My septic tank is well overdo being pumped out, and I really need to get someone out here ASAP to do it. I don't remember who I used last time, just some local company I guess. Anyway, that is the down side of no sewer system, and having a well. You may not pay a water bill but every 5 or 6 years you have to go through this!
Yeah, you said it sister! Oh well, it has to be done! It is certainly better than the alternative. I just wonder how much it is going to cost.
I've seen ads that talk about some supposedly natural product to add to your septic system I believe monthly, that is supposed to help extend the periods in between septic pumpings. My sister had a septic system, but was finally put on the city's sewer system, after what seemed to be years of construction on the streets, to enable that process. I've heard it can be quite costly to have the systems pumped, but I hope somehow you're able to get a good deal. Try to see if you can find any coupons or deals while you're looking, or perhaps they'll let you work out a payment plan.
When we built our own home, the only part of the work I "farmed out" was the septic system, gave the job to a guy who lived in the neighborhood, who owned a back-hoe service. He obtained the County Health Department Permit, completed the entire job in less than 8 hours. 1,000 gallon tank, 400 square foot "leech field". We had lived in the house 10 years when we sold it. During that time, nothing whatsoever was done to the septic system, other than use it frequently. Actually, that is how it should be, but rarely works out that way, for a number of reasons. First, at the outlet of the tank itself, the connection to the piping of the percolation or leech bed, is included a filter which prevents solid materials from entering the bed, which is quite large, usually buried 3-4 feet deep. If the filter gets clogged, the tank's normal overflow into the bed is stopped, with the result that the line from stool to tank becomes filled and cannot drain into the tank. What clogs the filter? Under-sink garbage disposals, non-dissolving paper products like many types of Kleenex, other materials flushed which accumulate in the tank. Second, and this one's BAD, roots from trees and plants find their way into the leech bed and can completely fill it, preventing proper percolation of the liquid up throyugh the soil. Big, expensive job to fix! Notgenerally known, perhaps, but in theory, a properly used septic system should never need servicing at all. Body waste is completely disintegrated by bacterial action, the result being the outflow from tank to the bed is actually clear water. We were in a good position, as we started with a brand-new system. Buying a place previously lived-in, presents possible trouble. Our present location requires that a used-residence being purchased must have it's septic tank pumped, AND a new filter installed. Good idea. Going on 4 years now, no trouble, no servicing. Frank
I've heard that if you flush a package of yeast like you use in bread it takes care of alot of the solid matter in your tank and it doesn't need to be serviced as often.
I have heard all sorts of "fixes" over the years, including high-powered advertising for "absolutely necessary" products, like RID-X. (http://www.rid-x.com/faq.shtml) Admittedly, if products are often entering the system containing high concentrations of bactericidals, like household bleach, the natural septic bacterial activity can be diminished or even stopped. Yeast, I do not know about. Our own experience, 10 years with absolutely no problems and no service, tells me that the natural septic process is self-sustaining and should continue normally indefinitely, so long as flow into the leech bed remains unobstructed (filter not clogged), or foreign materials other than normal waste and dissolvable paper are flusherd.
One of the products that I have read about, and also used, is ........ YOGURT ! It has all kinds of yeasts and bacteria in it that will help break down most everything in your septic tank. Even better, would probably be a quart of plain kefir, since it has even more strains of bacteria and beneficial yeast in it. Amway used to sell a product called Septic Tank Aids, that was little tablets that you flushed down the toilet every month or two, and it did basically the same thing, added beneficial bacteria into the septic tank. By the time that the septic is clogged, it is probably too late for just adding some yogurt, or commercial treatment; so you will probably have to have it cleaned out this time. However, if you add the septic tank treatment from now on, you will probably not experience the same problem again. When I lived in Missouri, they had an interesting way of dealing with sewage, and it was called a lagoon. It looked like a small round pond about 200 feet from our house, and the drain from the house ran into the lagoon. It apparently had some kind of bacteria in it, because it always looked clean and never had any kind of an odor. I did put a container of yogurt down the drain every month or tow, just to help keep it working good. It would get more water running into it when it rained, and then the excess water would seep out into the ground after the rain stopped. We never had any problems with it or had to do anything to keep it clean and working, and it was something that many farms used instead of a spetic tank.
@Yvonne Smith We lived in the Missouri Ozarks 13 years, 100 year-old farmhouse, the previous owner had installed a big concrete septic tank. My nephew, who built across the road, had a lagoon installed. Such was common practice thereabouts, with no County Health Department overseeing anything. I suspect the lagoon concept is pretty well forbidden most everywhere else. Frank
I can remember my folks talking about having a lagoon set up on their property in Idaho, and that was many years ago now. They never did that; but it was one of the things that was being considered; so it must have been legal there at that time, too. I found an article explaining how they actually work, and apparently, they work in conjunction with a regular septic system, and would be used instead of the underground drainfield that most septic systems have. http://www.deq.state.ok.us/factsheets/local/Lagoon.pdf
@Yvonne Smith Yes, what you are describing here is an "open" leech field in the form of a surface pond. Probably much less legally intrusive than the "lagoons" in our county of Reynolds. Most of those flowed the toilets directly to the ponds. Not clear water, no offensive odor as you described. As I think I mentioned (shame on me if I did not), the liquid leaving a properly-functioning septic tank is mainly clear water. Routing it to a lagoon, if land area permits, is reasonable. However, the lagoons in our "neck of the woods" were open, stinking cesspools, the existence of which, IMO, should have been stricken from existence. Many I saw overflowed into the small creeks so abundant in the Ozarks. Frank
Actually, it is only going to be about 350 dollars which is less than I paid last time. Hmm, I guess I didn't shop around enough. I will just be glad when it is all over with. Then I won;t have to worry about it again for quite some time. My goal is to move from here anyway...but so far..I am not making much progress. I think mine is just your standard in ground system. I don't know much about it actually. I hope they don't ask many questions...because my answer will be Duh! I don't know.