Spicoli43
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I moved to a house with a septic 6 years ago, never before saw one. The septic company said NEVER put any additives in, especially not Rid X.
So, I bought a house....
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I moved to a house with a septic 6 years ago, never before saw one. The septic company said NEVER put any additives in, especially not Rid X.
zannej
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Once every two years seems like a lot to me, but then, mine is supposed to be pumped every 5 to 7 years. We need to get it drained soon. I will say that you should watch the person doing the job & make sure they get all the solids out. The old septic service guy here died & the only one in the area uses a smaller hose for draining & doesn't take the solids. He actually got fined by the health department for not fully draining tanks. The last time he was out I stood by & watched & told him to get all of the solids & pointed out ones he missed.
We have used RidX but I don't know if it's done anything to the system or not.
We have used RidX but I don't know if it's done anything to the system or not.
When I was a kid and a new septic tank put in it was common to toss a road kill in to get it going.
It really depends on the size of the tank and how many people live in the house and how good the system works at breaking it down. Then factor in all new ones the laundry empties into the tank and people use all kinds of stuff in the washing machine that's not great for a healthy tank. In the old days the kitchen sink and the laundry went to a smaller tank called a grease trap and then to the leach field bypassing the septic. the grease trap would have the exit pipe draw water out of the center of the tank by a drop pipe. The idea was some floats and some sinks.
I know people that haven't had a tank pumped in 40 years. I had mine pumped every 2-3 years.
It really depends on the size of the tank and how many people live in the house and how good the system works at breaking it down. Then factor in all new ones the laundry empties into the tank and people use all kinds of stuff in the washing machine that's not great for a healthy tank. In the old days the kitchen sink and the laundry went to a smaller tank called a grease trap and then to the leach field bypassing the septic. the grease trap would have the exit pipe draw water out of the center of the tank by a drop pipe. The idea was some floats and some sinks.
I know people that haven't had a tank pumped in 40 years. I had mine pumped every 2-3 years.
Suggest having the septic tank pumped out, first thing. Best if the person you hire knows about septic systems because there may be a need to repair or replace baffles in the tank at the inlet and outlet.
Two to three years between pumpings is a good starting point. By the third pumping the person you hire should be able to set the best time schedule for pumpings further in the future.
Two to three years between pumpings is a good starting point. By the third pumping the person you hire should be able to set the best time schedule for pumpings further in the future.
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swimmer_spe
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Part of the sale included a pump out. I have been told they did it every 2 years. The system is less than 10 years old.
Bob Reynolds
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I was always told to flush a package of yeast down the toilet once a month to keep the septic tank in good repair.
I wonder if yeast would do anything. Yeast will generally break down starch but not anything else. Not a lot of starch in a typical septic system. Different enzymes and bacteria do most of the work, not yeast.
swimmer_spe
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Ours was put in within 10 years. I am not messing with it.
back in the day, when you had your septic tank pumped put they would leave about a foot of stuff at the bottom to act as a starter batch. Now they pump out the tank , then strain the stuff and put back the same water.
Most pumping companies have to pay some city waste treatment plants to take the waste from your tank by the gallon. If they can return some of the liquid back to your tank it saves them money. They also don’t like using your garden hose to flush the tank out but can back flush using the liquid in their tank if they need to break up the solids to get them to pump out.
Getting the action started back up in a tank is normally not a problem. The problem is more in what we put into our tanks from our laundry and toilet cleaners. In the old days no one hooked the laundry up to the septic tank instead they had what was called a grease trap tank like a small septic tank that also emptied to the leach field.
Now we put all kinds of bleach products right into the septic tank by code.
Getting the action started back up in a tank is normally not a problem. The problem is more in what we put into our tanks from our laundry and toilet cleaners. In the old days no one hooked the laundry up to the septic tank instead they had what was called a grease trap tank like a small septic tank that also emptied to the leach field.
Now we put all kinds of bleach products right into the septic tank by code.
Bob Martin
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yes indeedSounds like you'll be having the next House Repair Cookout at your new house. Thanks! ...
