Septic System

[fruitcakesa]

Our property was a poor candidate for a conventional tank and leach field system so after obtaining the ok from our local health officer we installed a grey/black water "topsoil builder".
Our drains are connected to a small 300 gallon plastic tank buried in our garden.
The tank is hooked to a downstream 30 gallon buried siphon which is piped into a 40'lx 4'w x 3''d trench filled with woodchips, planer shavings, sawdust, leaves really any carboniferous material.
The septic tank slowly fills the siphon with effluent. When full, the siphon releases the 30 gallon slug of liquid which fills a 2" pvc perforated pipe that is suspended within the chip bed and distributes the liquid evenly throughout the bed.
We have been using this system for over 20 years and have had the small septic tank pumped once during that time. The pumper commented on the healthy bacteria mat when he opened the tank.
We dig out loads of dirt from the bottom of the chip bed and use the black gold in our flower beds and for general soil nourishment.
It does not smell other than the occasional a whiff of septic water from the chip bed vents when the siphon releases. But since it is downhill about 85 feet from the house it is a non issue.
I borrowed a backhoe to dig the trench and lines. The siphon was probably the most expensive and fiddly to install item, then the tank and pipes. I bet I don't have $1000 in the thing.
Of course, I could not get away with something like this if I wanted to today.

 

[RCW]

As others said, under normal circumstances, additives to a sewage system are not necessary, and may be detrimental.

In fact, some additives that claim to break up the sludge or scum may do so, but where does the stuff go?.?...to the absorption area, that you’re trying to protect from the sludge and scum materials.

Honestly, for a seasonal use system I would still avoid an additive. There will be development of microbial action quickly, and I might just pump the tank more frequently.

As Tom suggested, I’ve heard of the yeast additive many times. At a proper temperature, Yeast ferments sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Not sure how much sugar is in the septic tank, if it’s warm enough, and I sure don’t want it producing alcohol, which could kill the good bugs in sufficient concentration......which it probably doesn’t do either.

Will it hurt? Probably not. Will it help? Probably not, but you won’t get homemade bread or pizza that day.......

The pizza will do more for your tank the next day....if you know what I’m sayin’.....he he he

 

[Lil Foot]

Just add Yeast on a seasonal use system.

I have heard of that, but don't know anyone who has tried it.
We do save out-of-date yogurt & yeast to feed the system when we have any.

 

[Stmar]

Nothing is as easy as it seems with country life. Not having our system pumped and listening to people about it we finally got it done, the easy part. The hard part was that the pipe sticking up was not the clean-out, it was to access the pipe coming from the house and then it went into the tank but no way you could get a suction hose to the tank from there. So I broke out my dousing rods and located the tank, figured the clean-out should be in the middle, cranked up the Kubota and carefully started taking bits of dirt off. Low and behold I found the clean-out without destroying the system. Pump guy came right over and when he took the lid off he said it was way overdue, full and thick but we got it done before anything bad happened and he said we were lucky to do it now because digging that ground when froze would have been impossible. Lesson learned and of course this all happened when it was 100 degrees, just the type of weather to dig, lol.

 

[Tornado]

Im nearly 40. Ive lived in the country my whole life, on a septic system. As a kid and as an adult now in my own house, I have never had a septic pumped. Ive owned my house now for almost 10 years and never had the septic pumped. I dont know of anyone at all who has their septic pumped regularly, it just isnt a common thing here where Im from. Im honestly not sure why that is - it is something I have wondered about before. All many family growing up were also all on septic systems. I never emember any of them having septics pumped. Ive also hardly ever seen them have any problem.

Now that Ive said all that Ill go home and have a septic problem in a few days.

EDIT: I will say though, my house, has a seperate outlet for the washing machine that actually empties into the side of my yard right on top of the ground. There is a big sink in my laundry room that also exits at that same location. This means that bleach and clothes washing detergent water never go into my septic. Also - anytime we have something questionable to take down a drain, we use that sink. We also never put grease or anything down the drain. Growing up it all went into our septic and I never remember a problem though. Bleach will kill bacteria though, so Im sure lots of bleach going into a septic cant be a good thing.

 

[Lil Foot]

Bleach will kill bacteria though, so Im sure lots of bleach going into a septic cant be a good thing.

The guy who built the place next to my 3rd acre had tremendous ongoing problems with his system(s).
He only got 3 or 4 years of use and then he had sewage coming up in the yard.
He had the system completely replaced, including leach fields. (which were totally plugged) He then bad-mouthed the original installer as a crook.
3 or 4 years go by, and the same thing happened again. He had the entire system replaced again, and bad-mouthed the second installer as a crook.
3 or 4 years go by, and the same thing happened again. The 3rd installer questioned how he was using the system, and found out that his wife and two teenage daughters were doing 7 to 9 loads of laundry a day, all with bleach. They had all white towels & bedding, and only used them once before washing.
(The reason I found all this out was that the 3rd installer was screaming at him at the top of his lungs about what a moron he was, how he killed the previous systems, etc, etc, and I could hear it all from my place)

 

[SidecarFlip]

Surprised the grass didn't tuen white over the seepage bed from it....

 

[Lil Foot]

Surprised the grass didn't tuen white over the seepage bed from it....

Probably would have, had there been a lawn, but not much grass up there.

 

[Tughill Tom]

I see targets of opportunity and some pine trees.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Tree rat, not so much, wild hogs certainly. Sure am glad we don't have them here but I've heard they are moving north.

Yes, not much grass Lil Foot.

 

[Lil Foot]

Squirrel is a Kaibab squirrel, cute, smart, and not destructive,
Piggies are actually Javelina, also called a Peccary, native here.
Again, not destructive like wild boars.

 

[NHSleddog]

We have a family of five and have ours pumped every 2 years. Cheap insurance. 200 vs 20K. The problem up here is they have all gone "chamber system" happy. If your normal system fails, they usually make you go to a chamber system. I want to avoid that.

 

[Tornado]

The guy who built the place next to my 3rd acre had tremendous ongoing problems with his system(s).
He only got 3 or 4 years of use and then he had sewage coming up in the yard.
He had the system completely replaced, including leach fields. (which were totally plugged) He then bad-mouthed the original installer as a crook.
3 or 4 years go by, and the same thing happened again. He had the entire system replaced again, and bad-mouthed the second installer as a crook.
3 or 4 years go by, and the same thing happened again. The 3rd installer questioned how he was using the system, and found out that his wife and two teenage daughters were doing 7 to 9 loads of laundry a day, all with bleach. They had all white towels & bedding, and only used them once before washing.
(The reason I found all this out was that the 3rd installer was screaming at him at the top of his lungs about what a moron he was, how he killed the previous systems, etc, etc, and I could hear it all from my place)

Wow. This guy clearly didn't understand how a septic system works. You have to be mindful when on a septic what you put down drains and flush down toilets. I dont even like using heavy bleach products in toilet bowls unless its rated as safe for septics. I think if you can limit a septic to mostly just water and human waste, it will last a very long time without you having to do anything to it. I even suggest people be conservative with toilet paper. When possible, throw toilet paper in the trash rather than flushing it, etc. Just some good habits to form i think if you live on a septic system, and habits if implored for years.

 

[Lil Foot]

Wow. This guy clearly didn't understand how a septic system works. You have to be mindful when on a septic what you put down drains and flush down toilets. I dont even like using heavy bleach products in toilet bowls unless its rated as safe for septics. I think if you can limit a septic to mostly just water and human waste, it will last a very long time without you having to do anything to it. I even suggest people be conservative with toilet paper. When possible, throw toilet paper in the trash rather than flushing it, etc. Just some good habits to form i think if you live on a septic system, and habits if implored for years.

I totally agree, and use the same practices.

 

[johnjk]

John, sounds like you have a REAL professional pumper and inspector and state required maintenance program. Around here the pumpers are often someone you really don't want on your property. Dirty unkempt truck and operators who try to tell you one price then find something (usually BS) they can charge you for to increase their income.

I get a price before they show up and make them stick to it. Had one guy try to add a couple hundred to the bill, and when I told him I had talked to his boss (the owner) he really got hot. I was there the entire time, from when he pulled up to when he left. I actually talked to the owner on the phone after he handed me the ticket. Owner asked, didn't he tell you he was doing the extra work. Nope, besides I provided the hydraulic cement he insisted was required, and the copper sulfate. I told the owner the amount of hydraulic cement couldn't fix anything. He was just trying to do something to make an extra charge. He finally pumped the sewage back into the tank and was yelling, and flipping me off as he pulled out. What the simpleton didn't know is I was having it pumped for a neighbor in poor health and it was a preventive measure not an emergency. I called another guy. He showed up the same day and charged what he said!

The only variation in my price would have been due to how close he could get the truck to the tank. He got within 30' so my quoted price did not change. He even put down a tarp under his truck to catch any dripping hydraulic fluid and engine oil. Said he had developed a few small leaks and wanted to keep it off my ground. The lift station company came out last week on their annual maintenance check. They pull the pump, clean it, check for operation and also clean that filter I just found out about. May not need to make that special tool after all. Pump was running nice and quiet so back in the hole it went.

The guy just south of me has a failed leach bed and it stinks. Lucky for me the wind rarely blows out of that direction, but his yard is a muddy, crappy mess around that field. Got his zero turn hung up in it last weekend and it was comical to watch him get to and from it. I would have taken the Orange over, to help but he had his wife bring down his truck pretty quick. He's called a few pumpers, including my guy who chuckled when he talked about them and he told me sometimes the best business is the business you turn down.

Got a notice this week from the County Health Dept that they will be out inspecting systems put in before 2017. I would put money on seeing an excavator over there in the next few months. I'm good since mine went in with the new design but man, there are a lot of people putting in systems that meet the new code and that is not cheap.

 

[Stmar]

From Tornado: "Im nearly 40. Ive lived in the country my whole life, on a septic system. As a kid and as an adult now in my own house, I have never had a septic pumped."

Same here, last place we were at for 15 years and this one 20 so a total of 35 years without having either tank pumped. We were always told by the old people that if we didn't do anything sketchy the septic would take care of itself. After hearing some horror stories I decided to buy the insurance, i e have the tank pumped. It is probably that we put modern crap instead of old crap down our drains so that the requirements are different. Neighbor just sold his house and one of the questions, when was the tank pumped.

 

[PoTreeBoy]

"It is probably that we put modern crap instead of old crap down our drains" Didn't realize it had changed. Never thought about it

 

[William1]

I live what is considered 'Chesapeake Watershed' and I am apparently, required to get pumped every five years and the septic company reports to the county. Funny thing is, I was pumping every five already, out of good habit except for this year, I did not call. Well, five years and a few months, I get a notice from the county to get it pumped!
I can see lines in the lawn were each of the drain pipes/leech field is. Few weeds and dark green grass. They tell me that is fine and proof the field is working. The ground is solid and no stink.
I've always asked the guy how it looks and he always tells me 'fine'. Three bedroom house with just two people in it 150 days a year. Four loads of laundry done a week. Long showers (one of the best parts of the day, with a high flow Speakman shower head) keep the septic filled with 'clean water'. I figure it is not wasteful as it just percs through the ground to my well a few hundred feet away....

 

[Stmar]

Since I had to dig down a foot or so to find the clean out I decided to remedy that. Looked at commercial clean out extensions but could not figure out which one would fit my system, no manufacturer marks so don't know what brand/kind it is. Did not want to order a wrong part so built my own. Box of treated 2X6's, 12" high with a plywood lid at grade level so in a few years when I get it pumped again just have to pry the lid off to access the rubber lid to the clean out.