[QUOTE=cloudyandcallie;5467912]
You should run your dishwasher and washing machine and sink water off of the septic tank if you have a drain field.[/QUOTE]
:eek: Not without secondary/tertiary treatment. Would not be allowed in my state except MAYBE as a permitted experimental system. And then probably would be not allowed if the home is sold to another owner.
The two water supply systems would have to be totally separate with no cross connections.
That is interesting, Fanfayre - our soap box must pre-date the Provinceâs ruling that they are not allowed. (House is dated 1915). We route our grey water through it.
I had a plumber tell me the other day that the best thing to put in the septic was a gallon of milk every couple of weeks. He said it worked well to break stuff down.
A septic expert (he is the septic guy for the county) told me that a quart of buttermilk with live culture once a month is great for the bacteria count-I get fat free if I can find it and dump it in the toilet bowls, and the kitchen sink also (rinse well). And a lady who should know (lived in the same house for about 40 years now) told me she only had to have her tank pumped out twice-and both times they noticed a strong methane/sewer odor. The first time they had a back up, and the second time years later they noticed the smell and got it pumped out before anything icky happened.
And I understand the three most important factors are: 1. Donât use the tank for a garbage can (no dental floss, harsh chemicals especially bleach, and no grease ever), 2. Septic tank approved toilet paper only (Iâve heard a certain brand that uses cartoon bears creates âwhite logsâ in the supply lines, causing happy and rich repair guys) and 3. Make sure your tank is the right size and configuration for the use and will perk right. The cheapest tank is a really bad idea for many reasons.
The best thing to do about grease is the old grease can like your grandma used to do. I use those old Christmas tins that you can get very cheaply at the dollar store-or use paper towels to wipe things out before washing and then put in a plastic bag in the fridge or freezer so it doesnât go bad before trash day. ANd you can use the junky bags from new clothes or newspapers to keep the greasy wrappers or paper towels. Just donât forget to put them in the trash on the appointed day or youâll end up with two bags in your freezer the way I did.
sent you a pm
May I jump in with a few questions while the experts are in attendance?
Our offer on a farm was just accepted. It is a âdistressedâ property being bought as a foreclosure and it had non-paying renters/squatters in it. It is a disaster with junk, garbage and who-knows-what laying around.
I have noticed cigarette butts in the garburator and tampons strewn about the bathroom floor (unused thank goodness!). Obviously, these people didnât give a hoot about the existence of a septic system and were there for about a year or so.
Apparently the septic system was replaced 5 years ago. We are going to have it inspected but since we are buying the property âas-isâ we get what we get. Is there any recommendations you could give me as far as what to ask specifically when the inspector is there? Is there a âbetterâ test to insist upon considering the abuse the system has most likely taken over the last year?
TIA!!
beaulilly, Iâd recommend you arrange to have it pumped as soon as you have a chance, and at that point the guy will be able to inspect it for you.
Unless itâs been damaged by being parked on, etc, itâs probably humming along just fine if itâs only 5 years old.
I love my wonderful, only slightly stinky lagoon. Really. And it is a handsome enough little pond as long as you donât know what it is. The horses are fenced from off the top of the tank, we put a little flower garden next to it as they donât require risers here or didnât ten years ago when it was installed. We need to strip off the top and have it pumped soon, then put in risers ourselves. The Scott County health department had really poor records of it, no site map, tank size, nuthinâ. Donât know about other KY counties.
We had two redwood trees within twenty feet of our septic field at the old house, tree roots will ruin your leach field fast. Supposedly copper will keep them at bay in the pipes but theyâll go nuts in the drain rock underneath. What a headache that was!
PS, is a garburator the same as a garbage disposal? Have one, donât use it. Bag up most of the tp, itâs less hassle than trying to find septic friendly tp. Do use bleach, expecially for sanitizing, itâs a pain not being able to just dump it down the drain in one go, we wind up doing all sorts of odd stuff with it including dragging it to work and dumping it down their drain - boy does that get you strange looks. Bleach in the laundry no more than once per two weeks we figure we can get away with.
Just wanted to say thanks for the thread. Always learning something from COTH.
A lot of people around here donât put used TP in the commode, but in the trash next to the toilet. Itâs supposed to prolong pump-outs of your septic. Personally, I find it gross. Seriously- itâs only a couple hundred bucks to have a septic tank pumped (and some digging to get to the cover) and itâs only done every few years at the very most- Iâll flush my TP thankyouverymuch.
I may have missed this information, but do you know what type you have?
Iâm not an expert, but thereâs different kinds and I believe that affects how you want to handle it.
Do you have a mound? Is is gravity or pumped?
We have a small home, but a larger homeschooling family lived here and they planned for all 6 of them to be using the septic a LOT and so I have a HUGE drain field and some $$$ pump system with I think 3 different linesâŠso, for my spouse and I, I donât worry. I donât add anything but pump it every 2 years. (law around here)
Otherwise, I grew up with a paranoid father and we watched how much water we put through in any given day/weekend - esp from the washing machine and dishwasher - in some rural areas I know people who used to have the washer drain hose go just right outsideâŠ
I donât put much down the drain - we rely on the drain plugs in the sink.
Not knowing what kind you have makes it hard to really give advice.
Beaulily;
Have the tank(s) pumped ASAP. If the inspector is worth his/her pay, he/sheâll get out a camera-thingy and send it down the pipe to the field. That will definitively tell you if the field has been damaged, misused or otherwise had its useful life shortened. At 5 years, it should be still working fine, but if these people are as careless about their septic as they sound about other things thereâs no real telling how it is just by looking at it from the surface. The goos news is, if there IS a problem, it can probably be reversed with cleaning, since the fieldâs relatively new!
Itâs okay to put TP down the toilet, but use common sense: a 1/2 a roll at a time may be excessive 
, and donât used the bleached stuff.
ReSomething; yes a garburator is the same as a waste disposal, and household bleach wonât damage the system, as long as youâre not using gallons at a time. Adding copper to keep away the roots may work, but it does bad things to the rest of the system and the soilâŠ
We have lagoons up in the north of our province, where there is NO soil but heavy, massive clay (no percolation or permeability to the soil) and they seem to work well IF the tanks are regularly pumped.
To everybody else: I tried 3 times yesterday to answer some of your questions, and each time my computer ate it and froze, so I had to give up and actually do some work. Iâll try again later if I have time and if this reply works. 
[QUOTE=shakeytails;5469678]
A lot of people around here donât put used TP in the commode, but in the trash next to the toilet. Itâs supposed to prolong pump-outs of your septic. Personally, I find it gross. Seriously- itâs only a couple hundred bucks to have a septic tank pumped (and some digging to get to the cover) and itâs only done every few years at the very most- Iâll flush my TP thankyouverymuch.[/QUOTE]
I am with you shakey. seriously gross. this from a lady who uses old kleenex as a firestarter, so of the âwastenotwantnotâ persuasion.
We installed our septic field ourselves about 16 years ago. We pump it every 4 or 5 years. We used the original 60 year old two part concrete septic tank that came with the house, and have made a new âroofâ for it with a steel inspection/pumping port that can be opened without digging anything up. Previously, the cement cover had to be dug up and lifted to allow the tank to be pumped. We judge it had not been pumped for at least 10 years when we bought the place and was completely plugged with clay debris.
We were told the average lifespan of a septic field is about 30 years. The original field that came with the house was about 35 years old and not functioning when we bought it. The septic system inspector however, told us it was âfineâ before we bought. In this province you canât sue a building inspector for not noticing things that are wrong. He also told us the roof had years left. It failed catastrophically about 6 months after the septic fieldâŠSo I no longer bother with hiring them, scam artists around here. So we spent big bucks trucking the old perk soil out of the mound, installing a new pipe and PVC arch system, new pumps and electrics, where the old one had been and refilling with new clean soil. So far so good.
We wish we could divert grey water from washing machines and showers, but the govât does not allow it even when we are under water restrictions every year ( even if you are on a well, due to water table levels). All that lightly soapy water is well tolerated by plants as long as you donât use bleaches or caustics.
I was told by a few different septic system guys years back that the best way to add good bacteria was to toss in some nice, freshly deposited horse manure. So, every few months I toss a few steaming road apples in and flush them on downâŠhandy to have a ready supply.
Unforgettable:
Unnecessary!! You provide all the necessary bacteria (both good and bad) from your OWN body, and the excess fibre in the manure will only fill up the tank sooner, causing you to require pumping out more often, and more $$$ in their pockets, not yours!!! Of course theyâre going to suggest something like that! As Cat On Lap said, lots of scammers in this particular business 
Thanks everyone for your advice, this has been a very informative thread. Iâm going to stop by the Health Dept and inquire if they have the records, etc. The place is now vacant so I have no idea where the field is and could not see a tank cover or anything. Of course, youâd think an inspector should be able to locate it, but having the information ahead of time will help for sure.
Anyone in Lexington have a recommendation for septic inspectors, or home/farm inspectors for that matter? Is there an association of âinspectedâ inspectors out there? :lol: Iâd hate to shell out big bucks to someone who doesnât know what they are doing.
I guess I should feel really happy that our tank hasnât given us one bit of trouble in 20 years. We had it pumped at 15 years and the guy thought we had just had it pumped the year before.
We have a single field so donât have to worry about switching fields. There are only 2 of us, the system is designed for 3 bedrooms, and we donât tend to pour grease or much bleach down the drains so I guess that helps a lot.
My sisterâs has an alarm that (with the exception of her) managed to wake up the whole neighborhood. I honestly didnât know you could have an alarm put on your tank.
Thank you again to everyone for all the replies and information. Thank you for the PM, Chai.
I went to Building and Codes today and they have directed me to the Health Department. I called them this afternoon and have been advised that I should go there in person, with my Tax Map number so that they can locate my property. They will have the building permit, and all the other particulars relating to my septic tank. They will also give me a bi-fold brochure containing âeverything anyone would want to know about septic tanksâ. And, they will give me a list of DHEC approved companies that can service my tank.
I will go tomorrow. We have a 3 bedroom house with 3 full baths, with a bonus room that could be considered a 4th bedroom. All of my inquiries came about because we want to finish the bathroom in the basement (already plumbed) and I was worried about doing that without really knowing more about our septic tank.
I am glad that I did not âclogâ the Around the Farm forum with a silly question. Seems like others are like me and this education is very good!
Hi, Foxtrotâs
Yes, as long as a system was installed pre-1985 (when Provincial regulations came into existence) your components are grandfathered. However, IF you choose to change something, or a component âfailsâ, then heaven help you. No grey-water, no recycling of grey-water, and ONLY subsurface disposal (for anything <5000 Imp.gall/day) under Ministry of Health regs.
SCM: If possible, also have on hand your legal and civic addresses, too- you can never have TOO much information to take to bureaucrats.
[QUOTE=Foxtrotâs;5468476]
That is interesting, Fanfayre - our soap box must pre-date the Provinceâs ruling that they are not allowed. (House is dated 1915). We route our grey water through it.[/QUOTE]
Pass the New EPA Inspection Mandates
[QUOTE=fanfayre;5469828]
Beaulily;
Have the tank(s) pumped ASAP. If the inspector is worth his/her pay, he/sheâll get out a camera-thingy and send it down the pipe to the field. That will definitively tell you if the field has been damaged, misused or otherwise had its useful life shortened. At 5 years, it should be still working fine, but if these people are as careless about their septic as they sound about other things thereâs no real telling how it is just by looking at it from the surface. The goos news is, if there IS a problem, it can probably be reversed with cleaning, since the fieldâs relatively new!
Itâs okay to put TP down the toilet, but use common sense: a 1/2 a roll at a time may be excessive , and donât used the bleached stuff.
ReSomething; yes a garburator is the same as a waste disposal, and household bleach wonât damage the system, as long as youâre not using gallons at a time. Adding copper to keep away the roots may work, but it does bad things to the rest of the system and the soilâŠ
We have lagoons up in the north of our province, where there is NO soil but heavy, massive clay (no percolation or permeability to the soil) and they seem to work well IF the tanks are regularly pumped.
To everybody else: I tried 3 times yesterday to answer some of your questions, and each time my computer ate it and froze, so I had to give up and actually do some work. Iâll try again later if I have time and if this reply works. :)[/QUOTE]
To have the best chance at Passing the New 2011 EPA Drain Field and Nitrate Level Inspections; which are happening across the Country with little as 2 weeks notice; Use the All-Natural http://www.MillerPlante.net âSeptic-Helper 2000â and the Phosphate and Nitrate Free âEnza Washer Ballsâ. The Septic System Treatment has the natural bacteria and enzymes that liquefy the waste in the tank AND out in the drain field.
No matter where you live, the New 2011 EPA mandates say that even a wet spot in your drain field or elevated Nitrate levels could require replacement of your entire system for $10,000 to $30,000 or move out of your home or business.
UN Agenda 21 - http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/agenda21/res_agenda21_18.shtml
Clean Water Act - http://www.epa.gov/history/topics/cwa/03.htm
EPA TMDL (Nitrate Limits) - http://www.epa.gov/chesapeakebaytmdl/
EPA Mandated Inspections - http://www.marex.uga.edu/advisory/cssmip.html
Septic System News - http://www.Twitter.com/MillerPlanteInc
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