Septic Pet Peeve

[Pettrix]

I recently did a septic system on my lot and "over-engineered" the system to prevent any future issues.

The neighbor bought a home but the septic system was really small. Just a 1,000 gal tank and one 80' leach line. The max it can handle is 350 GPD and it is absolute smallest system as allowed by code/law. A small family get together or party will overload the system quite quickly.

That is my pet peeve. When builders and sometimes homeowners cut a few hundred dollars on a septic system so that they can install the smallest system as allowed by code. Upsizing and spending $1,000 on a bigger system during initial install will prevent so many problems and future headaches. To later go back and fix the system will cost 5x the amount. To dig up and install a new field is very expensive.

 

[ultrarunner]

Sounds more like ignorance...

Even an over engineered system can be stressed... simply a stuck toilet flapper can saturate a leach field.

Worse is what gets flushed...

With proper care a septic can last for many decades and most are totally ignorant as to what is required.

Friends sold a home with a septic and never had a problem... reports all came back fine.

A family from the city bought it and soon had big problems... they installed a garbage disposal, had no lint trap on the washer and used a lot of bleach and anti-bacteria products... even in the dishwasher.

 

[Wagtail]

A family from the city bought it and soon had big problems... they installed a garbage disposal, had no lint trap on the washer and used a lot of bleach and anti-bacteria products... even in the dishwasher.

Really!?! Good LORD that is the dumbest thing to do & ignorance is no excuse, especially in this 'intertubes' era where a quick Google will tell you how a septic system works and how important bacteria is to the tank.

This is my first time living with a septic system (4 years now) and finding out how it worked was one of my initial research tasks when I moved in. I've owned this place since '98 and none of my tenants ever had a problem with it either.

Well, I guess the others'll have to 'live and learn' the hard way.



(Why yes, it's Sunday evening and I've had a few glasses of red wine... hence the ramble)

 

[oosik]

Its the application of an old theory - "out of sight, out of mind". In my 25 years working for the Health Dept and designing/inspecting on-site sewage disposal systems, the second & third most common "offenses" were - plumbing the rain gutters into the septic system & plumbing the garage floor drain into the septic system.

The absolute most common offense was - simply doing nothing. At least, until all h*ll broke loose.

 

[TheMan419]

I have lived on septic my entire life.

The house we bought about a year ago just had the septic redone about 2 years before we bought it. We are on 18 acres of sandy loam. Perfect for just a gravity fed septic. No need for a mound system. So what did the prior owners do? Dug up the "failed" system and installed the new one in the same dang place.

They could have installed the new field in a different place and put in a diverted valve. Then you would never again have to worry. Switch every few years and the "off" field will dry out. That is what we did at the old house when we had to replace the septic. Of course that was a huge selling point when we went to sell.

 

[ultrarunner]

The absolute most common offense was - simply doing nothing. At least, until all h*ll broke loose.

Here we say all Sh*t Broke Loose...

 

[PILOON]

I did seasonal rentals with 2 chalets over about 12 years.
Naturally tenants were all city folk so you can imagine how some treated the septics.
Fortunately I had more of the better kind but from time to time they gave me some real real problems.
You can not believe what some folks will flush down the loo.
I think the worst is probably 'nappies' followed by J cloths, both which don't dissolve.
The J cloths simply snag on the slightest obstruction and create a dam.
I even had a printed and framed 'instruction sheet' in the loo but then you get the 'entitled class' that just don't care.

On the other hand my original hand dug hand poured septic system went 22 years B4 the first pumping and was just fine.
Now by law it has to be pumped every 2 years.

That hand dug met all criteria and was city inspected and approved. and cost me mere maybe $400 to build. Today a system is in the $15k range!
Today a certified engineer does the perk tests @ $500 a pop and only a licensed installer can install what ever is the current 'system de jour' the city prefers.
Shucks they even have recirculating fields with monitored inspection ports.
Guess the next will be a digital computer based system with video displays and 5 cameras!

 

[1stDeuce]

My wife and I are just starting the process of building a home for ourselves, and designing the septic system is one of our early tasks. We're pretty conservative with water, but we're wanting to protect for four bedrooms in what will initially be a 2br house...

We are considering doing a split system, where the "gray" water goes straight to a drainfield, and the "black' goes into a traditional septic system with it's own separate drainfield. This keeps one drainfield from ever seeing solids, and the other will only deal with a smaller volume of water. It appears this setup is getting more an more common, and it works well for us because we won't have to but in one big drainfield, but rather two smaller ones. (No water wells nearby to worry about.)

The county requires that a PE signs off on the plans, but my wife works for an environmental engineering company, and wastewater is one of their businesses. We're planning to do our own perk testing, determine the drainfield size needed, design the system, and then get one of her PE co-workers to sign off on the plan and installation.

I'd be interested in any feedback y'all have on things we should consider. I'm leaning toward a plastic tank, and using a buried half-culvert style drainfield. (Vented, of course!)

 

[ultrarunner]

15k would be a bargain in my area of Puget Sound...

Neighbor did a system last year and he said when it was all said and done about 60k

 

[PILOON]

RE; " I'm leaning toward a plastic tank, "
Some caution here, being plastic it needs to be full all the time otherwise you might just find it popped out of the ground.
I have seen it!
One was installed late fall, empty, and in the spring it was afloat.
Folks planned to use it as a holding tank with pump out as required as the terrain was not conductive to a drainage field.

But then even a concrete (empty) tank can 'float' if conditions are right. (they do make concrete boats)

 

[turnkey4099]

I am hearing that our systems here in Washington musst be inspected every few yeas (?5?). Inspector shows up, takes quick look and hands over a bill. My tank is buried with no inspection port. Big tank and new field installed in 1976, pumped every 5 years. . They want to inspect, there's the shovel.

 

[Pettrix]

15k would be a bargain in my area of Puget Sound...

Neighbor did a system last year and he said when it was all said and done about 60k

WOW!


I paid a little over $10k for a 2,500 GAL two-chamber concrete tank and 360 feet (4 lines) of Infiltrator leach field chambers, installed.

The concrete D-Box I have has an access panel than allows me to monitor flow and adjust the flow to the chambers and increase or shut down lines if needed.

 

[CalG]

The house we bought 30 years ago has a|minimalist system. A concrete liquefaction tank and a concrete block "dry well". It likely cost less than $2000 to install.

I added 50 feet of "leech line" to the dry well in the first years, to cure a "damp area" in the slope the system is located on, All has been maintenance free and perfectly satisfactory. We raised our three kids and enjoy unlimited water use without problems.

It is fortunate that any one person's "pet peeves" don't dictate a lot of unnecessary excess "stuff" to the simple act of living in good health.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

We are considering doing a split system, where the "gray" water goes straight to a drainfield, and the "black' goes into a traditional septic system with it's own separate drainfield. This keeps one drainfield from ever seeing solids, and the other will only deal with a smaller volume of water. It appears this setup is getting more an more common, and it works well for us because we won't have to but in one big drainfield, but rather two smaller ones. (No water wells nearby to worry about.)

That makes perfect sense to me.

It's against code where I live! No greywater systems allowed! It all has to go in the same place!!!

 

[CalG]

In Vermont , and New Hampshire, You can have a grey water system, It just needs to be built the exact same way as a full septic system. ;-)

A smart move would be to have a "laundry" system that could do something with the phosphates etc. Some sort of "digester" prior to dumping into the liquefaction tank.

 

[ultrarunner]

My friend in AZ said grey water has to be part of all new home builds...

In California it was fought tooth and nail but now there are guidelines for my city...

 

[Pettrix]

Another good addition to the septic tank is the SludgeHammer air system which turns an anaerobic system to an aerobic system.

Aerobic systems are way better and the effluent doesn't smell and doesn't cause the leach field to clog. The effluent is much cleaner.

The system is pretty much maintenance free and just requires an air pump that costs around $6 a month to run.

 

[Pettrix]

Failed or failing septic systems is a HUGE PROBLEM in some areas. It contaminates the ground water and it causes health problems. Someone looking to save a few bucks by installing an undersized system can create a lot of problems down the road.

The effluent in the leach field eventually gets into the ground water. In some places the water table is shallow and that can contaminate other peoples drinking water.

 

[CalG]

Failed or failing septic systems is a HUGE PROBLEM in some areas. It contaminates the ground water and it causes health problems. Someone looking to save a few bucks by installing an undersized system can create a lot of problems down the road.

The effluent in the leach field eventually gets into the ground water. In some places the water table is shallow and that can contaminate other peoples drinking water.

What you say is true.
In some areas.

In other areas, 30 feet through the ground will purify .
Any domestic waste water on the surface is bad.

Can you site an example where a single family home leach field has contaminated ground water? Or is it here say and unsubstantiated anecdote?
We have "failed systems" in our area (I served on the board of selectmen) But no health Disasters were reported. 'Fortunate perhaps....

 

[CalG]

Another good addition to the septic tank is the SludgeHammer air system which turns an anaerobic system to an aerobic system.

Aerobic systems are way better and the effluent doesn't smell and doesn't cause the leach field to clog. The effluent is much cleaner.

The system is pretty much maintenance free and just requires an air pump that costs around $6 a month to run.

Ahh.. Are you sure of the benefits?
Ch08