Septic Owners

So, what are the better ways to keep drains clear? Home drains in the kitchen and bath generally get clogged by grease, food waste and hair, none of which will be effectively dispersed by bleach. WTC recommends carefully pouring a kettleful of boiling water down the drain to free up a slow drain, or using mechanical methods such as a plumber’s snake, plunger or hose-end bladder to clean a clogged drain.

 

Are you on well?

 

Having one that doesn't work is worse.

 

How old is the drain field?

 

We know we know Brad...your sh!t doesn't stink

 

Don't let long hair get in it, you'll have big, big, irreparable problems.

 

once a month

 

We bought an old farm house and ended up tearing it down and rebuilding. The health dept let us keep the original tank and leach field. Crazy I know but it did last another 14 years. Then a tree fell down and we repetitively drove over the leach field with logs in the bucket of the tractor. Water started puddling in the yard during the drought of summer. We thought the leach field went down into the pasture and not beside the house. After 65 years we had to replace the tank and the field. Unfun money. Treat your septic system nicely hopefully you won’t ever have to replace it.

 

Although I don't personally have a septic tank, cause I'm poor and rely on city sewer hookup, I have a little knowledge about them due to my profession. You appear to have a newer tank, 11 years as you say. The concrete lids can deteriorate if not maintained regularly due to the gases and reaction with the concrete. I've seen lids crumble like dirt when trying to be removed. You really should pump your tank every 3-5 years, depending on usage. Being that you're the owner and take care of your house, you could probably go to 5 years.

How big is your tank? Do you know your direction of the leach field? Any trees in the general vicinity?

 

Separate note, a Did you know moment....

Do you know where the word shît derived from?

Back in the 1800s manure was a traded commodity. It used to be shipped over seas with other commodities. The more expensive the commodity, the higher is was loaded on ships. Well, long story short, a particular shipment was loaded in the lower portions of the ship. The gas fumes cause an issue with being compartmentalized. So, after an accident if was later marked in it's containers as "Ship High In Transit" so the gases weren't contained.

 

Why does my name always pop up where gases are concerned....btw my gases have been know to deteriorate paint, drywall and and car seats but not concrete lids that I know of anyway.

 

correct...the sludge should be pumped 3 to 5 years to maintain the proper biological levels within the drain field.

 

We have had this discussion before. Garbage disposers contribute to septic problems. Food waste is hard for the system to break down. It also invites cooking grease into your system. Soaps in general are bad for septic systems in that when most soaps break down there is a conversion to a type of grease. This grease as well as what is marketed as "flushable" wipes contribute to the sludge in the tank as well as the biomass that forms and clogs the drain field. Typically toilets are ball tested at 2" or better so anything smaller could be considered "flushable". By the way flushable wipes, even those marked as environmentally friendly wreak havoc on municipal waste treatment systems as well.
Anti bacterial soaps and bleach from the laundry are even worse. A septic system uses two types of bacteria to function as designed, aerobic which requires oxygen and anaerobic which does not.
Kill the bacteria and you're pumping sludge more frequently.

 

My dogs contribute more waste to the environment than my entire household of one. Yes I have a septic tank. with no hope of a sewer system getting anywhere near our private street.