Posted on 09/15/2007 2:42:50 PM PDT by Mamzelle
Seeking ways to avoid stressing a delicate septic system.
Grease and fats are a problem, so keep them out. They float and will plug up the soil around the drain pipe. So, plenty of dish washing liquid keeps them solublized, so the fats can be broken down. The dish liquid gets eaten by sulphate reducing bacteria.
Rid-x is just enzymes. The bugs in the septic tank do the work of breaking things down with their own enzymes. It could be that you could use one of those products, which are cultures of bacteria. Those aren't normally needed at all though. Only when their's almost no toilet flow are they warranted. In a good septic system, those bugs die and are what the solids on the bottom are composed of.
What exactly is the problem?
I saw a case years ago Scotland Yard solved, body was sealed in a drum of acid. All the teeth were found, but everything else was dissolved.
WHat does unconventional mean? Your county should have some records and a drain field map of what was installed there.
I guess they should—
Decay leads to humic acid, It's a solid that has to be removed. That's humus, the stuff that makes black dirt black. The bugs are supposed to do that. In std septic systems, they don't quite get it all done. There's some living bugs left in the pumped solids, because it's a continuous system..
Do you have a water softener or anything like that connected to your septic? If you do, find a new place to dump that. I have seen several systems overwhelmed that way.
OK
Like beer?
Well, this is one of those situations like those plug-in insect repellers; there's really no telling.
But, from the guy who cleaned OURS out, yes it does work, and well.
What the heck - it's cheap, and I dump a cup every 3 months. Can't hurt, and beats that old 'dead rat' thingie...
And maybe he’s just trying to make you a repeat customer?
I just love such intelligent responses such as this.
... and have Sheryl Crow hand it to you...
Put a trash can next to the toilet and tell all females to depost their toilet paper there after use. Get a trash can with a lid to avoid smells.
I do laundry once a month. Buy everybody a whole bunch of underwear and socks and tell them when the laundry will be done...NO EXCEPTIONS.
Dude! Your house is STANKY!
;-)
I was walking one day and came upon someone from our municipal public works dept. He was standing by a manhole waiting for the head of their truck mounted snake to reach him. The truck was about 3 blocks away. He said one of the reasons that he was there was to rescue any cats or dogs that might come running up the line.
Anyway, he mentioned that unlike a lot of municipalities they did this preventitively. He said that he went to Mexico on vacation and wherever it was they went, they did not flush used toilet paper, figured that it would always clog the pipes. Instead, they just drop the used toilet paper in the trash. Nasty, but probably beneficial in some circumstances. Some people have mentioned this above.
Another possibility is to use a composting toilet, that way what you compost the sewage and the only thing goining into your septic tank and leach field is just greywater, less likely to clog. Here is a link.
http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/composting_toilets.htm
They use these things in places that have a lot of rocky ground. Hard to put a leach field in when you have granite 6 inches down. Good Luck!
I’m responding to myself because there are idiots who go Ewwwww to a perfectly good post but I am prompted to add....
....that bit about a trash can for toilet paper used by females after wiping themselves after urination, first, do not have your GUESTS do this! Just the female members of your family. Female guests may drop their toilet paper in the toilet and flush just as soon as they’re done. Goodness, allowing female guests to use your toilet as per normal won’t clog up your septic system. It really is a good way to keep down wear and tear on a septic system.
Also, that trash with the urine stained toilet paper, it really doesn’t stink. Air takes away the smell of urine. But for our sensibilities, you must understand.
Male “misses”, as it were, will smell up your bathroom more than my toilet paper scam.
Here’s another tidbit...I bought the house I live in here in the swamps of Delaware WHILE it had a failed septic system. At that time I lived in a house in Merryland that too had a failed system and I, as the then homeowner, had a new one installed. Lived through an old one, lived with the new ones. You learn stuff through experience.
Delaware is notorious for failed septic systems and what with a water table of about one inch this is understandable. You gotta be darn careful with how you treat a septic system here in the swamps but a lot of these new folks moving in close come from cities with sewer systems.
This house’s septic system was failed and this was know to the buyers right up front. The big hole and burrows all around the front lawn should have been a clue as well, duh.
I bought it anyway. I was not intimidated a bit. For one thing, the sellers were renting it at the time and every time I made a visit in the process of purchase that dingbat was washing clothes. The entire house was filled with laundry, everywhere, in various stages. She had two teenage children who laid around and did nothing.
I mean, one plus one plus one equals two, right? That woman killed the septic...I got eyeballs. Nothing will hurt your septic system more than bleach. Which is not to say you can’t use bleach but common sense...we all should have some, it’s why it’s common.
Anyway....anything else?
Rid X. X = Money
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