I have moved into an older home, not sure how old, and agreed in my contract to deal with repairs myself in trade for reduced rent according to what I spend. The homeowner bought
Up farm ground to lease and just doesn't want to deal with problems as he lives in Florida and I am in Missouri. The house is in the country and not on a public system at all. Sewer problems started from the beginning with the toilet "bubbling" whenever someone showered, the dishwasher ran or the sink would be drained. After the drainage from anywhere else stopped the water level
In the toilet would slowly be sucked
Down until there was almost no water
In the bowl. During the summer I
Noticed a soupy area in the yard.
Myself and a friend who works in
Water/wastewater dug this area up
And the lateral pipe was in fact
Broken. This section was replaced and
It seemed the drains were doing
Better for about a week. Still a small
Amount of "bubbling", but the toilet
Flushed better and the drains drained
Faster. After a week back to the same
Old thing. At the time of repair, my
Friend stated that he believed the system was ONLY lateral lines with no
Septic tank saying that some older
Country homes were set up this way.
Could this be true? Also, we thought
Possibly the vent was clogged but
Looked all around the house and
Couldn't find a vent. However, we
Were looking for a pipe running up the
Side of the house and in one of the
Other posts here I saw where
Someone said the vent would be on
The roof. I've used "main line cleaner"
That is supposedly for septics and
Laterals which resulted in minimal and
Short lived improvement. Any thoughts
Or suggestions would be great. If I
HAVE to hire a professional I will, but
Money is tight. If we can figure out a
D.I.why. Fix for this I'd be ecstatic.

Hi JJ.
I hope you got a hefty discount on your rent because with a older home there's going to be a lot of things to go bad.

Friend stated that he believed the system was ONLY lateral lines with no
Septic tank saying that some older
Country homes were set up this way. Your friend was mistaken. There has to be something for the solids to dissolve in before they turn into liquid and get dispersed in the drain field. When I was a young man back in Wisconsin I worked on farm houses as old as yours. No septic tank but a cesspool and a single 4" line running through the house that all the fixtures drained into via "S
Traps and up the side of the house for a common vent. That's what I think you have.
I also think you have a very expensive repair job on your hands.

Th e toilet "bubbling" whenever someone showered and Noticed a soupy area in the yard. This tells me that you have a partial blockage in the main causing back pressure, ( your bubbles" and a failed drain field if the ground was still wet after the broken line was repaired.

the water level
In the toilet would slowly be sucked
Down until there was almost no water
In the bowl. This tells me the vent's blocked and the system's venting through the toilet.
[QUOTE] I've used "main line cleaner"
That is supposedly for septics and
Laterals which resulted in minimal and
Short lived improvement./QUOTE] Forget the "Gee Whiz" chemicals that promise a quick fix. They never work outside of TV commercials any how.
What you have to do is rent a sewer machine an snake the vent and then the line to the septic tank/cesspool and hope the drainfield doesn't have to be moved. Good luck, Tom