septic tank

[dave1949]

Good to hear you are back in business there with no major expenses. Those socks do get around Probably still a good idea to pump your septic tank out. The usual recommendation is 3-4 yrs depending on your family size. I think it is cheap insurance compared to a new leach field - as somebody else said earlier.
Dave.

 

[dave1949]

I use those little plastic hair traps in the shower to keep the human hair out of the drain, but never really considered dog hair from the washer. I know I have prodigious amounts by looking at the drier vent filter.

I think hair by itself sinks and would settle out in the tank rather than plugging the field. At least I hope it does.

Dave, I don't know if it (hair) goes down the drain in the washer, I've always been afraid it does. I should add a screen to the washer drain and find out. Like you, plenty gets caught in the dryer screen. We dump our wash buckets outdoors rather than down the drain after floor mopping.
Dave1949.

 

[CurlyDave]

Dave, I don't know if it (hair) goes down the drain in the washer, I've always been afraid it does. I should add a screen to the washer drain and find out. Like you, plenty gets caught in the dryer screen. We dump our wash buckets outdoors rather than down the drain after floor mopping.
Dave1949.

I drink my coffee very light with lots of half and half. When I take a long trip I have a 2 quart thermos, which frequently has a cup or so left in it.

I dump that outside rather than down the drain to keep the butterfat out of the septic...

Have you tried the Dyson "animal" vacuum cleaner? No bags, just empty the canister. I usually get enough hair out of the living room to make a medium-sized cat sculpture.

 

[dave1949]

I drink my coffee very light with lots of half and half. When I take a long trip I have a 2 quart thermos, which frequently has a cup or so left in it.

I dump that outside rather than down the drain to keep the butterfat out of the septic...

Have you tried the Dyson "animal" vacuum cleaner? No bags, just empty the canister. I usually get enough hair out of the living room to make a medium-sized cat sculpture.

We have all tile floors so, really don't need a vacuum cleaner. If we had carpet the Dyson's would be my first choice. We have two area rugs, both small, 4x7 and 5x8, that's it for carpet. They are hand-knotted wool with a definite single direction to the fibers, they actually can be swept clean with a broom. They are mementos from our Peace Corps days in Iran '72-'74.
Dave.

 

[jbos333]

A while back, my buddy bought a foreclosed home and the septic wasn't working properly....we investigated, scratched our heads and eventually found there was a "Fernco" rubber coupler in the pipe between the tank and d-box. The ground had heaved and the coupler was still connected on each end, but it had stretched sideways so that the pipe ends were completely closed. It took a little digging to find it, but it saved him a LOT of money!

 

[forgeblast]

update as of 11. waiting for them to come up to pump out the tank. tried to dig to find the lid cant find it will cost 180 for them to locate and dig it up (now im whishing i had a tractor with a backhoe)...with all our rocks in our soil it may be worth it. When i looked at the outside vent pipe i could see liquid in the bottom so i am still not sure whats wrong going to have to see. what a week!

 

[JB4310]

If your worried it might get to expensive, you can run a pressurized garden hose like a snake down the line from the house, if you have an easy access to it. If it's just a blockage in the main line to the tank that should clear it. Maybe the tank doesn't even need cleaning.

At 1000 gals it should have some good capacity/buffer between cleanings, how old is the house/system.

We had a 80 year old system on a tiny lot where I grow up in a house of 7 people. Man the grass was 2ft tall and the darkest shade of green even in the middle of the winter, over that overloaded system.

 

[Richard]

If pumping doesn't fix it sewer companies can do a visual inspection with a camera to check the integrity of the drain lines.

I trust you told him on the side that he is required to swallow the camera and allow it to enter the plumbing system 'naturally' starting at his commode?

 

[forgeblast]

Hi all back....its 250 just finished up outside. roto didnt make it up yet, i went to the outdoor vent/line. I ran the snake and hit a blockage, couldnt move it with the snake. I took someones advice and ran the garden hose down there and turned it on...since it was cold it acted like a snake and it flushed the whole line out. Everything is flowing once again.....and i didnt have to pay them 1cent. Cant thank you enough for all the constructive comments. now the clean up begins, along with having to shovel all the dirt back in the holes i dug to fine the top of the septic. i will have it drained this summer/spring but not by them.

 

[Egon]

Sometimes you win one.