at all.
Call (970) 442-7072