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My house is serviced by septic system and to prevent all the lint from the wash water from going into the septic system I use one of those simple wire mesh lint traps that attaches to the end of the water discharge hose from the washer. In my setup, the water comes out of the washer via the discharge hose and through the lint trap, then into a laundry tub, and then out to the septic system. Well, the other day I adjusted the lint trap but I obviously did not tighten it down enough. During the first rinse cycle it came off and plugged the laundry tub. With the tub already full from the first rinse cycle, during the second rinse cycle the water overflowed and flooded the basement. I am planning a new addition to our house and the washer and dryer will be moved from the basement to the upstairs near the bedrooms. This was the plan before the drain became plugged and flooded the basement. Now I am not so sure about the arrangement. What I would like is a better way to trap the lint from the wash water so it does not all go into the septic system. Or, am I being too concerned about lint in the septic system? Can anyone direct me to any products that are on the market that will help trap lint instead if the old wire mesh sock – plastic tie down strap? Thanks.
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Replies
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I've had better luck with old used womens stocking/panty hose. You do have to change it every once in a while, but it gets a lot of stuff. I attach it with a scrap of 12ga copper wire (just wrap around discharge hose and twist it tight).
We're doing the environmental thing and using cloth diapers vs disposable, so my rinse water is usually filled with baby sh-t. You may not have to change it quite as often!
*Use an old nylon stocking and an O-ring. Leave the nylon long and just toss when it gets half-full.
*Ah, heck, Stray beat me to it...
*Get a larger tub. The tub should be sized to handle the total discharge of the full cycle. Elsewise get one of the front loading low-water use machines.
*There is a somewhat pricey commercial lint trap on the market. I am a year or so away from constructing my own septic system so haven't searched all that diligently, however, this is the only one I have run accross - seems like there should be more economical ones out there...http://www.septicprotector.com/productinfo.htmhttp://www.laundry-alternative.com/septic1.html
*Stray,Do the women that you get the panty hose from really have to be old and used?Thomas
*As an alternative, put in a dry well, dedicated for the washing machine discharge. It's a DIY project. Check for local laws or permitting.
*Thomas...No, but it does make for larger, stretched out, stockings, so the capacity for lint is more :)(Quick...how do you edit these damn posts?!?! my wife is coming!!).
*Get one of the front loading washing machines anyway. Hey where does the lint from them go. My top loader had a lint trap, (I think it did). With the front loader I can put 15 pair of my kids jeans, and 8 pair of my jeans in one load Try that with a top loader!! Or all the sheets from our queen bed and the two twin beds plus a bunch of towels. Or all my and my husband's shirts for two weeks. Or ....... I had to buy more clothes 'cause I didn't do the wash as often :^} So half as many loads of clothes, and each load uses half as much water. Good for your hot water heater and good for your septic tank (don't tell anyone, ours runs into a dry well. Oh were we supposed to check for local zoning laws. Just dig the hole at night.)
*Martagon, if i put three socks in my Maytag (don't believe the advertising),two of them look like they spent all night dancing the Tangle and the other is MIA. I lust for a front loader, but no idea what to get...please whisper the brand/model of yours in my ear...
*The complaint on the front loaders used to be that they spent more time in the repair shop than in action washing clothes - I don't know that still holds. It is also necessary to keep the door seals in good shape - as I know from personal experience...
*Pardon a dumb question, but why worry about lint in a septic system? Don't think I've ever heard that before.
*If you check out the links that I posted above, they claim that the large amount of synthetic materials in todays lint plugs up the spaces in the soil and reduces the amount of area available for the microbes to do their thing. The synthetics don't break down and supposedly chokes down the septic system and leads to failure of the septic system. I have read similar comments on a number of web sites discussing septic systems including several that are non-commercial and are not selling anything. I haven't seen any studies of this effect, so don't know if it is actually a myth or real.
*Hi Splinter, I hate to tell you this, but my front loader is a maytag. I bought it just a few months before Consumers' Reports did an article, and they did not rate it as #1. (Sorry, can't remember who was) It's less than 2 yrs old, and I haven't had any problems,.. I'd be really upset if I did! I've had more problems with the G>E> fridge that I bought at the same time!!!The worst problem I've had so far is that socks tend to fall into the space between the drum and the door, so after some loads I end up with a handful of wet socks. It's not a constant problem, so I can't figure out why it happens sometimes, and sometimes not. They realized there was this problem, but I don't know if the newer models have had this modified. One drawback listed about front loaders is that they lock, and you can't put anything else in. Well, it doesn't lock until a few minutes into the cycle, so you can add stuff at the start, and, I load it so full that I couldn't add anything more anyway. As well, with mine (don't know if they're all like this), if you really, really want to add something part way into the cycle, you can stop the washer and wait two minutes for it to unlock. I don't consider this a drawback.The maytag drum is on a 15° angle, which makes unloading easier. If you have sore knees or a sore back, you may want to put it onto a raised platform. (Notice in the appliance stores that these washers are usually elevated.) Because the drum spins so fast, the clothes stick to the walls. I usually find socks or face cloths, etc, stuck to the 12 o'clock position. I definitely would buy another one. We've gone from 7 or 8 loads of clothes each week to 3-4 (1 towels/sheets; 1 jeans; 1 load of t-shirts, underwear, socks, etc; e/o week 1 load shirts (don't get enough dirty in 1 week); Depends on what we've done during the week) If you don't have a lot of wash, a front loader may not be useful, depends on how much 'mixing' of clothes that you want to do. The drop in water consumption is tremendous. One-half the # of washes, 1/3 the amount of water.
*Thanks, Martagon, very helpful. I bought the Maytag based on the commercials, i swear, since i'm not much for buying new stuff. I've been a lot better since then at researching new purchases due to that fiasco, so I'll get the CR article next time i go to the library; thanks for the heads up on that.The info on the drum tilt is new to me, and the elevation idea is very sound for knees that aren't. I don't have acres of laundry to do, but i oftentimes end up washing a load two or even three times to get them sorta clean. This on a septic system...so the front-loader stillmakes sense to me, even though they're initially more expensive.
*Hey Splinter, I got the stacked Maytag front loader system. My old Maytag lasted me 23 years before it bit the dust. Actually it wasn't fully dead but we noticed it was limping so we did the mercyful thing and gave it away. (merciful to the pocket book)The kids who got it are still limping with it and they love not going to the laundramat (besides it saved us the dispoal fee) Laundry is no longer a saturday and finish up on sunday affair, plus it's quieter than the old beast!
*I think David Thomas had a post last year with lots of details on long life of septic system if you keep the garbage and laundry stuff out. Our house has a separate laundry field and NO garbage disposal, only 3" of sludge in sewage tank after 30 years. (Never pumped, did have to shovel the TP celluose off the top once, fun job). MHO is that it is probably easier to put in a separate field for laundry once (unless you get screwed by codes)than try to remember the lint screen etc. forever.
*SplinterWe have the maytag frontloader and are very happy with it. ASKO makes one (Sweedish/Swiss???) and I think Frigidair or GE also had one. The Maytag has the biggest opening in the drum (ie the smaller the opening the harder you hve to work to pull the wet comforter through it). I also like the tilt angle drum and the water consumption has been great. Solid machine, no regrets (and we wash a lot of diapers...).
*I talked to the county about a graywater sytem, not legal and they were adamant despite the information i gave them. This where it rains 15" a year and people want lawns like they had in Seattle...Frenchy, does it make a difference which you start stacking first, washer or dryer? I've been wondering if the washer pump would be strong enough to get the water from the basement up to the first floor and out in the new house--this could give me some welcome height if it can go on top and i can run the graywater straight to the lilacs instead of to a sump for further pumping.
*Paul, There is a very effective lint trap situated 12-30 inches below your nose. In most people it's 2-3 inches north of the belt buckle but, if you're over seventy or you belonged to the science club in high school, it may be slighly south of your belt buckle. This kind of lint trap, I've found, is very good at capturing lint but difficult or impossible to clean.
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My house is serviced by septic system and to prevent all the lint from the wash water from going into the septic system I use one of those simple wire mesh lint traps that attaches to the end of the water discharge hose from the washer. In my setup, the water comes out of the washer via the discharge hose and through the lint trap, then into a laundry tub, and then out to the septic system. Well, the other day I adjusted the lint trap but I obviously did not tighten it down enough. During the first rinse cycle it came off and plugged the laundry tub. With the tub already full from the first rinse cycle, during the second rinse cycle the water overflowed and flooded the basement. I am planning a new addition to our house and the washer and dryer will be moved from the basement to the upstairs near the bedrooms. This was the plan before the drain became plugged and flooded the basement. Now I am not so sure about the arrangement. What I would like is a better way to trap the lint from the wash water so it does not all go into the septic system. Or, am I being too concerned about lint in the septic system? Can anyone direct me to any products that are on the market that will help trap lint instead if the old wire mesh sock - plastic tie down strap? Thanks.