Sorry to hear that, UT. Not a nice holiday present.

The sewer thawed today even though it didn't get above freezing. I poured a bunch of boiling water down the drain, maybe that did it. Don't know. Maybe I could use salt water?

I think you need a small thermo nuclear device! I think hot water should help thaw, but until it breaks free you might cause more flooding.

sorry you are going through this, especially with the holidays coming

I'm no septic expert, but I do know that you don't want to put anything down the drain that will kill the bacteria that eat the poop. Large quantities of salt water might do that. Boiling water down the drain will probably cool down rapidly upon contact with the metal pipes to lose virtually all effectiveness before reaching any distant blockage. But if it's not spilling all over the basement floor, it probably can't hurt.

If the plan is to thaw the system out, the best bet is to insulate the ground and allow the warmth of the ground to thaw the frozen surface. Bales of hay stacked tightly together over the system probably are the best bet.

That's a big job though, and I'm not sure what it would accomplish other than making digging a bit easier. I'd leave it up to the septic contractor.

I'm glad for you that things seem to have thawed a bit.

I don't think there have been beneficial bacteria in this system since I've been here. I've treated it twice with bacteria shock chemicals, no result.

My fucking computer will not upload pictures. I hate this piece of shit.

It sounds like your septic system is well beyond the help of bacteria/yeast solutions. My septic guy says that stuff is essentially like the snake oil you add to a fucked up engine; it's not a valve job.

If you can get a look at your waste pipes, check to see that any 90 degree bends are long sweep and or sanitary Ts. I know you are renting, but if you see poor plumbing that will explain a lot of your problem if it isn't just a septic tank failure. The tank should be filling with solids and the liquid should run off into the leach field. If the tank is over flowing then the liquids are not making it through the leach field or the ground isn't taking up the water. The leach field should be below the frost line and not backfilled with clay. Assuming the leach field is not the problem, another BIG culprit in plumbing problems is "flushable" wipes. They are not. They shouldn't be flushed. My BIL has made a lot of money cleaning out drains that were clogged with flushable wipes. They can be what's blocking the inflow into the tank.

The point about checking the quality of the visible waste plumbing is that it may be an indication of the over-all quality of the work.

Sorry you are having this particular adventure.

Ha ha ha ha

There's "A", there's "B"... and then there's "C", hook it up however seems about right that day.

http://cellar.org/2013/draindiagram.jpg

When the drain is non-operational, sewage comes out the pipe fitting access that the washer drains into, 10 feet to the left. When I showered yesterday morning, water was out that access and onto the basement floor.

Wow. no clean-outs. Nice job. Jeeeeeez.

Landlord called and she can't reach the owner, but they are going to get a septic company to come and pump out the tank

Joke's on them. They literally will not be able to pump shit. When I turn on the kitchen faucet, within one minute water is draining out of the septic vent hole and into the back yard. It's in compleat failure.

unless it was uphill to the sewer line. isn't casa del toad somewhat downhill from the street?

@UT-- I'm very sorry you're having this trouble. I can't help from here, but I do feel your pain man. sorry bro.

20 feet downhill from everything else surrounding it. This place is a true oddity, which is the part I like most.

A sweet example of this:

This place has nine smoke detectors. All identical, all installed at the same time, with the same brand of 9V batteries.

A few weeks ago, all nine detectors went on the "low battery alert" chirp - within days of each other!

What could I do.. I bought a 12-pack of 9Vs on Amazon and replaced all the batteries at the same time.

UT sewer problems? Can't think of anything worse in the winter. :greenface

It was -7F here this morning. So I have a barn cat because some asshole threw out a perfectly good cat. She has been here since October. I have dog breeds that hate cats so no way she can live in the house. To be fair they were here first. I noticed that day by day she was getting huge. Skip fixed her up a dog igloo inside the barn with straw and a blanket over to close the door.

She has 4 kittens right now maybe more coming . I had to warm up two on my car seat. {You can fry eggs on a PT Cruiser car seat warmer] So they got warm went back to mom and then I covered her with an old LL Bean down coat. I gave her some watered down milk and she is purring and happy.

I just want to say some people sure are assholes and this kittie deserved a better home than my barn, but that is all I can do right now.

Well...

You could leave her the keys to the Cruiser and those nice warm seats.

Congratulations on yer new cow cats.

This kitty was lucky she crossed your path, after her experiences with human assholes. Your kindness will come back to you. And maybe one (or more) of those kittens will be a fantastic mouser. Check for extra toes; that's the mark of a good mouser. ;)