Finding my septic tank

[BeeferMan]

If you have a septic tank, you should not be using a garbage disposal. We put all the disposal stuff in our compost pile out back. And from what I have read, RidEx and those kinds of things are really not needed.

You can use a garbage disposal, but you need to consider the load it puts on your septic tank, like adding a more people to your household, i.e. it will need to be pumped more often.

You are correct that RidEx will do nothing for a correctly working septic tank...

 

[Deere Dude]

Different parts of the country have differing attitudes toward pumping. In Wisconsin, it must be pumped every 3 years. Working with the pumper as he does this, I can see why. There is a foot of floating solids on the top that is not going to magically disappear.

I was in Tennessee looking to find a house a couple months ago and their attitude generally is, "If it works, don't fix it." "I haven't had mine pumped in 18 years and it is still working good." Although I did talk to a plumber and also someone from the health department and they suggested 5-6 years.

That is like never changing oil in the car and never changing it because it works just fine..

I ended up buying a house and part of the contract was to have it pumped. When I get down there next month, I plan on re-digging it and putting a riser above ground level to have it pumped more regularly than every 18 years. Maybe 5 years would work with two people in the house.

 

[bucktaker]

I just bought a place in TN and am kinda worried about the septic as there is no permit on file with the county for my house. That being said I am going to send all the grey water over the hill as mentioned above and only have the toilet going into the tank. We know where the tank is its the leach lines were are unsure of.

At home in Oh I just paid 200.00 to have the septic pumped its been 8 yrs since the last pump and the system was fine less than half full of sludge, no problems with the lines the septic guy said see you in another 8-10 yrs

 

[creekbend]

just a thought? BTW, I know exactly where our Septic system is because I helped install it. But if it were me and I was buying a place where the Septic Tank and the rest of the system was unknown, I would look where the Grass grows taller and faster. In most Septic systems, the area of the FIRST Lateral Drain lines in the Field Bed will have more seepage than the ending Lines. Just a thought?

 

[pinetree10]

We have a 31 year old septic system with what I'm told are seepage pits instead of a traditional leach field. I'm no expert on what seepage pits are so maybe someone on here can give the details. The system has a 1,000 gallon tank and we've used a garbage disposal for ten years now with no problems. There are four of us living here and we have it pumped out every year because a buddy of mine owns a septic system business and does it for only $160. Annual pump-outs also mean we can use the disposal when we need it because the solids never get a chance to build up to a level where they'll do any damage. We still avoid dumping grease down the drain because you gotta remember the stuff will eventually make its way into the system somehow and we don't want to have to do any repairs. The yearly pump-out is a relatively inexpensive means of keeping the system healthy for hopefully the entire time we own the home. We even put a mulch bed over the tank lid so all we have to do is remove about a foot of mulch when it's time to get it done.

I would never recommend waiting more than a few years between pump-outs and those commercial bacteria products are a scam. My guess is there's plenty of good bacteria already in your tank unless you pour gallons of bleach down the drain on a regular basis.

 

[Bigfoot62]

. . . When they came to pump mine, he ask where the tank was. I had no idea.
He went into the house & flushed a radio transmitter down the toilet. Walked around outside with a receiver & soon had it located. . .

I hope that was a disposable transmitter?
He didn't make you "swim" for it, did he?

 

[bucktaker]

just a thought? BTW, I know exactly where our Septic system is because I helped install it. But if it were me and I was buying a place where the Septic Tank and the rest of the system was unknown, I would look where the Grass grows taller and faster. In most Septic systems, the area of the FIRST Lateral Drain lines in the Field Bed will have more seepage than the ending Lines. Just a thought?

If you are referring to my situation I have no grass only woods, rocks and more rocks. Rocky TOP Tn for sure!

 

[Recoveryhill]

I've managed everything from outhouse pits to municipal treatment plants and everything in between, among other things.

No matter how you treat raw sewage, municipal or individual septic system, the by-product of properly digested sewage is sludge. Sludge is dirt, for all intents and purposes and it displaces the liquid capacity of the two tanks to accommodate the outflow of the residence. The untreated sewage does one of two things once the tanks are full of sludge.

1. It backs up into your house which probably means not only the tank is "stuffed" but the leach field as well.
2. If the leech drains are open, it allows raw, un-digest sewage to flow into your drain field, along with everything that is bad for every living thing.

Crap is no different than any other vegetable or animal waste, digested in a mammal or not. Crap does carry serious diseases but digests the same as Celery cuttings. You need liquid space with all the natural bacteria that eats everything organic, in the first chamber. The digested sludge goes to the bottom, and the digestion process turns the sewage into reasonably pure water which rises to the top and spills over into the second chamber. Further settling and some digestion occurs there and then the water at the top enters the drain field almost clean enough to drink!

Don't hold your nose when thinking about your septic system. Understand how it works and keep it healthy. It's a beautiful thing and bacteria do all the heavy lifting.

 

[WD40]

We (2) of us have lived here for 20 years now and had ours pumped twice in 20 years.
Last Sept. I came into my office and looked outside, ask wife if she had been out front
in the last few hours. She says no. My septic tank has caved in along with about a
1/2 yard of dirt that's on top of it. I call the guy that does that kind of work and he came
on over and gives me the price of replacing it. I tell him goodbye and that the pumper
truck will be here the next morning at 7 AM. About 5 min later he knocks on the door
and tells me I need to call my home owners Ins. Co. because my tank has been hit by
lighting. I had never heard of that but he says it happens because of the steal rods in
the tanks. Tank guy talked to Ins. Co. and Ins. paid for everything but deductible.
I was very happy.
Doug

 

[CliffordK]

I had a general idea of where to look for the tank.
So, I took a steel rod, and pushed it down during the spring, wet season until I found the tank.

I'm still not quite sure where the lid is, but at least I know the location of the tank.

I'll probably just hand dig looking for the lid, then call the septic people out to pump it.... soon.