Septic Tanked

Last week the neighbors came to us with a concern about the septic.
The ground was a little squishy they said.
Don't worry I said.
I'll pick up some Rid-X in town tomorrow and it will be fine.
Then Six went out to take a look.
It's pretty squishy he said, it needs to be pumped.
Don't be such a nancy I said, they just need some Rid-X  and quit flushing the toilet and showering so much.
Then I went to have a look...
Six was right, it needed to be pumped.
The next morning I called my brother in law who is wise in the ways of such things as septics and other big holes in the ground and he gave me some price ideas to go by and just enough information to be dangerous to a predatory pumper.
I called around and ended up going with Kyle and Clark who seriously seemed to appear straight out of a Saturday Night Live sketch.
Kyle asked how long it had been since the last clean out.
I didn't know.
Clark asked how old the system was.
I didn't know.
Kyle asked how big the tank was.
I didn't know.
Kyle said that this one time a long time ago at this really old house they saw a tank that was so old it was made out of wood.
I gasped and said "NO WAY!"
Kyle put his hand to God and said "I SWEAR!"
We all laughed and I went inside and it wasn't long before Kyle came to the door and said, "guess what..."
I could feel the color falling out of my face and the dollars draining out of the bank as he said, "Now I've seen two."
The neighbor house has a five hundred gallon wooden septic tank.
And it was full.
We decided just to pump it instead of replacing the entire system because the house is so old, you know the expression lipstick on a pig and all, and now we know we need to have it pumped every two to three years.
We have a tank at our house too, so next up in the already long list of things needed to be done is pumping ours and then locating the ones in the trailer park and installing risers so that future clean outs are easy and timely.

After narrowly averting what could have been a major disaster I decided I better brush up on all things septic and septic related and now I am going to share the information I have gleaned above and beyond the obvious non flushing of lady business and diapers.

If you live in a rural area where houses are spread to far apart to be on a sewer system you will have a septic system. A septic system acts as your own private sewage treatment plant right there in your yard.

Let's start with a diagram showing how all this works.

All the waste water in your house drains into the septic tank which ranges in size from 500 to 1500 gallons depending on the size of your home. This includes sink water, shower water and washing machine water. All water. Everything in that water is drained into your tank as well, so if you don't want it in the tank, don't put it down the drain.
The waste water drains into your tank and the solids, otherwise know as sludge, stay on the bottom where they are broken down by healthy bacteria. The water in the middle layer is the clear zone and contains some solids but it's not as dense as the sludge. The scum is made from oils and fat that rise and float to the top.
The middle layer is what drains out into the drain field which is comprised of soil and trenches filled with gravel that act as a filter and neutralize the liquid before it's dispersed into the ground.

Sometimes your system will start to emit some rather unsightly odors. If you know it hasn't been that long since your system was last cleaned out, but still the odor lurks there are some simple things to check.

Make sure all of the p-drains are filled with water. You will find the p-drains under sinks and of course the in the toilet. If you have a guest or basement bathroom that isn't used much that's the best place to start. A simple flush or running the tap for a minute could solve your stink.

It could also be caused by a clogged vent stack on your roof. Make sure the vents are always cleared of leaves, bird nests and whathaveyou.

And of course it could also mean that you may be experiencing problems in the drain filed itself or the distribution box.

The distribution box is what routes the water into the drain field from the tank so all the water isn't flowing like a raging river into one spot of the field.

Now that you understand how the system works, lets talk about some do's and dont's.

Don't

• pour grease of any kind down the drain
• use liquid fabric softener
• flush old medications
• dump coffee grounds down the drain
• flush cigerette butts
• overuse anti-bacterial soaps or cleaners

Do

• limit your time in the shower
• use liquid laundry and dishwasher detergent
• install low flow taps in sinks and showers
• spread your laundry out through the week into smaller loads instead of big loads all in one day
• conserve water whenever possible

Some people believe in feeding your system and I found a simple and inexpensive recipe that would replace the need for a brand name product while being gentle on the system.

2 packages of yeast

2 cups of cornmeal

1 bucket of warm water

Pour down your bathtub drain every six months or so to keep good bacteria levels healthy.

Well, that's about all I know and of course this is all just my research and take on things. 

Take some time and learn all you can about your system because trust me, you don't want to end up learning the hard way!