Just a reminder for those with septic systems

[turnkey4099]

Reminds me of a story.....

A self-conscious wife asks her husband, "Honey, are my breasts too small?"

"No, honey, they're fine, but if you want to make them bigger, why don't you rub toilet paper between them?" he suggests.

For the next couple of weeks, the wife rubs toilet paper between her breasts several times a day, but sees no results.

"Honey, where did you get the idea that this toilet paper thing would work?"

"Well, you've been rubbing toilet paper on your butt all these years and that's getting bigger."

Amd the funeral was well attended.

 

[turnkey4099]

We are having a new house built. We have the first two years of maintenance included in the contract and after that we're on our own unless we want to extend the contract for $200 a year. That will include all pumping necessary and maintenance on the system. Sounds like a good deal to me.

Depends on the cost to get one pumped where you are and how often it is required. Last I checked it was every 5 years and around $400. Pumping is about all the maintenance there is to one until it fails so the $200 doesn't sound like much of a deal to me.

 

[TnAndy]

We are having a new house built. We have the first two years of maintenance included in the contract and after that we're on our own unless we want to extend the contract for $200 a year. That will include all pumping necessary and maintenance on the system. Sounds like a good deal to me.

Like extended warranties.....rarely, if ever, do you come out ahead.

Put our system in 1984, had it pumped once around 2004 and based on what I observed (how little amount of solids there were), will probably never have it pumped again. 1000gal tank, 200' of 2' wide trench with plastic corrugated/holes pipe, 2 of us in the house, laundry water in tank, no garbage disposal, unless you count the pigs/dogs/chickens.

 

[Billrog]

RPW whether or not that's a good deal would depend on the type of septic system you are having installed eg. type 1 gravity, 2 sand mound or 3 treatment plant .

 

[RPW]

Billrog, Unfortunately we have to have a treatment type septic as our soil is primarily clay. Very little permeation of liquids.

 

[hawkeye08]

It costs $499 plus tax to pump ours recently. We will be looking for a different company. No reason to be that high, it only took an hour (pump two chambers, look in the third).

 

[teejk]

It costs $499 plus tax to pump ours recently. We will be looking for a different company. No reason to be that high, it only took an hour (pump two chambers, look in the third).

$499 is indeed high...Ours (mandatory every 3 years) was $150 a few years ago...MIL is due up soon with the same pumper but I doubt the new price will exceed $200. Will update then. Have you checked to see if your state/county/municipality has increased their "dumping" fees...the pumping people have to dispose of whatever they pump...the federal EPA has mandated expensive upgrades to all sewage treatment facilities (my commercial plumbing friends are loving it!) so you might be seeing the "trickle-down" effect from that.

 

[turnkey4099]

It costs $499 plus tax to pump ours recently. We will be looking for a different company. No reason to be that high, it only took an hour (pump two chambers, look in the third).

Last time i had mine pumped the price had almosst trippled. Explanation was that they were no longer allowed to dump on agricultural land and the local sewer plants would not accept it either. They had to build their own treatment plant. Sounded like BS to me but the 'no dumping on ag land is true"

 

[teejk]

Last time i had mine pumped the price had almosst trippled. Explanation was that they were no longer allowed to dump on agricultural land and the local sewer plants would not accept it either. They had to build their own treatment plant. Sounded like BS to me but the 'no dumping on ag land is true"

They can spread on ag land with strict limits. Local sewer districts are facing new draconian limitations from the EPA also. I guess the master plan is that nobody lives in the country anymore and moves to the big cities where they won't need automobiles and will live in limited space.

 

[hawkeye08]

I heard that there is another local guy that charges around $150 (instead of the $499 we were charged), but need to get information and confirm it before I believe it.

If this (tank needed pumping) had happened on the farm growing up, we would have simply cleaned the floating material out and buried it, then suctioned the sludge out and used as fertilizer in the cattle pasture.

Knowing what I know now, if we had the budget back then, I would have put a large tank in for first chamber, then a second tank with two chambers instead of the tank we have that is split into 3 chambers. I don't think the first chamber is big enough for the digestion that needs to occur..