septic system questions

[Chevy72pu]

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.

X2. We moved in our house in 1989. Two adults, three teenage daughters. 1500 gallon tank that got all black water and grey water including washing machine. Decided to pump it in 2012 (that's 23 years) later and it was just over half full. If I live to be 84yoa I'll pump it again in 2035. After that my kids can worry about it.

 

[Garage5.9]

My grandparents house cesspool hasn't been pumped in 40 years and that was 10 years ago hahaha.

 

[kamesama980]

Talking about full/empty and pumping I think some people here don't understand how a septic system works. It's not a holding tank for your poo that has to be emptied when full like your gas tank has to be filled when empty. It's simply a widening of the pipe to slow down flow to give the bacteria time to work on the way to the leechfield.

It's supposed to stay partially full to the level of the outlet. liquids go in, when they go in, an equivelant amount gets pushed out to the leechfield. it should be mostly full at all times and stay there forever.

If you're pumping it yearly (much less MORE often), something's horribly wrong.

The house I grew up in had problems but it also had a 40' birch in the middle of the system (Ie roots probably growing through both the tank and field)

 

[Lkdelta]

Just checking in, so I can locate this thread later
Thanks for all the info

 

[Bobdog]

With old, failing system, I had to pump it every year or so, sometimes more if we had a lot of heavy rain.

I had it replaced going on 5 years ago and am getting ready to inspect it for the first time.

Every system is different, best bet is to talk to your neighbors, find out who they use and who they think is a rip-off. Then call a reputable guy and ask for an inspection (should cost around $100.00). They will tell you exactly what you're dealing with and how to take care of it and if it's time for a cleanout, they'll do it for you.

 

[Junk Scout]

I found this nice guide from the EPA & amazingly, it seems pretty accurate.

http://www.epa.gov/owm/septic/pubs/homeowner_guide_long.pdf

Grew up in a home with a septic tank from the 1930's, which had been covered over & forgotten before we moved in. It was not dealt with until it backed up into the basement, in the early 70's. I can assure you from experience that you want to take good care of the system! My brothers & I got to dig the new drain field & tank hole with shovels as Dad thought it was a good way to keep us busy!

My system at home is pumped out every 3-4 years and is working fine even with 3 women in the house. No garbage disposal, no tampoons, paint, grease or other odd stuff goes in there. You definitely do not want to put in stuff that will kill off the bacteria (such as chlorine). Just #1, 2 & TP!

I inspect it myself after it gets pumped. Pumping is just to get rid of sludge/solids at the bottom. My neighbors on each side have had to put in new drain fields but I never saw a honey truck at their houses. Pay attention to it or just pay!!!

 

[Lkdelta]

Is there different types of tissue paper we need to look for?

 

[slip knot]

TP test is simple. take a wad of TP. throw it in a glass of water and observe. If it dissolves it good it if doesn't dissolve keep it out of you septic tank. Do this same test with all these Handi/Sani wipes. They dont dissolve. DONT put them in your septic tank.

BTW a traditional septic tank is simply an anaerobic digester. if it has a bubbler system then its an aerobic digester. They're designed to break down organic solids. I haven't pumped the one at my house in 15yrs. My rentals get pumped every two years.

 

[scab]

When they pump the tank, is it as simple as open lid, insert tube, **** out ****, get paid, leave? Or do they clean it or inspect it while they're in there? And by clean, I mean like spray it out in order to get the most sediment out, etc. Do they expect you to dig up and expose the lid before they get there?

Also, I live in a 1998 house, been there since '06, never pumped the tank, family of four.

 

[BADSIX]

When they pump the tank, is it as simple as open lid, insert tube, **** out ****, get paid, leave? Or do they clean it or inspect it while they're in there? And by clean, I mean like spray it out in order to get the most sediment out, etc. Do they expect you to dig up and expose the lid before they get there?

Also, I live in a 1998 house, been there since '06, never pumped the tank, family of four.

SCAB that's about it. Around here they like to have the cover off, if they need to dig it up you get charged handsomely for it. Usually if the honey dipper is good at what he does, it will be free of solids when he's done. If for some reason you need to have it pumped the first thing you need to look at is the out let pipe. There should be an elbow extending down about 16 - 18 in.. If its gone, rotted off or something you need to jump down there and replace it. That's what keeps the solids out of your drain field. a properly installed system should run 15 years or longer with out the need to pump it

 

[Blue]

Talking about full/empty and pumping I think some people here don't understand how a septic system works. It's not a holding tank for your poo that has to be emptied when full like your gas tank has to be filled when empty. It's simply a widening of the pipe to slow down flow to give the bacteria time to work on the way to the leechfield.

It's supposed to stay partially full to the level of the outlet. liquids go in, when they go in, an equivelant amount gets pushed out to the leechfield. it should be mostly full at all times and stay there forever.

If you're pumping it yearly (much less MORE often), something's horribly wrong.

This.

 

[Fixnfly]

So, RID-X is pretty much useless?? I spend about $80 a year on the stuff.

 

[Pluribus]

So, RID-X is pretty much useless?? I spend about $80 a year on the stuff.

Septic guy with decades of experience told me he advises people to pour baking soda down the drain if they really, really feel like they have to use some kind of additive. His reasoning? It won't do a damn thing to improve the operation of the system, but it also won't hurt anything.

 

[EOC_Jason]

So, RID-X is pretty much useless?? I spend about $80 a year on the stuff.

Every septic guy I have talked to has said NOT to use it. They say it will break things down rapidly, but then you end up with more stuff being suspended in the water and it will travel down to your leech field and clog things up. Better to let the stuff settle your tanks and pump out the sludge than have to replace your leech field.

Unless you use a lot of harsh chemicals or anti-bacterial stuff (which you shouldn't be), then there is no need to add any extra stuff to your tanks.

Where I live, they will NOT let anyone in the county replace / repair their leech field for traditional gravity (anaerobic) systems. If it fails then you MUST upgrade it to the latest and greatest, aka the "aerobic plant" that has bubblers, timers, pumps, etc... You also MUST install an auto-dialer which will call the county and a repair man if any fault issues occur, AND you must have a maintenance contract with a company that comes out (quarterly for residential, monthly for commercial) to inspect and maintain your system and they test the PH & chlorine levels and send those results back to the county. Oh yeah, we also have to have chlorinators between the aerobic plant and the holding tank before it gets pumped out into the field...

Someone is making a **** load of money off all these new requirements, it is way overboard for the small percentage of people that are on their own septic systems.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

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.

This is absolute, total, insanity to suggest pumping out a septic system once or twice a year! We have hundreds of septic systems around here and no one would ever think of doing this. I've been in this house by myself since '97 and NEVER has it been pumped, and probably hasn't been since the place was built in '85.

A friend of mine down the road lives in an old 1900 farm house, and the indoor plumbing was installed in the early '50's (it was her parents house and she grew up there) and she doesn't recall it ever being pumped out.

These may be extreme cases, but suggesting pumping twice a year is extreme also.

Charles

 

[Mike Miller]

Ever how many years you wait, don't do what this guy is talking about.

 

[ATC]

My family of 3 has lived in this house for 21 years. Our septic has only been pumped once, and that was not too long after we moved in.

 

[monkeybar]

In theory, a septic tank should not EVER need any pumping or other attention. Properly sized, along with an acceptable leach field, the bacterial action within the tank reduces everything to the point that the water flowing (overflowing, actually) from the tank to the evap. field is clear water.

We installed a new septic system when we built our custom home in Phoenix, never added any kind of amendment, used it vigorously for ten years, and never had a single problem. monkey

 

[Diesel Dan]

Check with the local health department.
Two different counties in two different states had us on 3 yr pump schedules. Not really a pump schedule but they required the system be inspected or pumped every 3 years but it is not much more to pump it so everybody just has them pumped & inspected.

A "properly" designed system is not always allowed in your community. I have taken a course from our state on mound system design and they give the gallons/capacity of the tank vs input volume for ideal turn over time of fluids. Our county requires tanks that far exceed that volume for smaller homes but the county supersedes the state in its requirements. Just because your county allows the installation of a certain septic system does not mean it will function maintenance free for years on end. If said approved system fails 5 yrs later the same county can force you to replace it, again.

 

[Diesel Dan]

Maybe every 10 years here. We were also 'city slickers'....37 years ago. Good luck.

If I'm correct your in Mahoning Co?
Trumbull requires it every 3 yrs, unless you find some nice property up here it is not worth fighting the health department up here!

 

[Glenn M.]

My house was built in 1957, septic system has been pumped a grand total of once, about 25 years ago. It didn't need it then, there were a bunch of roots from an overgrown juniper bush growing into the tank. When they did pump the tank, they also cleaned it out by pumping and spraying back some liquid from the truck and then pumping that out. We ended up pulling up the bush with a tractor and a chain.
One problem with really old systems is that not everyone used cast pipe from the tank to the distribution box (Cast pipe was expensive, plastic wasn't available then). Cast was used from the house to the tank, and then Orangeburg pipe was used. The Orangeburg was cheaper, but over time deteriorated/delaminated/collapsed, causing the system to back up. Nowadays it's easy to get a ditch witch in and replace the Orangeburg with plastic.

 

[brownbagg]

my tank is a dual chamber tank, the solid fall into the first tank and then there a wall separating the two chambers but doesn't go all the way to the lid, the liquid flows over the wall and then it goes to the field. majority of solids in first chamber. when they installed my field i had them add 300 ft of extra line for safety. my whole front yard is a leech field 700 ft of line. I was only reguired 380 ft

 

[Outlander]

My township requires pumping every second year since it is not my primary residence. Septic guy informs city hall after he gets paid

 

[EOC_Jason]

Yep, adding extra to your leech field if possible is always a good idea.

Pumping your tanks out is totally dependent on how many people use the system and how good / bad their habits are. If you are putting stuff down the drain that you shouldn't be, then your sludge will build up much faster than if you paid attention to what you were flushing.

Sticking your tanks is the best way, that way you know exactly how much sludge has accumulated in the bottom of the tank(s)...

But a general rule of thumb, I would do it *at least* every 3-5 years as a bare minimum. It doesn't cost *that* much and it's important to inspect the tanks too for damage and making sure your pipes are okay. Usually once you realize you have a problem, the cost has already skyrocketed when a little preventative maintenance would have only been a fraction of that.

Anaerobic system (i.e. traditional gravity systems) the bacteria digests things very very slowly because there is no oxygen. The liquid going out to the leech field is still being processed and still smells pretty bad.

Aerobic plants have bubblers to add oxygen into the water and thus allow aerobic bacteria to grow. They digest the waste much faster and are much more efficient at their job. The water coming out of those usually just has a little musty smell but is much more clear and safer for the environment. Often the water is used to irrigate flower beds, or it can be pumped into a leech field, or some places even allow discharge directly into ditches / creeks...

Our commercial property we have both systems. One of our gravity systems the leech field was failing and during the winter the system would back up because the field would just get saturated. One nice thing about the aerobic system with the holding tank & pump, if a toilet gets stuck open or someone leaves a faucet running, instead of saturating the field and causing problems like in a gravity system, it will just trigger the pump to come on and the sprinklers pop up and water the field. When that happens in the middle of the day then you know something is wrong and investigate.

 

[dsprint2000]

Timely issue.... drain field just failed on my system. 250 gallon 'shotgun' style tanks - original to the home from 1922. Had it pumped every five years - forgot and went 7-years this time. Looking at all new system now - tank, vault, poop pusher and new drain field.... rough estimate $12K....

David

 

[justin1795]

if you are purchasing new in iowa its the law the septic be inspected and pumped before the house can be sold.

 

[atfulldraw]

if you're pumping that often, there is something wrong with your system....

 

[Diesel Dan]

.... rough estimate $12K....

Cheaper than my estimates.
2-1000 gallon tanks, aeration, 160'+ mound for $18-22K.
Off lot discharge systems with sand filters would run around $12K but I'm not allowed to have one because of too much acreage.

 

[EOC_Jason]

if you're pumping that often, there is something wrong with your system....

Many people don't have a choice. While it might not be necessary, local governments are "forcing" people to do it and the companies have to turn in records of it being pumped & inspected. It's a money scam...

 

[Lkdelta]

Kind of surprised this thread hasn't turned to **** yet

 

[G_P]

When my parents house was on septic before the sewer lines were run they were pumping every 5 years or so. Having your tank pumped yearly or twice a year is insane!

 

[Danver]

While we are on the topic of septic systems, is there anything special that should be done for a system that will not be used for a long period of time? It might be a little late to be asking this but...

The lot that my garage/shop is on had a mobile home that I lived in for two years before buying a house just up the street a few years ago. It was used occasionally in the summer months but now this past spring I had the trailer torn down and just use the garage as my workshop so there is nothing hooked up to the septic system.

Should I already have done something with it or will it be fine as it is for any possible future use? Should I have it pumped out? Would it be a good thing to run some water into the system occasionally? Or just leave it alone?

 

[brownbagg]

While we are on the topic of septic systems, is there anything special that should be done for a system that will not be used for a long period of time?


throw a dead chicken in it

 

[Charles (in GA)]

While we are on the topic of septic systems, is there anything special that should be done for a system that will not be used for a long period of time? It might be a little late to be asking this but...

The lot that my garage/shop is on had a mobile home that I lived in for two years before buying a house just up the street a few years ago. It was used occasionally in the summer months but now this past spring I had the trailer torn down and just use the garage as my workshop so there is nothing hooked up to the septic system.

Should I already have done something with it or will it be fine as it is for any possible future use? Should I have it pumped out? Would it be a good thing to run some water into the system occasionally? Or just leave it alone?

Around here, the health dept will not allow a septic system to be used after one year of inactivity, unless it has been completely gone thru, tank opened and pumped, and inspected. You really need to keep some water flowing thru the tank, and better yet, some more bacterial laden "stuff".

Charles

 

[ddrewyor]

We had our house built in 1999 and it has a 1500 gal tank and an engineered field. In 2006 the township put a sewer line in and we had the choice to hook up at a discounted rate ~$8-$9k or continue using our septic until it failed and then hook in for ~ $11k. At that time we had the tank pumped and the field inspected. Everything was fine and in good shape - tank was perfect and the leach field was less than 3% compromised. The tank was about one third full. We have four adults two females and two males and I have it pumped four years. When the company came out and inspected this year, we had the same results - everything functioning fine. I used to use a product called Septicare and it did breakdown the contents quicker, but with pumping as often as we do, we never have a problem. The irony is that my neighbors complained about the cost of pumping it out ($250 in my area) but when they hooked into to the sewer, their water\sewage bill almost doubled. My water bill is about $200 for a three month period so I only pay extra once every 4 years. They get to pay every billing cycle. My advice is to get it pumped out, then check it yearly with a pole as described earlier. When it gets to about half, have it pumped out. Then you will have an idea how quickly the waste is building up on the bottom. All systems are different and depending on use and abuse, will vary on filling up. My boss never touched his since he built his house 35 years ago, the field just failed and it is about $30k to replace the system. If nothing gets into the field it should last, in theory, indefinitely.

 

[6768rogues]

Our tank is small and we have it pumped every 5 years or so. There should be a layer of crust on top, then liquid, then sludge on the bottom. The solids either float or sink, and some of it digests. As it digests the stuff that can digest, it becomes part of the liquid or settles. Liquid goes out the other side. When the crust on top and the sludge in the bottom get to be too close together, the tank is "full". Since you have no experience with the system, get it pumped and see what shape it is in. Then wait a couple of years, get it pumped again, and judge how long you should wait. Pumping too frequently is not a problem, and I would not pay someone to come out and then not pump it. It is brown to us, but green to them.

 

[CNGsaves]

Cheaper than my estimates.
2-1000 gallon tanks, aeration, 160'+ mound for $18-22K.
Off lot discharge systems with sand filters would run around $12K but I'm not allowed to have one because of too much acreage.

Around here, once a "grandfathered" septic (ie lateral system) fails, it has to be replaced with lagoon pond. Not sure the cost differential in your area, but might check it out as option.

Both my sister and dad's rental house in country have the lagoon ponds. There are times the smell does linger, and plus they are an eyesore.

 

[monkeybar]

Check with the local health department.
Two different counties in two different states had us on 3 yr pump schedules. Not really a pump schedule but they required the system be inspected or pumped every 3 years but it is not much more to pump it so everybody just has them pumped & inspected.

A "properly" designed system is not always allowed in your community. I have taken a course from our state on mound system design and they give the gallons/capacity of the tank vs input volume for ideal turn over time of fluids. Our county requires tanks that far exceed that volume for smaller homes but the county supersedes the state in its requirements. Just because your county allows the installation of a certain septic system does not mean it will function maintenance free for years on end. If said approved system fails 5 yrs later the same county can force you to replace it, again.

Very true! I seem to always think in terms of black & white, sorry. Extenuating circumstances may screw up even the best-designed septic system. Real important seems to be soil "percolation rate", which determines how much tank outflow can be evaporated or distressed into surrounding soils. I THINK, most reputable jurisdictions have someone employed of satisfactory knowledge of local soil conditions, to make important decisions about what may or may not work acceptably.

I am no expert, but think garbage disposals pose one of the greatest threats to septic system failure, maybe even beyond poor design. monkey

 

[Vethead]

I was a city boy myself and knew nothing about septic systems. Our local county started offering a course on septic systems and how to inspect them It was a good course and very informative. The link below is for a pdf that discusses inspecing your system and determining if it needs pumping, as well as instructions on how to build the inspection stick. Hope it helps.

http://www.islandcountyeh.org/uploads/Septic201fieldguide2011.pdf

 

[wedge40]

Just my experience, not even sure how big my tank is. I was told there is no leech field. Please dont tell me I'm mistaken that there has to be a leech field, cause I was told this by the guy who put the system in. Figured he'd know what he'd done.
There are three thing that go into my tank, kitchen sink. Little soap, no food and very little grease, tub/shower, and a toilet. I lived in the house, 21 years and just had the system pumped. Guess it was the first time in the 24 year history is was pumped.


Wedge