bad toilet clog

frequentflier

frequentflier

happy to be living
Chris0nllyn said:
"Such an environment"? It's a tank. Heavy stuff settles (i.e. kitty litter). Grease and fat floats.

The content of the tank is crap and piss and toilet paper (should be anyway). What do you think could react with kitty litter than would make it float, not to the surface mind you (the outlet has a tee to prevent floatables like grease and fat from entering the drain field) but to a few inches below the surface of the water, enter the outlet, to the distribution box, float in there, and then clog the 5/8" holes in the 100' or so of perforated pipe making up the drain field?

As you mentioned, kitty litter is inert, so bacteria won't break it down (but it will sit at the bottom of the tank waiting to be pumped out) and as someone else mentioned previously, kitty litter is made of clay and hardens.

If the OP had said they'v ebeen dumping kitty litter for a long time, I'd agree with you. But since it's one time, the septic is fine (assuming they're on septic).
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The Worlds Best Cat Litter; which claims to be flushable, is made out of corn.
 
Chris0nllyn

Chris0nllyn

Well-Known Member
nutz said:
You may want to pursue some different resources for information or reference a different jurisdiction.
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What am I wrong about?

Dry Well or Seepage Pit: Drywells and seepage pits were typically used from the 1940s through the 1960s. These systems works like a drainfield but is different in its structure. The effluent flows from the septic tank to a cylindrical pit that is surrounded by gravel before reaching the soil.
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Calvert County's septic guidelines state:
Seepage pits/absorption beds
A. Seepage pits or absorption beds are generally utilized on small lots where trench, mound, or atgrade systems are not viable.
B. Seepage pits generally lead to high amounts of wastewater being applied to a small amount of surface area in the receiving environment. This often leads to saturation of soils and clogging. For these reasons, seepage pits are not a preferred method of sewage disposal.
C. When seepage pits are utilized, EH recommends filling the pit with 2 inch washed gravel.
D. All seepage pits installed in Calvert County shall utilize a system of perforated laterals installed on top of the gravel in the pit. This may be in conjunction with a vertically installed center-feed 6” Schedule 40 PVC pipe connected to the inlet pipe (either directly or with a distribution box) or a 6” Schedule 40 PVC pipe installed vertically for observation only.
E. Seepage pits or absorption beds shall be installed in accordance with the permit specifications.
F. Seepage pits must be separated from each other by three times the diameter of the pit.
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DEEKAYPEE8569

DEEKAYPEE8569

Well-Known Member
beachcat said:
i put some clumpable kitty litter down my toilet cuz i was too lazy to put the crap in the trashbag. so now my toilet is plugged up, the water will not drain. I tried a plunger, a drain opener. I'm gong to try sulphuric acid drain opener, but reading the reviews its scary. I don't want to call a plumber yet. my house is about 20 years old, and the suphuric acid is supposed to be safe for this (i read the lowes reviews on line).

or....anybody know plumbers that do side jobs? last one cost me $190 dollars for 20 minutes work.end
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I tried that trick once. The only thing that worked was scooping it out with a long-handled cooking spoon, followed by running a pipe snake down the toilet to get by the S-bend. You might want to reconsider pouring sulfuric acid down your toilet. It will ruin the porcelain. If you can pour it down the trap on the roof; that would work better.....no ruined porcelain.
 
O

officeguy

Well-Known Member
PeoplesElbow said:
I knew someone who lived in a rental house for three years with no idea it had a septic system, she had poop backup in the house and found out.
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Somewhere in MoCo they had a guy who dutifully paid his monthly bill to WSSC for wastewater disposal for 20 years. When sewage backed into his basement, the plumber found a complete septic system in his backyard. Somehow, when WSSC came down the block with their sewer line, his house wasn't hooked up, but he still was listed as connected. I believe he settled with WSSC, they basically reimbursed him the fees since he owned the home.
 
PeoplesElbow

PeoplesElbow

Well-Known Member
I think she is still trying to unclog the toilet. Or she took drastic measures and went the porta-potty route and caught fire.
 
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