Bought a new home; not sure the septic tank has ever been pumped

[TomSeller]

I did not see much posted about bleach and anti bacterial soaps. I don't use either as they kill needed bacteria in the septic system. I figure that will just lead to problems.

 

[David P]

Thanks for the replies, I've learned a lot. There's no debate here about getting it pumped; we're ready to go, I just need to call around and get rates. My neighbor needs to get his done as well so maybe we'll get a volume discount. :thumbsup:

 

[ruffdog]

Here is a link that explains septic systems and there operation.
-
http://learningstore.uwex.edu/assets/pdfs/B3583.pdf

 

[ruffdog]

Under the right conditions, a septic tank does not have to be pumped. Mine was installed in 1999 and has never been pumped. Because it's a low pressure piping system it has to be maintained every six months, and that maint includes measuring the level of the solids. In 15 years they've never exceeded 6 inches in my tank.

Buy a "sludge judge" (you can google for it). Use it to measure your solids level every six months or so. Pump when the solids get high, not on a calendar based timetable.

Some people don't change the oil in their equipment the way they should either. You can either pay a little bit early or LOTS later.

 

[dmccarty]

Thanks for the replies, I've learned a lot. There's no debate here about getting it pumped; we're ready to go, I just need to call around and get rates. My neighbor needs to get his done as well so maybe we'll get a volume discount. :thumbsup:

I try to pump our septic tank every four years at Federal election time which makes it easy to remember to have the scat removed. Sometimes I am early, sometimes late, meaning we can be off a year or so.

Our tank has two chambers with each chamber having an access hatch. The county regulations are scat because they only require an extension, if needed, to the access for the chamber that contains the tank filter. This is the second chamber in the tank and the liquid flows from this tank, through a filter, into the field. The first chamber has the solids which is what really needs to be pumped. The first time we pumped the tank, we had to dig down a good 30 inches, to get access to the first chamber which contains the solids.

Make sure to check to see if you have two chambers in the tank and make sure you pump them both. Some companies will just pump the liquid, and not the solids, which leaves you in deep doo doo, literally and figuratively.

We have pumped the tank twice now since building the house and both times we really did not need to pump. I figure for $200-300 every 4-5 years it is cheap insurance. I think we were paying $25-30 a month for sewer service when we lived in the city and I am sure that cost has gone up greatly since then. Spending roughly $5 a month to pump the tank is a savings and cheap insurance. When we pumped last time the guy kept asking if we were having septic trouble. I think the state might require him to ask but he might have been asking, in a round about way, WHY we were pumping, since we did not need too.

Later,
Dan

 

[David P]

D-mac: If I start associating my septic tank getting pumped with elections I'm worried it will happen far too often!! Not to say that it's a crappy idea or anything. See what I did there?

If I pull the cap will I be able to tell if there are two chambers? I have it dug out right now and could pull it off with my loader. I assume there's a wall that comes partially/mostly up in the middle of the tank which keeps the solids on one side and then when the liquid reaches the wall, it spills over to the other side.

 

[RumT]

That was part of our purchase agreement, that the seller had the tank pumped (take your **** and leave!)

 

[doxford jim]

That was part of our purchase agreement, that the seller had the tank pumped (take your **** and leave!)

This is a good way of getting the owners to back up their claims that the septic system is up to par - especially if the riser tops cannot be seen. I have some bad experiences with this type of deceptions by a PE of all people. You then have a valid reason should there be any future problems in a reasonable time frame, that the sellers be liable.

 

[dave1949]

D-mac: If I start associating my septic tank getting pumped with elections I'm worried it will happen far too often!! Not to say that it's a crappy idea or anything. See what I did there?

If I pull the cap will I be able to tell if there are two chambers? I have it dug out right now and could pull it off with my loader. I assume there's a wall that comes partially/mostly up in the middle of the tank which keeps the solids on one side and then when the liquid reaches the wall, it spills over to the other side.

You should be able to tell if there are separate chambers by probing with a long stick. It will be apparent of course when it is pumped.

Tank designs vary. I would dig until you have exposed the tank outlet to the leach field so you can see what is going on there. My tank has large central access hole and smaller maintenance access holes at the inlet and outlet, even though it is one big chamber. It has baffles but they don't go very deep into the tank.

I put a riser (concrete ring about 18" tall) on the large center hole. I stood some 1" pvc conduit on the inlet and outlet holes as I back-filled with crusher dust so I know where they are if I need to dig them up. The conduit is cut off flush with the ground so I can mow over them.

 

[roadhunter]

I've read that using sodium percarbonate (oxy clean) is actually good for your septic as it adds oxygen to the water which helps break down solids in the system as opposed to regular bleach which is bad for the system.