Need plumbing advice---

[pushkins]

Originally Posted by Redwood

I recommend that you pick up the feces and pick any litter that has been pressed into that feces so that none is flushed into the line....

LOL...I like that idea !!

I'm gonna throw in my two cents worth, just cause I can.

Cats process water differently than humans and even dogs for that matter, cats feces is void of most moisture hence the hard "turds" as apposed to dogs and humans. Human waste turns to a liquid very quickly once added to the toilet especially as it's flushed down the line.
This small fact added with the cat litter (even if it is just the stuff stuck to the crap) could well be collecting (obviously it is).
Just collect the feces and dispose of it in the trash and it seems your problems will go away.

Another small note.......DO NOT use a house pressure washer on your drain lines either from the toilet or the vent pipes, if you think you have problems now talk to us after pressure washing your toilet.

[Sunshine]

An update for HayZee518 - Mrcaptainbob and Redwood - since they had each volunteered a contribution to my concern.

If your refer to my posting of 8-29-2009 - I had indicated I was having a problem flushing the commode in the main bathroom as early as 8-22-1984.

That in Oct 1996 my "work person" removed the previous commode and I had asked him to please break it apart when he took it to the dump site to see if there could be anything there causing the (continuous) backups. He did NOT find anything.

O.K. back to current business.

On Sept 17, 2009 the Septic System people were here. I will record from notes I made following that visit.

At 10:50AM the truck was in the driveway. Richard and Ben went out to the septic tank first to use the video camera to penetrate the pipe from the tank to the edge of the house (that is my understanding). We could see bits and pieces of whatever along the edges of that pipe, but no blockage.

We went to the cellar to see how the pipe leads from the commodes to the edge of the house. Richard felt we could enter that area, if necessary, but we would have to cut into the pipe.

We came upstairs to talk about the commode in the main bathroom. I told Richard that I truly believe the problem lay between the bottom of the commode and that first bend in the pipe. I reminded him about replacing that commode in 1996. (and that the backup problem has persisted.)

Richard agreed to remove the commode if "they" had a replacement "tank replacement gasket" - they did.

So, Richard removed the commode and then the old gasket and then we could see an accumulation of hard guk (whatever) along one side of the pipe leading from the commode down. Richard used a scraping tool to remove much of the whatever - and put it into an accessible bucket. Later, I would put much into a heavy vinyl bag - to make a decision about later.

The hard guk (whatever) lay along side of the pipe occupying about 1/3 of the width.

Then Richard used the video camera to go down the pipe (from the commode opening) - to the cellar and it covered the pipe to the back of the house - and he indicated it was the cleanest pipe he had seen in a long time. His words "exceptionally clean".

I asked Richard if he could use the "high pressure jetting" from the opening beneath the commode to that line beneath - I had hoped he could remove the residue of the hard guk. He could not.

So, he put the new "tank replacement gasket" in place and returned the commode in place.

Then we went out to the septic tank to use the "high pressure Jetting" hose in the pipe between the septic tank and the house - to remove those bits and pieces of whatever that he had seen earlier.

Now, my only problem seems to be - to find someone - some company - that will analyze the content of the matter removed.

My parting shot, if you will, this problem existed long before my first cat came to live with me. This problem existed on/about 1984. I don't see why my "work person" (at that time) had not seen this accumulated guk when he removed the commode in 1996???

No matter, thanks for your help

[pushkins]

There really is no need to pay someone to analyze the "stuff" you have collected and saved....it is simply whatever you have sent down the line from the toilet.
You mentioned in a previous post that "both" toilets were backing up, a blockage in one at the toilet won't cause "both" to back up.