septic system questions

[pudgybear]

Being a city boy i do not know the rules of the SEPTIC SYSTEM: how do i know when it is time to pump it out, is there a way to inspect it or should i just have the truck out and pump it, if it does not need it will the company tell me?

 

[Professur]

That depends entirely on the type of septic system. Your best bet is to contact city hall and find out what they have on record. The township where I have my cottage requires us to send them copies of all pump out bills.

 

[icsamerica]

You will know! It usually backs up but this is not an ideal way go about figuring it out. You should get on a pumping schedule. For a home of two people once a year should do. For 4 adults, twice a year will usually suffice.

If you've just arrived in the home call and get it pumped asap so you know. The previous owner may not have taken the time and assumed the expense if they knew they were on the way out.

DO NOT let your septic ever get full. When it does solids will over flow into the leaching field or drainage pit and clog it. Cleaning a seepage pit is expensive and fixing a leaching field is extremely expensive. Figure out which one you have.

Don't waste your money on septic additives, they don't work. All the bacteria the system will ever need will come from you.

Locate you system and make sure no surface water get in and floods it out. This dilutes the bacteria and solids can be flushed into the drainage area which is very bad.

Below is a list of thing to not put into a septic system and why.

Paint - paint film will stop drainage and clog the system
oil - too much oil will overwhelm the bacteria, some oil is ok.
bleach - use bleach sparingly, too much will kill the bacteria
Liquid Fabric softener will clog and slow drainage.
Any other harsh chemicals.

 

[Rookie2]

i forget but they told me several years between cleanouts. I'm going on 10 yrs since i redid my leech bed. don't pump it dry it needs bacteria to work . Don't use a lot of clorox in your laundry.

 

[graffix000]

Once a year for a family of four is the norm. Most times you can get away with more time (up to a 2nd year), but it's not worth the risk of a backup.

 

[Bender78]

For a home of two people once a year should do. For 4 adults, twice a year will usually suffice.

Twice a year??? Jebus, you must eat a lot.

I have had mine pumped about every 5 to 6 years since I built the place 30 years ago. The tank has never been even close to being full.

 

[EOC_Jason]

Being a city boy i do not know the rules of the SEPTIC SYSTEM: how do i know when it is time to pump it out, is there a way to inspect it or should i just have the truck out and pump it, if it does not need it will the company tell me?

To inspect the walls they will have to pump it out.

To find out how much "sludge" is at the bottom, take a long stick and stick it in the tank till you touch bottom. Then slowly pull it back up and you can see how high the sludge level is vs just liquids.

If it's an aerobic plant (has a bubbler), you don't want to pump it out completely. You just want them to **** the sludge from the bottom and skim whatever crud off the top.

 

[badss98]

Ok city boy I was wearing the same shoes a while back, You need to locate cover to septic system in yard. If it is not easily visible take a metal rod of some type and go exploring. Some are visible and some are buried.
If buried remove dirt usually no more than a few inches on top of lid where you should expose handle to remove top. Now once this is done we are ready to have some fun. Open top and look at level inside tank, if it is up to the top you need it pumped out asap. Usually when you are 2/3rds from top it is a good time to pump it out. This also depends on size of septic tank what you do not want to happen is that level to reach the top where it will go into leach field and possibly plug drain field.
I have a rather large septic tank and my rule of thumb is every 5 years I get mine pumped out-you do not do this yourself!!!!!. The easy way to know if your septic it doing its job is once you remove the lid you should be greeted with a wonderful rancid smell if there is no odor your tank is not dissolving the solids and needs some bacteria to get it working again. Do not purchase the grocery store rid x I believe it is called that is just flushing money down your toilet
Go to the nearest farm and feed store and purchase a 50lb bag of brown yeast for cows, this is usually mixed with there food for digestion. Take a 5lb coffee can full and dissolve in hot water 5 gallon bucket. POUR THIS INSIDE SEPTIC WHEN YOU HAVE THE LID OFF and this will start the septic up if it is not working also this will aid in further digestion of what is in tank. If you do get it pumped out do this after the good stuff is removed and continue with this every 6 months but now you can just flush this down the toilet after you dissolve in hot water as you first did.
It is cheap maintainence to just get it inspected if this is a new home, usually it is done before purchase and included with inspection.
You now have all the needed knowledge to be considered a poop expert yahoo

 

[kd3pc]

if it is working correctly, and you don't put grease or non-dissolve tissue/wipes....they can easily go for years.

The idea of pumping yearly or twice yearly is an indicator that something is not working correctly, unless you like paying the pump company. A pump out here, runs about $125 for a normal tank. A few dollars more to locate it.

 

[steve308]

We have our system pumped every 3 years. Family of four. 26 years and no problems. Neighbors on one side did not have theirs pumped for about seven years and have had to have the leaching lines dug up and redone because they clogged. Not cheap!

 

[jhall0712]

Holy cow. Once a year for a septic tank? My parents are on a septic tank system and it's going on, I don't know, 15 years or so and it's still working fine. Granted, that's probably not the best way to operate but I think 8-10 years is pretty normal.

Me on the other hand. I have an aerobic system that is causing my hair to turn grey early. I hate it. It's $75 a tank to have pumped in our area. And it seems we have to have that done fairly often.

 

[pudgybear]

OK thanks Guys, i have been in the house for about 3 years, my neighbor says the system was put in about 4 years ago ( with VERY little use) the former owners were foreclosed and left about 8 months after the system was put in, i think i will have a " honey dipper " come out, i have checked and they are getting $250 - $300 a pump still better than the thousands to repair it! thanks again for the help!

 

[draglink]

Family of 5, replaced my drain field and tank 10 years ago. I had it pumped out 2 years ago bc the county made me. It is operating as it should.

 

[DoyleDee]

I believe I found a schedule on Texas A&M website years ago. I only pump mine about every 4 years. It depends on the size of the tanks and how many people you have living there.

 

[DenisG]

Being a city boy i do not know the rules of the SEPTIC SYSTEM: how do i know when it is time to pump it out, is there a way to inspect it or should i just have the truck out and pump it, if it does not need it will the company tell me?

There are many variables depending on your location (soil type, terrain, etc), how the system was constructed (size of holding tank, size of leach field, etc.) and local laws. When we sold our house in Mass. we had to get our septic system inspected and a report was filed with the town hall. You might want to get a copy of any reports of this kind if your locality requires them or you might want to have it inspected and tested and pay for a report. I've heard stories of homeowners paying +$50k to have septic systems rebuilt in the area that I lived.

Here's a link (if it helps): http://www.holmesinspection.com/septic_system_testing.html

 

[Alan Douglas]

I thought it was supposed to be full; just not full of sludge.

And the rule of thumb I heard was, don't put anything in it that hasn't been eaten first.

 

[Mike in Ohio]

If the only thing going in there is the stuff that's supposed to it should never need pumped. If you have a garbage disposal in your kitchen sink get rid of it. That is the kind of stuff that fill it up. The bacteria in there will consume all of the human solids and tp. Nothing else should be going in there.

My grandparents went from when they built in '64 until my cousin bought the house in '97 without ever being pumped. They the honey dipper come out to check it and he said it didn't need it even then.

 

[rburke65]

We are on a septic system and we do not put ANY food down the drain, and not any typeof grease. Food scraps go into compost or the trash can. We really Truro watch what goes down the drain. Maybe every 10 years here. We were also 'city slickers'....37 years ago. Good luck.

 

[Fishplate]

Ours went 15 years without pumping, and was in good shape. We occasionally use the disposer, but most food waste goes in the trash or compost.

The only reason we cleaned ours out was that roots, some as big as my arm, were circling the rim of the tank and growing into the tank and the inlet line. That was a mess...our drain field is still working great though.

If you have one of those modern itty-bitty tanks, maybe every year. But ours is about a 1500 gallon tank. You need to know what's down there.

 

[JCQuick]

I have been in my house going on 9 years and I haven't emptied the septic yet. But I know I need to soon very soon

 

[240sxguy]

I don't put much food down, but there's no way in hell I'd even consider getting rid of my garbage disposal. The reason for that is because the county requires a pump-out every 3 years.. regardless of useage so I don't worry too much about a small quantity of food getting down there. I scrape plates into the trash, but inevitably some small food items get down the drain.

 

[danfromsyr]

the tank should always be full of water to the height of the leech lines, else it's got a leak and thats a big problem.. ohh and tell the wife no tampons in there either.

here's one county's take on it http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/health/ehoss/dos_donts.html
search google there are many


and found this to add to the discussion.. Septic systems & Tanks FYI
http://www.tbdhu.com/NR/rdonlyres/AA86C7E1-0141-44F9-B349-2954BD023FF5/0/Distances.pdf

 

[Socal 610]

Three people, 7 years, 1,200 gal tank. Haven't pumped it yet.

 

[James E]

If you're only putting into it what you're supposed to, it can go years--sometimes decades--without being pumped and still work.

My last house had septic. It was built in '87 and had never been pumped. I had it done when we moved in in 2004. The guy who did it said he didn't want me to go more than 5 or 6 years between pumping. He said this not because the tank would stop working but because there is a layer of solids that forms on top of the fluid in the tank and after 5 or 6 years, this layer can get difficult to deal with and he has to work too hard to break it up.

He said most houses would get this layer of solids. He said no matter how careful a family is, over a few years some stuff will wind up in the tank that the microbes can't deal with and that stuff will either float or sink to the bottom. Either way, those solids have to be gotten rid of occasionally or else in a peak usage situation, the floaters can wind up in the drain field, which is bad.

He pumped it out, then re-filled the tank partially. No need to go through any kind of start-up procedure.

I met the P.O. of my current house (also built in 1987, coincidentally). I asked him when the septic had last been pumped and he said never. He didn't even know that was something that needed to be done. This thread reminds me that I need to pay to have it done soon.

 

[EOC_Jason]

I thought it was supposed to be full; just not full of sludge.

And the rule of thumb I heard was, don't put anything in it that hasn't been eaten first.

I think what he means is over-full... It should only be to the height of the horizontal pipes inside that let stuff in / out. If it's above that height then solids can go through those pipes and out into your leech field.

 

[jpinca]

I've been dealing with septic a lot since we bought our place 5 years ago. I had to more than double the existing drain field to build my shop (long story) and I did all the permit drawings and submission, so I feel I've begrudgingly become a bit of an expert on septic in my area.

Your answer is simple. Call a local pumper and have them come out, pump the tank, and do an inspection. They (may) contact the authorities and get an as-built for the system (get a copy for your records), locate the system components, pump the sludge, and perform a drain field test. If you have a diverter valve, they should also show you where is it and how to operate it. The cost should be ~$300. Follow whatever pump schedule they suggest, generally 2-5 years. I'd increase that by a factor of how many women are in the house. {This still amazes me; I recall using about pack about every six month when I was single. I can't even keep track now, but the kids are never lacking to roll tubes for crafts...but I digress}

If your drainfield uses perf pipe and gravel, I'd also recommend installing a tank filter to keep solids out of the field. My addition used vaults, so solids were less of a concern. My existing uses Orangeburg pipe, so it's FUBAR anyway.

Regarding pumping schedules: your mileage may vary. My mother just had her septic pumped for the first time. The house was built in '77 and had four of us there the majority of that time. The system was functioning fine- the city put in sewer and required she attach and decommission the septic system.

 

[chops101]

Price for a pump out is totally dependent on what the local municipality charges these companies to dump a 3000g tank truck into their waste management system. Here is is quite expensive and it is what it is.
I just bought a larger house, and just had the septic system serviced yesterday, not that I had problems it was more for learning what I had.
As I came to find out, the P.O's had routinely dumped a lot of grease down the drain which had the inlet baffle into the main tank partially clogged. Oh yeah, a handi wipe or something actually got clogged in the pump truck hose.
My system is just going to require more maintenance period - I have a 1350g main tank-that drains into a 900g pump tank with a sump pump to force the fluid out into the drain field.

 

[pepi]

You should get on a pumping schedule. For a home of two people once a year should do. For 4 adults, twice a year will usually suffice.

That is a bit EXTREME do you think? You by chance pump septic tanks?

For the record, I have lived in my house for 25 years, just had that done last year, first time, and it was just because,I have lived here 25 years.

 

[KRB52]

When my Dad had his house build in 1963, all the "gray water" (sinks, dishwasher, washing machine) went into a seperate sewer pipe to a covered cesspool which then had it's own leeching field put in (early 70's, dug one summer mostly by me.) To my knowledge, his septic tank has never been opened and pumped. Until the 80's, the house had a family of five (5) in it.

 

[Buckgnarly]

Once a year! Holy **** (pun intended) that's ridiculous! It all depends (another pun intended) on use but if you are pumping once or twice a year you're flushing money down the drain(...you get the point!)

Seriously though, if you have not had it pumped yet best to do it now to be sure, then monitor until you find the right interval. Should not be more than 3-4 years or so. My parents did theirs once in since installed in 1978, though I would not recommend that!

 

[Pikewrench]

A lot depends on what you put in it. Tobacco products when flushed are hard on the bacteria, medicines like antibiotics are also hard if there is a large usage in the family. The size of the tank and the number of people it services. My 1000 gal I had pumped every 20 years based on non smokers with average medicine use. If you wait to long the solids can and will fill the field lines causing the need for total replacement of leaching lines. Solids such as feminite products are added filler and should not be flushed. Garbage disposal add more solids and filler to the tank

 

[brownbagg]

mine was put in, in 1972 and it has never been pumped

 

[CNGsaves]

If some local septic "pumper guy" convinces you to pump on schedule (heaven forbid) like every year or two . . . . . RUN !!!!

As a kid, we had jerry-rig leech field that ended in buried 500 gallon tank. When that tank was overflowing, a centrifrical pump was used to pump excess "black water" onto surface where we had pumpkins growing. Yeah, I hated doing that chore as teenager, just like I hated shoveling out the chicken houses!! We had some healthy green growth and damn BIG pumpkins !!! Sandy soil made it drain easily and 10 yrs ago city services extended out to that old house (now a rental) and it's on city sewer.

For real-world properly-built and maintained septic system, it should go years or decades before needing pumped.

However, if you have parties every night with 50 guys who have all eaten 10 burritos each daily at local taco joint, chased down with 2 kegs of beer at your house, then all bets are off !! . . .

 

[kraneman]

If you have to have your septic pumped every year something is wrong, if its filled with solids then the bacteria in there is not working, Try using a little baking soda to clean your bowl instead of any chemicals . I've heard that cheese rejuvenates the bacteria ?.

 

[Bib Overalls]

Around here, the size of a septic tank and leach field is determined by the number of bedrooms a house has. The requirements were expanded when garbage disposals became common. The sanitarian who sized our system ten years ago told us a larger leach field did not provide any additional benefit beyond the specified minimum. However, increasing the tank size a bit was a good investment. Gives the brew longer to cook. In any case, we went up a size. This thread is a reminder. Most likely need to make a call. It has been ten years.

 

[KRB52]

This reminds me; we rented a house from someone several years ago. He insisted and even put in the lease that the tenent was responsible for having the tank pumped every three years. When we moved in, it had been two years, so he wanted us to do it soon. He was pissed when we waited a year to do it. Funny thing is, we paid for his tank to get pumped, and he was sent the results. Bitched because my wife liked to dispose of used cooking grease down the drains. Oh, his excuse for having the tenent pay? "Well, it's your ****!" I hope he gets a never-ending case of kidney stones.

 

[samert111]

We have 2-800 gallon tanks. Installed in 1990. Pumped it every 3 years, family of 4 for the first 10 years. Still pump it every 3-4 years. Been using a cup of Bio Clean once a month for the last 2 years. Never had any problems so far. One thing nobody has mentioned yet is to not let your water softener discharge into the septic system. The salty discharge will not only kill off the bacteria but also will eat away at the concrete tanks.

 

[bcoons]

Our septic system was put in when the house was built 16 years ago. Hasn't been pumped out yet. The conventional wisdom in my neighborhood is don't mess with it if it is working. We don't have a garbage disposal or put food scraps or grease down the drain.

 

[BADSIX]

a proper septic tank should have a crust at the top Apr. 2" and should go with out pumping for years, 10 -15 is not uncommon. you've got to have something wrong to get solids in your drain field. as the outlet pipe has an elbow inside that extends down into the liquid about 14 - 16 " so its draining clean waste water. The solids float to the top and settle to the bottom where the are eaten up by the bacteria. to start the bacteria in a new system just go to the store and by a fryer chicken throw him in

 

[cnttxmdc]

If you have to have your septic pumped every year something is wrong, if its filled with solids then the bacteria in there is not working, Try using a little baking soda to clean your bowl instead of any chemicals . I've heard that cheese rejuvenates the bacteria ?.

If your system was properly designed, and you have to have it pumped every year, I highly recommend you go see your doctor &/or a gastroenterologist.