Septic Pet Peeve

[ultrarunner]

The county records for my home state 1200 gallon 3-4 bedroom gravity, deep trench.

My home has "5" bedrooms with one being called a nursery...

At least this is how they did it in 1977

Most have never seen an official record for bedrooms hyphenated...

 

[teejk]

It wasn't that long ago toilet paper was a luxury... still remember when US travelers would pack toilet paper.

Also the days of newspaper or catalog pages is not all that far back in rural areas.

Working in medical I see how toilet paper is treated... many elderly are very sparing... even down to the number of squares... younger people not so much and I have seen kids use an entire role and try to flush.

Had a septic for 25 years in Austria... never an issue except when young American College kids would visit... never failed the toilet would be stuffed and would have to make a quick "Run" to pick up more.

In 26 years I have never had a clogged toilet in the Men's lobby restroom... Women's is about once ever other week... go figure?

Interesting...was in SD a month ago and a retired railroad guy showed me a big piece of cast iron with a straight tube but had a spring loaded seat that activated a water valve if compressed. We concluded that it was used on RR cars and everything got "dumped" between the rails. A simple "pee" was no problem (straight down). Other than that if you used the seat the valve would open and flush whatever (still between the rails).

 

[teejk]

The county records for my home state 1200 gallon 3-4 bedroom gravity, deep trench.

My home has "5" bedrooms with one being called a nursery...

At least this is how they did it in 1977

Most have never seen an official record for bedrooms hyphenated...

Den/nursery/study...whatever...all ways to save a few $ on the initial build but also to save more on the property taxes going forward (according to your assessor your 5 BR house will probably be worth much more than the exact same house showing 3-4 BR). If you plan to live there forever then you win. If not then be prepared for bad news when you try to sell.

 

[ultrarunner]

Hard to imagine the Assessor hitting me harder.... I now pay over a $1,000 a month to property tax.

After I bought the tax was $6800 and then Washington tossed out I-747 and tax went to 12K ... it was very sobering.

Not sure if I can afford it forever... home was rented for $1800 for years and just recently at $2500.

I'm very careful with the septic... have it pumped between tenancies... amazing how clean or how bad depending on who lived there.

 

[Wagtail]

Interesting...was in SD a month ago and a retired railroad guy showed me a big piece of cast iron with a straight tube but had a spring loaded seat that activated a water valve if compressed. We concluded that it was used on RR cars and everything got "dumped" between the rails. A simple "pee" was no problem (straight down). Other than that if you used the seat the valve would open and flush whatever (still between the rails).

I'll simply leave this here...

Oscar Brand - Humoresque (Passengers Will Please Refrain) lyrics

 

[teejk]

Hard to imagine the Assessor hitting me harder.... I now pay over a $1,000 a month to property tax.

After I bought the tax was $6800 and then Washington tossed out I-747 and tax went to 12K ... it was very sobering.

Not sure if I can afford it forever... home was rented for $1800 for years and just recently at $2500.

I'm very careful with the septic... have it pumped between tenancies... amazing how clean or how bad depending on who lived there.

You live in WA so you don't have an income tax. All these people need to get some $$$ somehow to fund their "projects". I lived in NY for years and got "violated" with every possible tax they could imagine (income, property, tobacco. alcohol, sales, vehicle inspection/license fees, etc.). Then I moved back to my home state of Wisconsin...same thing only a bit less...

 

[ultrarunner]

I actually live in California the land of just about every imaginable tax...

No personal income tax is great for those with income... high property tax can and does force people out of their homes.

My objection is an 80% tax increase over my purchase price 18 months prior... it really put a hold on my long term plans.

Septic is a big issue in both California and Washington... many existing are now non-conforming so where does that leave homeowners?

 

[Pettrix]

The residential unit would cost about $350 annually to power... which is $3500 over 10 years based on current rate of around 30 cents kW.

This is in addition to cost of purchase, installation and maintenance.

Wow, 30 cents per kWh is high. Out here it is about 13 cents. Out here that pump running 24/7/365 would be around $70 per year or $700 for the course of 10 years.

Aerobic systems also require less frequent pumping. Maybe every 4-5 years depending on use/size. To pump a tank out here is about $500 once all fees are paid. So the aerobic system easily pays for itself in less pumping fees.

 

[CalG]

Strange, that some systems need such frequent attention. I had the tank "pumped" after the first year we were in that's been just shy of 30 years. The service tech said "it didn't need it", but I wanted to see what the tank capacity and condition was. About 15 years ago, I pulled the tank lid and stirred the contents with a wooden pole to asses any accumulation of solids. There could not have been more than 3-4 inches of sediment. I've done nothing at the tank since.

So, 30 years with no required pumping . No expense , and it all seems to be working perfectly. 'Fortunate I guess.

Again, this is a minimal cost, sediment tank piped to a block dry well out to a single 50 foot run of perf pipe via a syphon loop. Family of five, the kids from babies, and it's just us two now.

Yep, fortunate! In a lot of ways.

 

[PILOON]

"Aerobic systems also require less frequent pumping. Maybe every 4-5 years depending on use/size. To pump a tank out here is about $500 once all fees are paid. So the aerobic system easily pays for itself in less pumping fees. "

That's all fine except here , by municipal law we MUST pump every 2 years.
The municipality has an environment dept, staff is now up to 3 and growing. They keep records and you get nasty reminders plus the fines are heavy. It is all about preserving the environment.
They even have electric cars but don't use them as the range is not sufficient.
Last I heard they want to pass an environment tax and suggested it would be about $30.00/yr/household.

Hey I know for a fact of 2 households that have not flushed as much as 1 qt of water in 4 years but still have to pump or pay the fines.
Cut one tree near the waterfront and expect to get a fine. (even if the tree is dead. Argument is birds like to nest in dead trees.)
Interesting to observe that many bylaws apply only to the taxpayers and not to the city, it is the old 'do as I say and not as I do'.