Just rabble rousing this AM – opinions?
Mine is 35 years old, never been pumped, shoveled cellulose residue off the top once 15 years ago.
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Replies
If new, pump after three years, then base frequency on what is found. (Can extend slightly if a large (3-4 bath) home with 1-2 people.) If "used" home of uncertain history, pump within the first two years.
We never had ours' cleaned until we were forced by the state when it was demolished due to us getting a sanitary sewer. I had siphoned it out myself a couple of times and it always looked okay so I left it alone. Mine was homemade out of red brick. The two 250 gallon chambers is considered small by today's standards. It worked great until my daughters hit their teens and started using hairspray. The water soluable hairspray left a plastic-like coating on the walls and clogged the small filter bed. My wife and I dug a drywell that worked fine for a couple of years until the sewer hookup.
The other thing that teen gurls do to ruin a septic system is to use gobs and wads of TP that choke it up
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Septic Tank Pumping Interval
Yeah, but they take care of you in your old age.
How, exactly, did your daughters' hair spray end up in the septic tank? Did they throw the cans down the commode?
The girls washed their hair hair daily. I found a lacquer-like coating on the walls of the tank. I could peel it off in sheets. It probably was the hairspray.
That lacquer like material, what ever it is, is going to soak into the ground below your leach field and plug it up too. Real trouble down the road I would think. I just can't imagine that's what it's from hairspray. Some experimental work would be in order...take a glass jar filled 2/3 up with tap water, spray a good quantity of hairspray in it, put a top on it like a Kerr jar(tight seal) and set it aside for a year or two in a dark place. See if you get a lacquer like film on the walls of the jar. If yes then at least you know where it's from, if no then you might need to keep looking somewhere else.
I'll bet it is liquid fabric softener. When i built my house 18yrs ago. I blew out a gravity feed drainfield in five years. Then my brothers also failed within 6months. The only conclusion is that we both had new babies on board, and the wifes were using downey fabric softener. The installer said it was like coating my tank and drain field in liquid silicone. No problems since then but i did put in another drain field and installed a diverter vavle.I switch drainfields every 6 months. Pump every 5 yrs.
Moot point now, we've had a sanitary sewer for years now.
I had re-directed the laundry gray water a couple years earlier. The only drains feeding the septic tank were bath (sink, tub, toilette) and the kitchen sink - no dishwasher or washing machine.
In other words, you neglected maintenance for years, and when it finally failed you blamed it on your daughters?
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
The tank worked great until the hairspray residue was introduced. Didn't blame my daughters; blamed the hairspray.
A well-balanced, properly functioning tank is pretty much maintenance free. Especially if the gray water isn't killing the bacteria.
A neighbor had to replace his tank to the tune of $15 ,000 ± just a year before the sewers were installed. That hurt.
When I was a kid my Dad went 18 years with 5 kids on a 1k gallon tank.
I know they say pump often now but never really saw the point if you're educated about what goes down there and have good drainage over the leach field (no surface water pooling on it).
35 years is the new record to me.
By the time you see problems it's too late.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
Ok, I'll bite.
A good rule of thumb is every 5 years, although as someone pointed out already, not a bad idea to pump at the end of the first three years and then estimate an interval based on the amount of sludge and scum found the first time. In reality, of course, the need to pump the tank varies from household to household, depending on what goes down the drain (e.g., more often if using a garbage disposal) and how much goes down the drain (i.e., number of people in the house) as well as the capacity of the tank. If you want to get real precise, tank dimensions and configuration have an effect on the velocity of flow through the tank and therefore the settling capacity and the accumulation of solids. But it's hard to think of a septic tank as a fine-tuned piece of equipment.
Here's a link to a publication that has a chart based on tank capacity and number of users http://www.soil.ncsu.edu/publications/Soilfacts/AG-439-13/
I know lots of folks brag about how long they've gone without pumping the tank. But a really rough analogy would be changing the oil in a truck. Recommendations are to change the oil every 3k to 6k miles, and probably in many instances, the oil removed from the engine would still be good for more miles. But is it worth the risk? Most people wouldn't brag that they were able to drive 30k miles without changing the oil before the engine seized. But I have stood looking at a pond of sewage in someone's yard and have the owner tell me "I don't know why it's failing, I haven't even needed to pump the tank in the 20 years the systems been in use."
http://ohioline.osu.edu/aex-fact/0740.html
I've encountered several situations over the years where the HOs didn't pump their tanks on an appropriate schedule. Said they didn't see the point and thought they were being financially shrewd by avoiding all those "unnecessary" pumping fees. Would proudly say with a grin, "We ain't pumped our tank in 20 years". The predictable happened when the solids started traveling out into their drainfield; total drainfield replacement and relocation. Drainfields normally last 40-50 years around this locale. Theirs lasted half of that. They all now pump those tanks on a regular schedule.
Sorry if I seem ignorant, Why does a septic have to be pumped if it operating normally? The bacteria in the septic is breaking down the solids and whatever get to the drain field should be eaten by the bactera in the soil.
I'd say a septic that has to be pumped isn't sized right or something is killing the bacteria in the tank (drain cleaner, bleach etc)
I have my wife dump a box of rid-x every other month in the toilet.
I intalled a new septic (because of a new addition) 5 years ago and have no sludge in either of the two 1000 tanks.
I read the link on your thread could it be buckeye fans are just full of it???(just joking) M go blue!!
Edited 8/11/2007 4:48 pm ET by curley
There are a lot of solids that will NEVER be digested in any septic system!The sand and grit you drag in on your dirty work clothes for one.
Add to that the fact that 99% of all laundry detergents have solids to act as ccarriers for the soap.
If anyone has ever washed out a paint brush in your sink, the paint solids are added to your system
do you know which TP brnds will disolve and digest or which will cause you problems?
rid X once a month is a waste of money unless you constantly add cloreine to kill bacteria. Once a culture is staarted and working, it doesn't have to be reseeded like that.
Then there are all the fats and oils and bones that go through kitchddn dispoasalls that either do no digest or take ten to twenty yearss and can build up.All of these and probably other items are solids that the bacteria do not digest.
When they get to the point where they are taking up ten percent of the space in the digestion tank, that tank is no longer as effective as it needs to be so even more of solids that would normally get diegeeted can be floated on out into the field, creating problems.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Twenty years I can see. The web site the gentleman had from the state of Ohio had me pumping the tank every 4 years.
from the state of Ohio had me pumping the tank every 4 years.
Tax income-- you pay sales tax, the pumper pays income tax and license fees (taxes), the muni sewage system gets a big dump fee, etc. etc..... State guidelines like that have absolutely nothing to do with your health or wellbeing....only 'wellbeing' is for the state coffers...
The "every 'x' years" is a rule of thumb that will ensure that almost every tank is pumped before a problem develops. But is just a rule of thumb. The level of scum and sludge in a tank can be measured. The first picture shows a "sludge judge" used to measure the contents of a tank that was in use for two years. The quality isn't real good, but there is a liquid layer roughly in the middle of the tube, which is what you'd want to see.
View Image
The second picture is the same tube in a tank that had been in use for one year. There is no liquid--the tube is full of sludge and scum. It needs to be pumped.
View Image
Although this forum is full of diy-types who might do this themselves, most people wont. And by the time you pay a sewage handler to uncover the tank and check the contents, in most places it isn't that much additional cost to have the tank pumped.
Some tanks may only need to be pumped every 20 years. I've seen septic systems that have been in use for 50+ years, way under sized by today's standards that were functioning just fine. But those are the exception to the rule.
True
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I've seen septic systems that have been in use for 50+ years, way under sized by today's standards that were functioning just fine. But those are the exception to the rule.Parent house was built in 72 and never been pump, what that 34 years. But the neighbor next door would get pump every five years, he had five daughters. you be amaze at how many condoms he found in the tankI'm a man, you got to respect me as a man, I'm a man
Also note that a septic tank can APPEAR to function correctly but still have failed. For instance, if the leach field is on the side of a hill the water may simply run down the hill, never causing a backup and never resulting in a puddle over the field.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
you be amaze at how many condoms he found in the tank
LOL
And it is also amazing how well the foil wrappers maintain their "look like new" appearance.....
Our state reommends every year or two.Twenty years is definitely too long unless at the least, you open it up for inspection, a stir, and scrape the flotrsam off the top. me, I'd rather pay the pumper to handle that. I have seen well designed systems three years old that NEED pumping. if you wait twnty years, you would be looking at a failed system and 15-20 grand to rebuild it.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
open it up for inspection
But think of the education - there are some really wierd anaerobic worm shapes in the TP floating on the top, probably make a good HS science project??
BTW, anybody know the species of those worms??
Buttwipis regurgititous
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
ROTFLMAO!"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, by Henley.
Aw geez!
bought my house when it was barely 1.5 y/o from it's initial owners...(2 people, no kids)
Tank is 1500 g per my discussions with the builder
I've now been here 5 years, by myself. Thought I was pretty diligent and "ok" re not having it pumped per the TABLES on those posted brochures I'd seen before (for my tank size and just me, they say pump every 19 years!)...but then I read your list of sources of solids and
and
will be calling round tomorrow to see who can come pump it and what will it cost me, and when can I schedule it.
Will try to BE HERE so that I can get some pics of the tank's interior after pumping, since the posts by Hootowl got me spooked too!
thanks guys
You're proving my buddies right tonite when they say to me "you worry too much about SH*T!"
<g>
Only dead fish swim with the stream. Author Unknown
Well, maybe you do worry too much about certain things!
But strike sh!t off the list.;)That size tank is large by far for a single lady like yourself unless you had a herd of dogs and cats and regularly entertained while prodigiously using a garbage disposal to do away with the kitchen leavings.But the size of the tank is only half the system. The type of field for the effluent and whether you have traps and filters can make a diff too. For instance, There is nothing codified here, but when owners install a pig in the kitchen, we recommend a grease trap in line ahead of the tank and a filter on the outflow side of the tank.No need to break a leg getting yours pumped this week, but sometime before Christmas would be nice to get a handle on how things are going down there.I assume that YOU know already, but for the benefit of other readers who might be city girls just moving to the country, the worst thing or at least the most common troublemaker for a septic tank and system is probably those monthly absorbant things women use. They should NOT be flushed
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
can you tell me more about the filter on the outlet side? I've no idea if one is present.I'm thinking of having mine pumped again this fall. it's been 5 years since it was last done and after reading all the posts I thinks it's time. only this time I want to go the camera route too. I hope my honey wagon guy has one. do they normally pump a tank dry? or is this part of the video package? when mine was last pumped only the solids were removed. I think he said there was about 4-5" at the time
I can't comment on the video stuff. For filter, talk to supply folks or the pumper utfits to do that for you. Our primary filtering is a grease trap prior to entering the tank. It is a separate smaller concrete box with a fairly easy to remove filter in it. I suppose adding something like that at the outflow ned could be another option for a way to have something easier to service more often
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
thanks
Most effluent filters replace the outlet tee in the septic tank. This link will take you to an on-line supplier that has filters from a couple of different manufacturers http://www.septicsolutions.net/store/effluentfilter.htm. There are others.
I'd recommend the PVC filters over the fabric filters, because they are easier to handle and clean. I'd also recommend that a riser be installed over the access port to the tank so that you don't have to dig it up to get to the filter.
thanks for the link
I'm going to look into installing one
Ok ok, I'll not fret about trying to get it DONE this week but I think I'll go ahead and line up a tank pumping...(seeing as I really have no idea what the prior owners' habits were like and because an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!).
BTW, your last paragraph had me ROAR! yup...although I'm a city girl born & raised, I was aware of that key monthly issue that could cause a septic system distress.
Only dead fish swim with the stream. Author Unknown
> Sorry if I seem ignorant, Why does a septic have to be pumped if it operating normally? The bacteria in the septic is breaking down the solids and whatever get to the drain field should be eaten by the bactera in the soil. Because there's stuff that doesn't break down. If nothing else, you eat nothing but, say, carrots for 20 years, you've swallowed a lot of dirt that goes through you and then into the tank. Plus, when you were washing those carrots in the sink before you ate them, all the dirt you washed off went into the tank. But, more significantly, many other parts of the food are also indigestible like the dirt, so sludge builds up.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
(And, BTW, Rid-X is worthless. Spend the money on paying the pumper dude every few years.)
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
Did stir the stuff up or what... I have an easy access to my tank. After four years and six people flushing the toilet I had a very small amount of sludge. We don't have a garden so we don't wash the carrotts in the sink
I have a mound system with two 1000 gal tanks with a pump in the second tank. Its been a flawless system
an expensive flawless system is what you have. All the more reason not to mistreat it by failing to inspect and pump it out. It will be expensive to rebuild it.You are only fooling yourself if you think you are not adding solids that will not dissolve
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
After thinking about the topic some more and after thinking about some of your post in the woodshed tavern, I bet you have your tanks pumped out quite often
Well, you can make jokes, but I became aware of this problem as a teen when my parents' septic system failed after less than ten years. Currently on city sewers, and glad of it.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
Every septic system is unique to some degree (tank type, tank design and soil types), but they all have some common characteristics.
http://www.inspect-ny.com/septic/biomat.htm
Note that the first recommendation for extending the life of a drainfield is to pump the tank.
Here's a bunch of septic system info. http://www.inspect-ny.com/septbook.htm#articles
Systems are installed according to the needs of the current inhabitants and the local health department regs. House is later sold and the next group of inhabitants is perhaps twice the previous with substantially different habits. Tank size and DF size hasn't changed. The new folks may decide to install a garbage disposal because they don't know any better. Maybe another bedroom is added. The game has now changed dramatically.
Familiar with the old adage.....out of sight, out of mind? Septic systems are out of sight............consequently, usually out of mind.......until the contents back up into the living space, that is. There's a reason why folks who have the option to hook up to sewer ......eventually all hook up to the sewer. ;-)
Here's a shot of what happens when you don't pump for twenty years.
Edited 8/12/2007 2:25 am ET by HootOwl
"Systems are installed according to the needs of the current inhabitants and the local health department regs."my understanding of a systems design requirements is that it is primarily based on perc tests and the number of bedrooms more than anything else.true/false?
more or less, but some variance between states
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Generally speaking, yes. But realize that septic code is much like building codes; it defines the minimum that's allowable and not necessarily an ideal. And what size system is acceptable is determined according to the current situation/intended use, as there's no way to predict how things may change in the future. Folks frequently add more bedrooms onto an existing house and I don't know of anyone around here who's been denied a permit for that based on the size of the current septic system. The health department more or less turns a blind eye. If they know that the current system is far enough from the well and any stream or pond..... so as to avoid fecal coliform contamination, they won't interfere. They figure you can then proceed with those extra bedrooms as it's gonna be your expense to shoulder when the system fails from overloading or neglect. IOW, no skin off their nose.
There are all manner of potential "special needs" as regards the size of a septic system that simply aren't addressed in the common residential septic code.....nor even considered. Example: A house may have a private well that delivers water in need of much filtering. Frequently these filtering devices backwash with copious amounts of water. This alone can/could double or triple the amount of fluid being sent to the septic system in any 24 hour period. More water means less time for the solids to settle out " in peace". The tank is more turbulent and so more particles find their way out to the drainfield. End result is a shorter life for that drainfield. Even the very material that's filtered out of the well water and backwashed to the septic tank can contribute significantly to the clogging of the drainfield. It isn't always human waste that's the culprit.
If some lady decides to open a hair salon in her basement for a little extra cash, the game just changed again. Way more water now and hair. Hair is a killer on septic systems. The "code" didn't foresee/predict this situation would occur when they gave their blessing to a size-X system.
Point being, you can't always rely upon the health department codes to save your butt with their " X sized tank and X number of lineal feet of drainfield per bathroom/bedroom" chart. It's a generalized minimum and that's all it is. Unfortunately, even if the HO knows that they intend to have some septic stressing activity on the premises later, they may not tell the HD when they are there to size the system. They may keep hushed about it so they can get a smaller and cheaper sized system installed. That's more of that "financially shrewd" thinking that I referred to before.
I'm currently doing some remodeling at a small animal vet-clinic and boarding kennel, situated in the country, which is on septic. Wanna guess how much animal waste and extra water now goes down those tubes and into the septic system each day......not to mention animal hair ? The clinic/kennel end of things contributes way more material to the system than does the house and its residents. This was originally just a family residence (circa 1905) when the septic system was sized and installed about 15 years back. That whole system is now grossly undersized for the current situation and so requires very frequent pumpings.
There haven't been any perc tests done in this area for a several decades. The suitability of a proposed drainfield location is done via soil samples. A hand-held boring tool is plunged several feet into the ground, pulled up and the core sample "read" by a trained eye. They can then see exactly what types of soil are down there, how far it is to clay, how far to glacial drift, etc. Many samples are taken all over the proposed site. A yea or nay is given accordingly.
Edited 8/12/2007 12:13 pm ET by HootOwl
Dog kennels can be real septic system killers. Retrievers and other "water" dogs have hair that stays in suspension (neither settles to the bottom nor floats to the top in the tank) and flows in the drainfield. I looked at a drainfield at a kennel that failed after two years, and the pipe in the drainfield was full of solids that had a jelly-like consistence. And was the smelliest stuff I've ever run across. The owners put a commercial-grade septic tank effluent filter on the tank outlet. The tank does need to be pumped at least annually (when filter clogs) but the replacement drainfield is still working 15 years later.
you forgot to mention cigarette butts - another killer of septic systems. great explanation I didn't know about the hair
thanks
O.K. I stand corrected. In the famous words of "Animal House"...
"Wack" ...............thank you sir may I have an other.........
Is the picture of the pipe going to the tank, drainfield etc???
That's a shot of the outlet pipe to the drainfields. Nice, huh? ;-)
And here's a couple more shots inside a concrete tank that came equipped with concrete barrier walls. Notice that the tank itself is in fine shape but the top edge of the outlet barrier wall has eroded away significantly so that it no longer functions as a barrier to floating solids. This is a very common result as regards concrete barrier walls.
Notice the area circled in red. That's the outlet port of the tank.....or should I say.......was the outlet port of the tank.
The owners were just plain lucky that time because I was able to open the port again, retro-fit a plastic pipe arrangement to replace the concrete wall and their drainfields are still functioning.
IMO, septic suckin' services should always take a few shots inside the tank once they have it empty. It's an easy way to see what gives down there. However, I don't know of any septic services that do that as a part of the normal pumping and maintainance service.........or even offer it at an additional charge.
I also have a movie I took inside another client's tank in order to determine what their problem(s) might be. (Camera and light was mounted to a 2x2 and lowered into the tank) It shows the problem that's been plaguing their system for 40 years. The yahoo who installed the tank installed it backwards. IOW, the outlet port is facing the house and the inlet port is facing the drainfield. When the various septic services have pumped that tank over the years and been asked, "Why are we having all these problems? "......they all just shrugged their shoulders and made no effort to find the problem. They get an F for effort in my book. That system is getting ripped up this fall and will be competely redone.
It's amazing that a thread about cr@p can get so big after just one day.
Anyway - I'm a professional engineer that specializes in septic systems. I can write down pages of information that nobody will read or care about. I won't do it, but I will tell you that you are doing your system a major dis-service by pouring Rid-X down the drain (not to mention a big waste of money). I get asked about it frequently. One very negative side effect of the use of those types of products, is that they turn the solids in the tank into a "goo" of sorts, a goo that can then mix with the liquid in the tank and get into your leach field - AND then resolidify. Fun, huh? Not really, unless you're in the poop pumping business. They love people who pour that stuff in the septic tank.
I am surprised that the engineer or technician that designed your septic system didn't give you a whole list of "Care and Feeding" tips on your new system (especially a mound system). Some guys don't care - I am of the opinion that if I design a septic system for you, I never want to hear from you again, unless it's to say thanks or ask for advice on how to maintain your system. I give all new septic owners a checklist and recommendations and I'd expect that if you pay $15-20k for that new system, you might want to be careful with it.
Case study. I designed a system, BIG mound system for a local excavating contractor with four or five kids. Big new house, system was massively overdesigned because he was doing the installation himself and getting materials at cost. It was designed to handle about 600 gallons a day and sized for something like a thousand. Fast forward to last week (the system is now TWO years old by this point) he calls me in a panic and says his system is blowing $h!t all over the yard. He digs up one end and the whole system is completely saturated, dripping wet. NOT supposed to be. Can't figure out why, low flow fixtures, careful use, I thought I was in for it.
Long story short, turns out he had a faulty iron filter on his water line that had been running 24/7 and discharging 1500-2000+ gallons per day ADDITIONAL flow into the system since Day One. In reality, that's just a trickle. Gallon a minute, maybe a little more. Hmm. There's your problem. He fixed it and now the system is functioning perfectly. So a leach field failure may not always be the scum and solids in a tank.
It's amazing that a thread about cr@p can get so big after just one day
Yeah, me too. Originally just planned to rattle a few cages and see what 'lectures' would develop about never having pumped my tank.
BTW, as said, 100% agree that care and careful feeding IS essential for 35 year "no pump" life. 20 years of that was with 2 kids at home.
BTWII - Grandsons have even been trained to use a tree out back rather than running into the house for #1.
"If it's yellow, let it mellow, if it's brown, send it down."
The toilet rule for the lakeside cottage in Maine.
"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, by Henley.
Not much going on here.......?
You'll probably be forcibly annexed into the local system before you find out how long yours will last.
Joe H
I pump ours every 2-3 years, just to be safe. I did some work for a client two years ago that went 20 years before the leach field clogged due to tank overflow. They claim they never knew you had to pump it. He's a mechanical engineer, 4 person family.
Just this past week I convinced another client to have his pumped, hasn't been since 1988, when the house was built. At least he had site plans and I was able to triangulate the location. He's a lifetime bachelor in his 70's and throws an occassional party.
The in-law cottage in Maine had an engineered system installed 10-12 years ago. It required a holding tank and pump to get to the leach field. Although it is only used 3 months of the year, this week for instance there are 24 people up there. It hasn't been pumped since installed, and they aren't litening to my voice of impending doom. $15k for a new system is a heck of a price to pay for pretending there isn't a problem.
Bottom line, it depends on usage to the frequency of having it pumped. Take your time, and take your chances.
"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, by Henley.
Its a good idea to pull all three hatches if possible and do an inspection. When I pulled the hatch for the discharge side a few years ago, we discovered that the baffle over the output pipe had fallen off and that the crud floating on top was going out the discharge pipe. Left undetected for an extended period, that would have ruined my leach field. For about $100. the septic tank pump operator replaced the missing unit .
Also, the conventional wisdom from septic tank pump operators around here is that if people use Charmin toilet paper, their tanks need pumping much more often because Charmin does not degrade as well as many other brands
Al
Only if and when it's needed. As you already know, there are many factors that influence when it might be needed.
"Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd."
~ Voltaire
Only if and when it's needed; and ..do an inspection..
Ah, finally the right answers <G>
BTW, after 35 years only 3" of sludge (SOS) in the bottom of the 1st chamber (1000 gal), none in the second (500 gal). As said, do need to shovel the TP residue off the top every 2 decades.
Actually even dug up a couple of 1 foot sections of leach field lines 5 years ago to check (have the elevation and location of every 10 ft joint) when installing a power feeder to a shed , perfectly clean, no buildup of anything.
I just had mine pumped this week. 1000 gallon, residential concrete tank, $250. It's a big misconception that bacteria reduces solids to liquid, it doesn't. If the solids build up to the point where they flow into the drain field, the system will fail. You can't just put a drain field anyplace you want to. It has to pass a perk test and be approved. Often there are limited places on your property that will test. Many approved fields are somewhat marginal to begin with. It can be very costly to ignore what you can't see, don't do it.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
My septic inspector recommends after five years then every five. My septic pumping guy says if the family uses lots of skin lotion (ie folks with chalky skin) or cooks alot of greasy foods you might close it up to every three or four. Doing with out is, as some one else has posted akin to not changing the oil in your engine, false economy.
I dump LOTS of Roebic activator in at closing, 30 days and one year, twice the recommended dosage. Gets things off to a good start.
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"You cannot work hard enough to make up for a sloppy estimate."
It basically depends on how much you use it. For us it takes about 3 to 5 years but we still regularly check it up.
Tearing Down the Breaktime
When I launched this whole septic bomb on Aug 8 under the "Septic Fun" thread, well, I had no idea what kind of crap was gonna go down.
I haven't read all the joy, but you guys have given me a whole lotta info to work things out with. I'll probably hire a septic consultant to figure it all out. Maybe one of the folks who told the town our sewer plan didn't pa$$ the enviro sniff test. The revised plan/bid, ah, went up 20 extra large$$. But for $$$6 figures I can get someone.
But I want to take this opportunity to thank some people. The list is long and I don't have anything written down, but I'm gonna do my best here. Let me start with Junkhound. With out your rousing rabble, well, we wouldn't be sitting here. Okay, I can't remember everyone else, but you doo know who you are.
I'll probably restart things w/my septic by buying a bigger shovel, along with a huge net to scoop the hair spray cans. You guys really know how to throw it down. And I'm looking at the whole moving to Ohio thing, though any movement should be done slowly and with careful flushing.
In any case. I am adding the Commonwealth's web page to the wealth of info.
Again thanks for the flow and the ride--and please keep me apprised of anything else ya got.
Thanks, all.
Avoid the 2 C's
We had ours pumped after 15 years. The first years we drained dishwasher clothes washer thru the setic, and other bad practices.
The honey dipper guy told us to avoid the 2 C's, Charmin and Cotonelle toilet paper. We already did.
I expect to go a lot longer next time as we have not been running bad things down the drain.
septeic tank pumping
We have a county-wide mandatory septic tank pump out requirement every five years> Have to to give county proof off pump out or inspection report by liscensed contractor that septic tank doesn't need pump out. hpwever< the installation of an effulent screen @ the out flow fitting of the tank takes you off the pump out list. Not really enforced, except county will deny any building or zoning permit for non-compliance. Annual cleaneing of that screen is pretty much necessary.
Good Lord, Who is John Galt?
Who is John Galt! Your county pumpers pulled a big one over the county and every last man and child in the county!! WOW! I hate this crony government crapp.
I tried to spam your forum and got screwed......
Very interesting post. I think it is useful for many clients. Thank you for this information.
Never to it depends
Depends how many small dogs you put down the desposal. If you don't use a disposal, you might neer have to pump it. It can function as a compost pit for a very very long time. I suppose it depends how may people use it and maybe, but I don't know, if you have cholrinated (spelling) water. My experience is like yours, 38 years and counting.
Never to it depends
Depends how many small dogs you put down the desposal. If you don't use a disposal, you might neer have to pump it. It can function as a compost pit for a very very long time. I suppose it depends how may people use it and maybe, but I don't know, if you have cholrinated (spelling) water. My experience is like yours, 38 years and counting.