Joined Apr 2006
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Forum Thread
Educate me on my septic system!
May 28, 2021 at
05:51 PM
Ok, I've been in this home for 15 years and have had the septic pumped out every 3-5 years. I have a neighbor that has NEVER HAD THEIRS PUMPED OUT and hasn't had any problems.
Soooo.....
Is it better to get it pumped out?
Does it help to use rid-x or a yeast cake flushed down the toilet monthly?
Is most toilet paper "septic safe"?
Is toilet paper the major contributor to septic issues?
I've been thinking about this shi! for a long time and slickdealers have never let me down. Great advice from great people!
Soooo.....
Is it better to get it pumped out?
Does it help to use rid-x or a yeast cake flushed down the toilet monthly?
Is most toilet paper "septic safe"?
Is toilet paper the major contributor to septic issues?
I've been thinking about this shi! for a long time and slickdealers have never let me down. Great advice from great people!
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Soooo.....
Is it better to get it pumped out?
Does it help to use rid-x or a yeast cake flushed down the toilet monthly?
Is most toilet paper "septic safe"?
Is toilet paper the major contributor to septic issues?
I've been thinking about this shi! for a long time and slickdealers have never let me down. Great advice from great people!
Most toilet paper claims to be septic safe on the package (but not all). There are obvious differences between different brands. You could always get a bidet-- no more TP.
NEVER flush "flushable wipes" or feminine products.
If you put too much soap down the drain, you can have issues with the oily scum layer separating properly (surfactants help oil and water mix). It's bad news if the ends up in the drain field. Too much bleach, drain cleaner, and other cleaning products can kill off microbes.
3-5 years is often suggested (sometimes even mandated by law), some people go a lot longer without issue. It depends on the design of the system (size, style, household size, full time or seasonal occupancy, what they put down the drain) and how 'healthy' the system is. Some people go as far as putting all their TP in the trash and have no garbage disposal.
In my view it's a good idea to pump at a minimum every 5-10 years, a vacation property could go longer . Going longer is a recipe for potential very expensive repairs. For your system it's possible you really need to pump it every 3-5 yrs it's hard to know. It's certainly cheaper than repairing the system. If you wanted to minimize pumpings it would be a good idea to periodically measure the depth of the solids/sludge at the bottom and scum at the top in the different chambers of the tank (sound's like fun doesn't it). This is probably the most accurate way to tell if the system needs to be pumped. Just be careful, people die falling into septic tanks every year (asphyxiate before drowning). If you're noticing a particularly malodorous smell from the plumbing vents on the roof (or sometimes when wind blows just right) it can be a sign it's time to pump the tank.
Rid-X and Yeast generally don't hurt, don't need to be used at the frequency it might say on the box. More like once a year.
https://www.gbra.org/septic/index.html
https://www.epa.gov/septic/how-yo...stem-works
https://inspectapedia.c
My former neighbor and mine, our homes were built about the same time. They had 3 kids at home for most of that time, and we now have 4 (but 2 are toddlers so they don't really burden the septic). They sold their home a couple years ago and moved to AZ; had me look after the place a bit since they were so far away.
Then one day I noticed their yard being dug up so I messaged them and asked what was up. Turns out they had accepted an offer and on inspecting the septic (sellers pay for the pump), it was discovered that their distribution box was full of shit (quite literally) and had to be replaced. This guy was one of those people that always took care of their stuff - but in talking with him, he'd never pumped the septic in ~ 15 years of owning the place. So, that all came home to roost when he had to spend a few $k on it at the sale. Around here a pump on a standard system is around $300, so say you had to pump it 5 times in 15 years that's $1500, but the damage could have been a lot worse. Septic systems are VERY simple things, but also VERY labor intensive and that's where most of the $$$ goes when dealing with repairs.
You can get a better idea of the recommended pump intervals by knowing the size of the tank and the # of people in the house [umn.edu], but also when you DO pump it the pump company (if they're honest) should give you a good idea if you can wait longer or pump more often. They are typically looking at a certain level of solids in the bottom of the tank (which they should be measuring) which dictates if you need to pump or not.
As for RidX etc - the company that pumps my tank advocated against it as they said they see people that use these additives, it tends to break down the sludge too much and disperse it in the water, which of course winds up in the leech field. That's probably very anecdotal but I'd trust the opinion of a guy that probably pumps 10-15 tanks a week over theories on the internet.
Treat your septic right and it will last a very long time.
Oh yeah, and never flush wipes regardless of what the container says. I happened to be home during one of our pumpings and had the guy knock on the door. Turns out the effluent pipe from the house was plugged somewhere - he could see it gradually leaking water. He told me to flush all the toilets at once, which pushed out the plug. What was it? A *single* baby wipe got caught somewhere, which caught other things, etc. Since they don't degrade, and actually float, he said baby wipes and even the adult "flushable" cleaning wipes are a huge problem. We never flush ours, but kids OTOH.......