Care of Septic Tank

[Mickey_Fx]

I'm in agreement with most of you. A good running systems needs nothing; however, every couple of months I add Zep to my system. It's a cheap insurance policy, kind of like taking a multivitin.

In full agreement with the "cheap insurance" thought. Unless one goes to extreme measures, stuff will end up in the tank that is not the best for it. The "add a cake of yest" is an OLD remedy that isn't the best solution. IMO the comment about not letting toilet paper down the drain is far from being realistic. Using something like Rid-X is a lot better as it is a mixture of yeasts, bacteria and enzymes. Each of which is intended to address a different component of what's typically found in the septic tank. Do you think a cake of yest intended for baking is going to address toilet paper which is wood? While you don't want grease solids going down the drain, you still end up having some from food wastes from washing dishes. Using something formulated for the job will perform better. Adding a small amount of something intended for the job monthly is just good and cheap insurance IMO.

YMMV

This is entirely a different subject than soil conditions and perk issues that was part of the initial comments.

 

[Johnb212]

My family has been in the septage business for over 50 years. Septic tanks take care of themselves. Adding yeast or dead groundhogs etc. is like throwing a cup of salt into the ocean to raise the salt level. Problems with septic systems are hydraulic overloading and organic clogging. Septic tanks are like the filters on our vehicles. They are there for maintenance to be pumped routinely, unlike the old cesspolls that only need to be pumped when they are full.
Septic tanks operate at a near full level with a baffle on the inlet pipe to keep inflowing sewage from distrubing and churning up the sewage in the septic tank. There is a baffle on the outlet line about 1" below the inlet line, this baffle keeps the floating scum, grease etc. from flowing into the drain field.
With normal use the septic tank with collect solid material on the bottom and light material on the surface. As the sludge and scum levels increase they decrease the amount of time new inflowing sewage as time to settle out causing the out flowing sewage to the drain field to carry over debris laden sewage. The septic tank can also be called a settling tank as it allows the grease, solid etc to settle out making for cleaner sewage to flow to the drain field. It is an antiarobic system which doesn't require oxygen. The use of cold water detergents that were popular a while ago contiained phosphorus to create the heat in the washing machine when mixed with water. It is our experiance that the phosphorus re-solidifies in the septic tank casusing a quicker build up of scum on the septic tank surface. To know when a tank needs to be pumped, a person can open the lid using safe practices on large openings,and check the thickness of the scum level on the surface of the tank. It should not be more than 5-8 inches thick. It is difficult to know how deep the sludge is on the bottom of the tank but if the scum level is little to none after 3-5 years it would be wise to pump it to find how your family use affects the system. If you have a garbage disposal, you should have your tank pumped more often because of the extra solids put into the system. The average pumping should be 2-3 years. Bragging that you haven't pumped your septic tank for many years is like bragging you haven't changed the oil filter in you tractor for years. If debris is carried over to your drain field the grease and detergent seals the pores in the soil preventing the water from being absorbed. This is called organic clogging. If your drain field becomes over loaded with sewage this would be hydraulic overloading. Organic clogging cannot be fixed, new drain field. Hydraulic overloading could be from a dripping spigot or running toilet, if you have to juggle the toilet flush handle, fix it, a running toilet can add an additional 28,000 gallons of water to a 1,500 gallon septic system in a year, thats a lot to expect the soil in the drain field to disipate. I hope this helps, relax flush you paper but not sanitary items, stop leaks and drips. Don't add anything extra and find a good sewage management company that has certification. I hope your find this helpful.

 

[jinman]

We have lived with city sewage for years, but now we have a new house with a new septic tank and leach field. Mostly, it is my wife and myself, but occasionally we may have as many as 15 guests staying for a few days.

The soil here tends to clay, so it might not pass a perc test, but our excavator has worked with similar situations for years, and he put a lot of broken shale under the leach bed. We are OK with the local authorities, since we are grandfathered in with a lot of about 25 acres.

I think that when you have 15 guests, that's gonna really stress the system. Your description of clay soils and failing a perc test are very important considerations. I don't think solids are going to be your problem as much as handling the water runoff in your leach field. After or during a period of heavy use, you just may have water come to the surface and produce an odor problem. You can always check your tank for solids and have it pumped when necessary, but handling the excess watar is a real issue. I'd suggest that if you can get your laundry water away from the system and put in grey water drains, that could be very helpful. Also, converting to front-load washers will reduce the water into your septic if you cannot do grey water. When you have 15 people there, they'll flush the toilet and take baths/showers enough to cause major water into your system. I think that's what you have to prepare for. If you could redo your plumbing to take bath/shower and laundry water into a grey water system, those changes would be the most benefit. If you have your tub and laundry on grey water, there's much less chance of ever getting bacteria killing bleach/soaps into the tanks.

 

[ultrarunner]

A few years ago Western WA had 31 straight days of rain.. ground was saturated and many septic systems had trouble.

Once things got back to normal... most problems disappeared.

 

[mingus108]

Sams Wholesale Clubs sells a bakers yeast, that is worth its weight in gold and it is cheap.
Here any cheap ground meat will work as well a chicken.
Reroute your grey water to a bed of Pampas grass or other shrubs.
You see we can getaway with things the city folk cannot.
Pull your access cover & stir the scum around to break it down.
We had two 500 tanks in line on a hillside, with a drain field of 75 feet of pipe line buried in 24 yards of river gravel. With a good 20 ft of drop to the next level, gravity took care of most problems.
We called on the pump truck every 2 years, you do not any trouble with your system.
I used it as weapon one time, but that is another story.

 

[kevin37b]

JINMAN is correct on the overload situation . What really matters is the field itself , The tank will handle itself if the field works . I have installed 4 " PVC with rock ,10" sock pipe and the equalizer chambers . By far the chambers are the best thing to come along . I live on a small lot in town , just barely enough room to heve 210 feet of field 70FT per bedroom . When I moved in here here with my soon to be bride there were 3 open holes dug up and full of black water . We dug all the old sock pipe up ,hauled it off and installed the chambers .The sock pipe is worthless as it loads up and will not perc .My little wife was black from head to toe and never complained , what a gal .

 

[JBourquin]

Now I'm worried. Just bought a 120yr old house that previous owners lived in for 50yrs. They stated at closing they had no clue how long it had been since it was pumped.. I know it drains slow but I just thought it was because there are absolutely no vents in the system... This place has been a headache since day 1.

 

[the old grind]

My concerns have long been with dishwasher detergents strong enough to soften gunk without contact and laundry grey water that introduces synthetic lint that will never be digested by bacteria. Lucky for me, my dishwashers (right and left) haven't caused issues yet My laundry drains elsewhere, and the old panty-hose trick to catch lint has to be seen to be appreciated.

My pick for 'cheap insurance' is to get a system pumped before the worst happens and the field has to be re-dug. Often the operator will suggest the next routine based on what he finds in the tank. I've seen a 2k gallon tank in the nabe that was stoked to the top with 'you name it'. The guy poked around to find the actual bottom and left a few feet of solid stuff that his pump wouldn't lift even after stirring for nearly an hour. Somebody got lucky there, but vowed to change their ways. Roll-paper is probably the toughest thing any system can handle. Disposable bowl cleaning mop-heads and paper towels are begging for trouble, as are feminine products and ciggy butts. If driving on a field doesn't result in a cave-in it still compacts the soil.

 

[Johnb212]

Walking or driving your lawn mower over the drain field isn't as bad as it might seem as far as compaction goes however if you have an elevated sand mound drain field you should stay off it as much as possible. It is important to divert all rain water away from the drain field and to fill any settlement on the ground over the field as well. You stand to have more problems from feminine products and paper towels cloggin you soil lines f rom the house to the septic tank than the actual damage to the septic tank. They only add solids to the tank and many don't break down just float on the surface. It is my experiance that the proper use of a dish washer is easier on the septic system than hand washing the dishes. Using a dish washer properly is to wipe the greasy plates with a paper towel and put them in to let the machine do the work. My wife insists on washing the dishes then rinse them by hand then put them in the dish washer, she says the dish washer doesn't get them clean. I don't know, we too are on a septic system but I have a "friend in the business" so I don't bother her about the prewashing. In our area the banks will not give a mortgage or even re-finance without a septic inspection by a certified sewage enforcement officer. A 120 year old house will probably have a cesspool that is laid up with stone like a stone wall. These are not as good as a cement block cesspool because the stones are not porous like cement block and the sewage does not pass through them like cement blocks. Penn State has done alot of studies of on site septic systems and the use of additives and septic system maintenance you can find their studies on their websites.

 

[tcreeley]

We have a 1000 gal septic tank and leach field. Everything goes in. Drano too to unclog a drain, bleach, etc.. It has been pumped 2x in 28 years. Septic tanks work well - if installed and designed carefully. We are on clay- so the height of our site had to be raised to account for the poor perc test drainage. Works fine. Pumping it out is fine to do. Ask around your area for how often.