Septic system questions

[i_am2bz]

First, background: next month will mark 7 years in this house. The septic system was new (we were told) & our house was the first one to be hooked up to it, so I assume the tank was empty. There are 2 people in the home, but both of us are home all day, everyday, at least for the last couple of years.

So, questions:

How can I tell if the tank is close to needing to be pumped out? Short of the contents backing up into the house, of course. Do I actually have to find the dang lid (yes, buried in the yard somewhere, I've lost track by now), get it off & look in...?

Also, do any of the products advertised for septic systems (such as Rid-x) actually work? Is anything like that necessary for the system to perform correctly?

 

[ksalvagno]

I'm not sure what exactly the size tank is we have but it is supposed to be one of the largest and we were told to have it pumped out every 3 years and there are only 2 people here. I'm sure yours is due. It would back up into the house if it was overfull. You do have to know where the lid is. That is where they pump it out from. You could ask the septic tank guy how often he feels it should be pumped out. We have one that we feel is very honest and we could trust so that is why we trust his every 3 years suggestion. You really shouldn't have to put anything into your tank. If you really want to do something, our septic guy told us to pour really spoiled milk into the toilet furthest from the tank and flush it down.

 

[patandchickens]

To a considerable extent there is no one definite right answer. A lot depends on how you USE your septic system, what your soil is like, and what your risk-tolerance philosophies are like. So there are a variety of reasonable-at-least-to-some-people answers everywhere from "every year" to "never unless you have a problem".

Personally I think it would be sensible to have it pumped out now (-ish), then you can find out whether it probably should have been pumped out sooner (for next time) or could have gone longer. Note that just opening the lid and looking in will tell you roughly nothing at all, you need to actually have someone come pump it out.

The difficulty with waiting too long is that it can get Expensive.

Those bacterial digester products, insofar as they do anything at all, are widely regarded to be not so smart in the long run as they can unclog a tank at the expense of your *leachfield*, which is the particularly expensive part of the system to ruin. I would not recommend 'em myself.

Finding a buried tank is probably not THAT bad a task, anyhow it wasn't for us. Figure out where the blackwater pipe exits your house. If you have a basement this should be easy, but even if you don't, there is quite likely a vent stack coming up out of the house right by there (at least this is what the septic-pumping guy we consulted told us, and it is certainly true in our house).

Most likely the pipe runs straight outwards from that point in the house (the point where the blackwater pipe goes thru the foundation wall). Our septic-pumping guy told us (via phone) what the likely distance, as per building code, was between house wall and tank... as this may vary regionally you might want to consult YOUR local septic-pumping guy. In our case it is about 15' or so (I forget exactly, but it turns out to line up with the front wall of our garage which is handy for relocating it in future )

Then just dig til you find something.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

If you have a good leech field, then do not feed your septic digestors.

One thing we do here, is never put tp in the system.
Its actually a common practice with septics up here.
Just use a small lined trashcan and empty as often as needed.
Ours just go into the woodstove.
We do use family cloth so tp usage is very low already!

 

[ORChick]

When we moved into this house the tank had just been pumped (prior to sale), and we (also 2 people) were told we should have it re-done in 2-3 years. Well, DH didn't see the necessity, and we let it go until a year or so ago (almost 8 years), at my insistance. My thought was that, even if it wasn't needed this way we would have a better idea of how often we should do it. The fellow who did it said that he was actually surprised that it was in the good condition it was after that much time , but suggested that we have it done every 5 years or so in future.

 

[TanksHill]

I have never pumped my tank. What's the logic? If it's working why is it necessary? We don't flush anything were not supposed to.

We installed in 2002.

 

[journey11]

My house was built in 1942 and I have no clue how old the septic is...and my elderly neighbors who once owned the house have no idea even where it is, much less how old it is. We've lived here 4 years now and never had it pumped out. No problems so far! But we do also have a separate drain for gray water so that doesn't go into it, which I'm sure that helps.

Rid-X is not necessary and most septic guys will tell you it is useless. The important thing is to be careful what you do put down the septic. Don't overdo it on the water that goes into it and use bleach VERY sparingly (as well any other chemicals that might harm the resident bacteria). Use TP that breaks down easily and is recommended for septics (we use Scott), no grease and no feminine products and no toys (LOL, it happens!)

If it's leaking or overflowing, besides the smell that will back up into the house, you may notice a swampy spot in the yard or some VERY healthy green grass.

 

[Denim Deb]

We've lived in our house for over 20 years, and only had the tank pumped 1x.

 

[patandchickens]

I have never pumped my tank. What's the logic? If it's working why is it necessary?

"The logic": there is no way to tell (without opening it all up and, really, having it pumped) whether it IS working properly. "Not working properly" begins NOT with a sewage backup or wet leachfield or bad smells, but with fine solids from the tank starting to flow into the leachfield. (Only liquid is supposed to go to the field). This is underground and invisible. And yet, it starts clogging up your leachfield.

If you wait til there is actual obvious problem, quite often it is too late and considerable damage has been done. If you are lucky it may be repairable for only a few thousand dollars as opposed to $5-20k for a whole new leachfield, but that is still a lot higher price than just getting the thing pumped occasionally.

Yes, obviously many people go for long periods of time without problems, but many people DON'T, and you have no good way of knowing which category you will fall into. The second one is both expensive and avoidable.

JMHO,

Pat

 

[FarmerDenise]

Where I grew up in upstate NY, people didn't pump their septic tanks. I think my parents still haven't. I only pumped mine because the mortage company demanded it.
Eventually it did back up. I found that rats had chewed the redwood box that my septic tank was made of and dirt had gotten into the tank. Also there was a small maybe 2ft square box at the sewer pipe outlet. It was filled with pebbles, tp and hair. Once I broke that box apart, the solid just flowed out and the backup subsided. I think having that small box at the outlet and the rats chewing into the tank allowing dirt and pebbles to fill it (especially that small box) are what caused my problems. Other than that, I was carefull as to what went down the drain and would not have cleaned it out for many more years.

Subsequently I was forced to hook up to city sewer, not my choice.