Care of Septic Tank

[gwiley]

I had one of our concrete tanks disintegrate after 10 years service. A post mortem showed the concrete was literally eaten away, in theory the bacteria went anaerobic and produced hydrogen sulfide gas which turned into sulfuric acid and just dissolved the tank lid and walls. The tank caved in one day with no warning leaving a gaping hole. That was a fun project

Keep the bacteria healthy if you have a concrete tank especially.

 

[Pettrix]

I had one of our concrete tanks disintegrate after 10 years service. A post mortem showed the concrete was literally eaten away, in theory the bacteria went anaerobic and produced hydrogen sulfide gas which turned into sulfuric acid and just dissolved the tank lid and walls. The tank caved in one day with no warning leaving a gaping hole. That was a fun project

Keep the bacteria healthy if you have a concrete tank especially.

Good info. That is why I am a proponent of introducing oxygen into conventional septic systems like SludgeHammer which is an Aerobic Bacterial Generator (ABG). It turns anaerobic tanks into aerobic tanks. You will not get hydrogen sulfide gas or methane gas with an aerobic system. Those gases are by-products of anaerobic digestion.

A crude example would be a 100 gallon tank of water sitting outside. The water will stagnate, smell and produce some pretty foul odors after just a week. Now, take an oxygenating stone and place it in the water. Within a day or two the smell is gone and the water is no longer stagnated.

Anyone with a pond knows the importance of introducing oxygen into the water to keep the water healthy. That same idea transfers over to septic tanks. Oxygenating them turns an anaerobic system to an aerobic system and creates and cleaner effluent and the leach field doesn't have the same problems as it would with an anaerobic system.

 

[PILOON]

In my city it is now mandatory to pump every 2 years, subject to fines!
And they do follow up!

From knowledgeable sources; -- my 2 cents.
Use only uncolored TP, or single ply.
No garbarators
Greases and fats should go to trash.
No chemical bowl cleaners, javex or other bleaches.
No 'feminine products' nor disposable diapers, J-cloths
No chemical additives
Shower rather than baths.
And naturally low flush toilets.(we used a RV toilet!)

We followed all those guidelines and pumped our system for the first time when the city passed the mandatory bylaw and the pumper guy stated that the system (home made hand poured with approved field) was just like a 2 year old system. The pumper guy congratulated me on a well done system!
That was the first pumping in 25 years!
And that is not my trade, when I built I was 'cash lacking' and in better shape than now. L.O.L.

 

[Pettrix]

A good alternative to using toilet bowl cleaners is BAKING SODA. It does a great job cleaning toilets and is natural. You can buy a huge bag of it at Costco for couple of bucks and it lasts a long time.

 

[TomSeller]

I have a vacation home on a septic tank. I always have put a 1/8 cup or so of bleach in each toilet bowl before leaving it for an extended period of time to keep the bowl clean. I never thought about that being a bad thing. The bowl is always down due to evaporation (I also shut the water supply off) when I get back so I wonder if there is still bleach in the bowl. I have learned a lot on this thread about something so out of sight and out of mind.

 

[sailfast]

I have a vacation home on a septic tank. I always have put a 1/8 cup or so of bleach in each toilet bowl before leaving it for an extended period of time to keep the bowl clean. I never thought about that being a bad thing. The bowl is always down due to evaporation (I also shut the water supply off) when I get back so I wonder if there is still bleach in the bowl. I have learned a lot on this thread about something so out of sight and out of mind.

Unlikely. Chlorine evaporates from the water much faster than the water does.

 

[PILOON]

I have a vacation home on a septic tank. I always have put a 1/8 cup or so of bleach in each toilet bowl before leaving it for an extended period of time to keep the bowl clean. I never thought about that being a bad thing. The bowl is always down due to evaporation (I also shut the water supply off) when I get back so I wonder if there is still bleach in the bowl. I have learned a lot on this thread about something so out of sight and out of mind.

A trick used by seasonal RV park users is to cover the bowl with SARAN WRAP as that seals out the air that causes the evaporation.
Seals in the water and keeps out odors.
(also used as a prank by some)

 

[GGB]

Maybe it's been mentioned already, but we now rinse out dairy products containers (yogurt, milk, sour cream, cottage cheese, etc.) before putting in the trash. And if we have an old yeast packet, instead of just throwing it out, I disolve it in warm (not hot) water and pour it down the drain. We have also started a compost pile with food scraps rather than running them down the garbage disposal.

One of the things I've wondered about it when you are on antibiotics. How much of an impact on a septic system would that have? Just to be safe, we will no longer dump old antibiotics down the toilet.

I still need to get a lint filter on our washing machine, and I'm going to look into a gray water sytem for it and at least our shower and sinks from the master bedroom, since it's just my Bride and myself.

We've got a lift system, and have had a pump fail which required pumping the system. While the pumper was here, I had him pump both tanks. The solids tank might not have ever been pumped, given the fact that the lid was buried. After digging it out, I installed a new riser to match the new one I installed to repair the broken riser on the liquids tank. It will make the next pumpout a lot easier.

 

[dmccarty]

...
We've got a lift system, and have had a pump fail which required pumping the system. While the pumper was here, I had him pump both tanks. The solids tank might not have ever been pumped, given the fact that the lid was buried. After digging it out, I installed a new riser to match the new one I installed to repair the broken riser on the liquids tank. It will make the next pumpout a lot easier.

Dang it. I forgot to mention the two in one tank issue. :duh::duh::duh: I thought about it on my previous post but the thought flew off somewhere.

Our tank, and I think most newer septic tanks have two tanks in the structure. One is for solids and the other for liquids. The outlet from the house goes into the the solid tank and eventually the liquids flow into the second tank. Per our local code ONLY the liquid tank has to have an access riser. :shocked: When the septic tank is pumped the SOLIDS need to be removed but this requires access to the other tank via a different access. This access does NOT have to have a riser per code but it is the side of the tank that needs to be pumped!

WHY the code does NOT require both risers is beyond me. The reason the code requires the one access riser is because that tank has the outflow to the septic field and our tanks have a filter. The code wants to make sure that the filter can be easily checked and cleaned by having the easy access otherwise if the filter becomes clogged, then stuff will start to backup into the house.

A dishonest tank pumper will only pump out the liquid side of the tank and leave the solids behind. Pun intended. If you have a septic tank that has two sides/tanks, make sure the solids are pumped.

Later,
Dan

 

[GGB]

Dang it. I forgot to mention the two in one tank issue. :duh::duh::duh: I thought about it on my previous post but the thought flew off somewhere.

Our tank, and I think most newer septic tanks have two tanks in the structure. One is for solids and the other for liquids. The outlet from the house goes into the the solid tank and eventually the liquids flow into the second tank. Per our local code ONLY the liquid tank has to have an access riser. :shocked: When the septic tank is pumped the SOLIDS need to be removed but this requires access to the other tank via a different access. This access does NOT have to have a riser per code but it is the side of the tank that needs to be pumped!

WHY the code does NOT require both risers is beyond me. The reason the code requires the one access riser is because that tank has the outflow to the septic field and our tanks have a filter. The code wants to make sure that the filter can be easily checked and cleaned by having the easy access otherwise if the filter becomes clogged, then stuff will start to backup into the house.

A dishonest tank pumper will only pump out the liquid side of the tank and leave the solids behind. Pun intended. If you have a septic tank that has two sides/tanks, make sure the solids are pumped.

Later,
Dan

Exactly! I didn't even know I had another tank until the new guy I had pump the second time asked about it. The first pumper never even indicated there might be another tank. Lesson learned-I'll never use the first pumper again.