01-05-2023, 09:40 PM
Hello Wingham,
I've dealt with two septic line & tank freezes in January/February and have experience correcting the problems both short term and long term. I also had some limited help from Steve at Acme, and later from an excellent excavation/septic contractor out of Gold Hill. I'm willing to talk about it. PM me if you're interested.
First and most important advice is that when you plan to leave during winter, thoroughly flush the sinks and toilets multiple times to remove all solids (TP, etc.) from the sewer lines all the way down to the septic tank. Those solids create barriers that freeze and back up drain water to escape into the house. The result can be costly and difficult to deal with in the middle of winter.
In my case, the back up broke a cast iron sewer pipe in the basement that leaked and destroyed a furnace and water heater. All thanks to a septic contractor that did substandard work throughout the area, finagled county inspections by deception, and escaped responsibility by getting drunk and killing himself in a motorcycle accident.
I've dealt with two septic line & tank freezes in January/February and have experience correcting the problems both short term and long term. I also had some limited help from Steve at Acme, and later from an excellent excavation/septic contractor out of Gold Hill. I'm willing to talk about it. PM me if you're interested.
First and most important advice is that when you plan to leave during winter, thoroughly flush the sinks and toilets multiple times to remove all solids (TP, etc.) from the sewer lines all the way down to the septic tank. Those solids create barriers that freeze and back up drain water to escape into the house. The result can be costly and difficult to deal with in the middle of winter.
In my case, the back up broke a cast iron sewer pipe in the basement that leaked and destroyed a furnace and water heater. All thanks to a septic contractor that did substandard work throughout the area, finagled county inspections by deception, and escaped responsibility by getting drunk and killing himself in a motorcycle accident.