Got shafted by the septic tank cleaners

[Mrjlh]

One of these solutions may answer and solve your problem.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/fix-bubbling-gurgling-toilet-66566.html

[Keesters]

30 years same house, two bathrooms each with its own septic tank. Never had to have either of them sucked out. Use this stuff on a regular basis.

[jovavnni]

Must be a ventilation issue, or there might be no ventilation pipe installed at all.

The fall pipe creates a vacuum on the water lock in your toilet and it blubs till the vacuum (under pressure) at the fall pipe is gone.

[Apiwan2]

Buy some vixol and give the lav a good clean

[dotpoom]

Reminded me of a neighbour back home trying to scrounge a "drink" in the morning after a night out on the tiles.

PS. Or maybe it was the other way round....me trying to scrounge one off him......can't rightly remember.

Edited May 6, 2016 by dotpoom

[Tywais]

Just some clarification. I really didn't know how a house sewer plumbing system works until posts from here, YouTube and some home sewer schematics. I just assumed the odor was from a full septic tank. Now that I have, it's clear I just wasted a bunch of money for something they didn't even fix. On the other hand, when they pulled the plate off exposing a fairly deep hole and at the bottom of the hole was the main cover for the tank. There was water over the top of that lid and in the earth gap above it.

[rwill]

You can also install floor drains that have a flap that closes when no water is draining. They keep odors and critters out. There are spring loaded and weighted flap types. The plastic weighted flap type work the best. Spring ones wear out in about a year. Metal flap ones don't seal completely. I did have to shave a little off the back edge of the plastic flaps because they would hang up. Global stocks several types.

[crazykopite]

That's peanuts wait until they ask you for 30,000 baht for a yellow house book that costs less than 200 baht at the local government office on Koh Samui now that is what I call over charging . The other day a motor bike taxi tried to charge me 300 baht for a 3km fair I gave him 100 baht he looked at me I smiled and off he went. You should have told the guys you were not paying and to put the shit back in the tank !!!!!!!

[mesterm]

Guess you paid the "farang tax".

[Happy Grumpy]

Got done by the stinkers once too.

Previous tenant obviously flushed her pads down the toilet as they all came back up.

It was lucky that the scammer displayed what they were via miming and gesturing.

Their scam was that they charged the same as the government cleaners - 300 baht or so, but that was only per a set weight - 2kg or whatever., this is only mentioned after, aggressively, remembering of course that they know where you live, and collect sewerage for a living, just pay.

Edited May 6, 2016 by Happy Grumpy

[khunPer]

I think going price for empty one tank is about 500 baht, but maybe more if it's a farang. If your system is otherwise working – air vent, flush etc. okay – you should not need to empty a working septic tank regular or at all. You can add additional bacteria culture once or twice a year, a tiny bags you can buy from HomeMart or HomePro and like stores for 49 baht (don't have a photo handy, but there are presumably more than one product available). That will also remove bad smell og may even unblock pipes, as it (the bio culture) makes "everything" liquid. If you empty a tank, add some bio-culture, so you have enough in the tank to work well – especially after caustic soda that kills everything...

[fullcave]

Rule number one in Thailand: Always agree on price before the service is rendered..

[lopburi3]

Just some clarification. I really didn't know how a house sewer plumbing system works until posts from here, YouTube and some home sewer schematics. I just assumed the odor was from a full septic tank. Now that I have, it's clear I just wasted a bunch of money for something they didn't even fix. On the other hand, when they pulled the plate off exposing a fairly deep hole and at the bottom of the hole was the main cover for the tank. There was water over the top of that lid and in the earth gap above it.

That water on top is strange - you are having the same dry weather up there as we have down here in Bangkok? If water gets above septic tank there can be serious problems of the poop being forced into vents and blocking them (and may be like cement when drys out). So if you have flood levels it may resolve itself as water goes down - but would have expected first few flush after cleaning to be into less than full tank unless you have a river flowing below house.

[alanrchase]

Just some clarification. I really didn't know how a house sewer plumbing system works until posts from here, YouTube and some home sewer schematics. I just assumed the odor was from a full septic tank. Now that I have, it's clear I just wasted a bunch of money for something they didn't even fix. On the other hand, when they pulled the plate off exposing a fairly deep hole and at the bottom of the hole was the main cover for the tank. There was water over the top of that lid and in the earth gap above it.

You don't know how it works? Wasted money? I have done it because the honey wagon is always about. Decided to call them in. Taken for a ride? Probably, less crap in the hole. Happy.

[Duncan Donut]

My resident family relative threw away a whole lot of uneaten food down the toilet and plugged up the toilet.

So there I was trying to unplug the toilet with no success and did not have a toilet plunger ...so my wife ...being the clever girl that she is, told me to use a large size empty plastic water bottle as a substitute plunger.

So I did ...and it worked perfect and unplugged the toilet.

Cheers

Her Indoors is also a tad clever…to un-block a Gary Glitter, she simply ties a plastic shopping bag over a mop, and sets to it…the suction is just excellent, and no expense spent….

[ThaiKneeTim]

Did some more YouTube research and diagrams for vent pipes and soil stacks after reading the responses here. Does match the symptoms very closely for a plugged vent. Anyone know where the roof vent pipe for Thai 2 story houses may be, looking at neighbors houses I can't see anything on the roof.

We certainly won't be calling them back again so will check with a friend at work about this.

//BTW, thanks for the very useful replies.

The toilet problem is a vacuum created by the flushed water. A cent pipe is intended to break the vacuum and cent gases to rooftop level. The urge alternative is a vacuum break valve that allows air in, but does not allow gases out, in common use in the UK, but I've yet to see one here.

Out here in smallesville the waste drainage is very simple. Toilet waste (Black water) goes to a ground chamber made up of three concrete rings, water seeps into the ground and solids accumulate until no room is left and the sh1t sucker has to come along and do his thing.

Shower and sunk waste (Grey water) runs to the storm water for g running through the village. The locals here have absolutely no idea how to deal with grey water, many properties in the village let it run into the land where it stagnated and caused a foul stench, but they seem happy to live with this.

One corner of the village pond has the outlet from the storm drains, needless to say this is stagnating grey water during the dry season, and it stinks!

[ThaiKneeTim]

A word of warning for those who have septic tanks, the bacteria that breaks down your bodily waste doesn't like caustic soda. If the bacteria dies you'll be left will a smelly hole in the ground.

The remedy is to have the septic tank drained and the contents disposed of, then either:

a) Reseed the tank using commercially available bags of pellets, after allowing the tank to partially refill of course.

Get the sh1t suckers to bring in some active sludge from a healthy septic tank.

[jacko45k]

Yes, ripping off customers is the standard behaviour of these guys, they got me too many years ago!

Some malarky of using a measuring stick and wanting to charge me based on depth of shit removed. I told them to go away, it would be 400 baht per tank and they must be emptied or nothing. They still scammed me by deliberately damaging the covers and telling me I have to pay for them to install new plastic ones, and keeping the brass ones.

Several months later my neighbour complained that the same gang ripped him off because he didn't fix the price first. They rent jet skis when the weather is good!

[Naam]

Yes...and the solids settle to the bottom while the liquids float at the top and seep through the spaces seen in-between the rings and all is well...until the solids fill up the tank capacity and block off the pipes seen in the photo.

Maybe 10 to 20 years of use but eventually the solids will have to be removed and start all over again.

If I am wrong, feel free to correct me...lol

Cheers

you are not wrong but in a properly planned septic system there is no built-up of solids. solids are broken down by bacteria and flushed out into the drain field. the latter of course does not apply to flushed down materials / objects which are not biodegradeable.

note: for sure i know only one properly planned system in Thailand

Edited May 6, 2016 by Naam

[SOTIRIOS]

....been through that with the septic guys as well....

...as for the flushing.....maybe the toilet is located lower than the water table....???

[Tywais]

....been through that with the septic guys as well....

...as for the flushing.....maybe the toilet is located lower than the water table....???

Not in this case. The septic tank and drain are between 1-2 meters below the 1st floor (ground floor) toilet.

This house is around 10-15 years old with western style toilets built in at the beginning. The odor issue was not there for the first few years here and is a new problem starting several months ago. The toilet issue popped up a couple of months ago. So I'm pretty sure it has a vent somewhere, maybe.

[lopburi3]

Odor is often from drains rather than toilet - floor drains with water dry out (especially one near toilet that does not get regular shower water) or become full of hair/dirt and allow drain smell back into room - sometimes sink drain traps sink so down pipe is above water level in trap or hole develop or it pulls away from wall.

[jgm005]

300 BT for the blue poop truck service and with the added chorus of our two dogs barking. Kudo, Nongbulamphu

[Dumbastheycome]

I can't believe I just watched a video of a toilet flushing, twice

That air bubbling back looks like the soil pipe has no vent or if there is one, it's blocked (birds or bees moved in maybe).

The smell of gas also suggests the vent is stopped up.

Twice?

[kamalabob2]

I've been an advocate for proper septic tanks to use for toilets and urinals. With an air vent. My original Buriram Home Builder was 95% accurate on which waste pipes go to the septic tanks. It took about one hour to check all the pipes and make changes.

It has served me well for eight years with zero need to call a honey bucket. However in 2016 I bought a Ridgid plumbers auger to replace a less robust auger to clean out drain pipes in my home and my wife's home. The Ridge Tool Company and Emerson offer proper pipe wrenches, wet dry vacuums and augers in Thailand. It was easy for me to find such tools in Buriram, so it must be widely available in Thailand.

[sandyf]

....been through that with the septic guys as well....

...as for the flushing.....maybe the toilet is located lower than the water table....???

Not in this case. The septic tank and drain are between 1-2 meters below the 1st floor (ground floor) toilet.

This house is around 10-15 years old with western style toilets built in at the beginning. The odor issue was not there for the first few years here and is a new problem starting several months ago. The toilet issue popped up a couple of months ago. So I'm pretty sure it has a vent somewhere, maybe.

Thai septic tanks are normally of twin tank construction and I would be surprised that a house that had been built with western style toilets was not twin tanks. The tanks are designated black water and grey water, toilets go to the black water tank and kitchen, washbasins and showers to the grey water. Bacterial action breaks down the solids and a layer of liquid lies above the solids, the tanks are linked so that this liquid feeds into the grey water. Water from the grey tank will come out via a leech pipe into the soil somewhere.

The fact that there was liquid above the cover of the black tank should give some cause for concern. It would suggest that the leech pipe is blocked and that both tanks had filled up and overflowed into the surrounding soil. If the tanks were full, the vent or vents would be covered and effectively blocked. In the black water tank there would be a layer of scum on top of the liquid and had the tank filled up this may have been forced up into inlet pipe and may be causing some sort of restriction.

It is not a pleasant job but you need to get your hands dirty and check out the tank or tanks. You really need to establish where the outlet goes as if this has been blocked the problem is only going to come back. If you don't know where it goes it is quite possible its been disturbed inadvertently.

I don't have a leech pipe, I pump it out on to the garden during the night on a timer. Sometimes for some reason or other the pump fails to run and the first indication the tanks are full is the 'sewer' type smells.

[kamalabob2]

SanyF: I agree that toilet and urinal waste go in one tank, and that kitchen, wash basins, showers, jacuzzi tubs, washing machines and dishwasher water goes to a different place. What brand have you seen in Thailand that incorporated twin tanks in one unit? I only see DOS or SAFE black water septic tanks when I check at the Buriram Global House, Buriram HomePro, Buriram Thaiwatsadu or family run Buriram Builders Merchants. Frankly quite a few Farang believe their partner that there is no reason to spend 3000 to 4500 baht for a proper black water septic tank. Village style is an option some expats take when building a home in Buriram. I pick my battles with my spouse and she went along with me paying for proper DOS septic tanks for each house. I went along with paying for the monks to come three times to bless the houses.

[prestburypark]

Well, at least you didn't get shafted in the septic tank, thank god for small mercies.

[JAS21]

I can't believe I just watched a video of a toilet flushing, twice

That air bubbling back looks like the soil pipe has no vent or if there is one, it's blocked (birds or bees moved in maybe).

The smell of gas also suggests the vent is stopped up.

At least it was an empty toilet

[Crossy]

I can't believe I just watched a video of a toilet flushing, twice

That air bubbling back looks like the soil pipe has no vent or if there is one, it's blocked (birds or bees moved in maybe).

The smell of gas also suggests the vent is stopped up.

At least it was an empty toilet

And you though of this AFTER eating all those sausages?

Note to other members. JAS has just left our place having munched his way through a large stack of chicken drumsticks and pork snags.