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Case IH 9390![]() |
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North Central Iowa, Humboldt County | I just finished spending a day outside in zero degree weather digging up my septic tank so it could be pumped. What do you use to prevent buildup of solids in your tank. Or do you have it pumped late summer when the ground isn't froze. I don't care to repeat this again as it always happens in the middle of the winter. TIA | ||
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Badger![]() |
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Huntley Montana | They need pumped every couple years. I've been having it done every 3-4 yrs. | ||
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durallymax![]() |
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Wi | We put man holes on all of ours and just pump them when needed. Not much of an issue at all. Although this reminds me of the lovely chat I had with a telemarketer one day trying to sell me magic septic system additives. I continued to explain to him that when I push the button it all goes down so it must be working and if it ever acted up I'd just switch to a high fiber diet with Mexican food and apple juice. | ||
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redline![]() |
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![]() Central Iowa | durallymax - 12/30/2013 12:53 Although this reminds me of the lovely chat I had with a telemarketer one day trying to sell me magic septic system additives. I continued to explain to him that when I push the button it all goes down so it must be working and if it ever acted up I'd just switch to a high fiber diet with Mexican food and apple juice.
I don't think any of us want to be around waiting for that treatment to kick in! | ||
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Fingers77![]() |
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Every 6 mos let a quart of milk spoil on the counter and pour down the drain. Pump every 2-4 years as necessary. Those ritzy additives are the same enzymes you get from some spoiled milk. | |||
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Jbatmick![]() |
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Hastings, Florida | I use' RID-X ' from the hardware store. Drop it in twice a year, during warmer months. Never had a problem, knock on wood. | ||
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Dave Cen.Ia![]() |
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Nevada, Iowa | Ours is a real old system and when we had to dig it up ten years ago or so, the concrete lid fell apart. I poured a new one and put a stand pipe of 6" pvc in the middle of the new lid. When spring came I finished off the leveling and cut the pipe at ground level and added a screw off cap. We can mow over it and it doesn't get in the way and don't have to dig it up to pump the tank. | ||
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Wheat77![]() |
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Put an old disc blade over your cap. The mower will not know its there, and easy to probe for, without damaging anything, if you have to go through snow in the winter. | |||
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DOUGLAS P![]() |
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The state health dept says no additives are needed. All bacteria and enzymes are in there automatically. However, the last time I had one pumped, the pumper said to put a pound of yeast in tank every six months. | |||
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bclayville![]() |
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MD | Additives are worthless. | ||
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keving![]() |
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Michigan | Our home was built in 1962, we had it pumped for the first time two years ago,family of six, never added anything Edited by keving 12/30/2013 14:00 | ||
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Stacy![]() |
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Triplett / Brunswick MO / Brookfield | Same thing with ours, no additives and have never pump it. | ||
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Alberta Pioneer![]() |
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Warburg, AB | Additives are a scam. Minimize chemicals and pump every 3-4 years. That's as good as it gets. Bruce | ||
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gene_champ![]() |
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NC Iowa | i think any system with a leach field need to be pumped every 4 years or so. if the solids build up and get into the leach field, it seals it so it liquids won't soak in and backs up. then you will need a new leach field. the yellow outlet filter often plugs up in the winter also. | ||
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Jorn![]() |
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Denmark | Our tanks have to be pumped every year. County is in charge of that and will bill us. They will funtion much longer than that though and my dad told me, that if it does not function, throw a dead chicken into it. It contains all the bacteria nessessary to make it work. Jorn | ||
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Chuck![]() |
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Wolcottville,Indiana | +1 on the milk spoiled or spilled | ||
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9600Sidehill![]() |
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Idaho | I know exactly what you just went through because I dug mine up 3 weeks ago when it was zero out. My access hole was down 3 feet and nothing better than chipping through frozen ground... I ended up not having mine pumped but my problem was roots in my line between my house and tank. I asked the plumber who snaked my line what I could do to help the bacteria in my tank. He said to never dump large amounts of bleach into the septic tank but bleach from the washing machine was ok. He said to definitely dump down septic additives. The additives are kind of expensive (walmart brand was $16 and that was just for one month). So I have been looking into making my own. Many plumbing forums recommend yeast, water and sugar, however I found several websites that say to do nothing because yeast can cause solids from the bottom to break down too fast and float to the top and exit. They then leave the tank and then plug drain fields. So for every website I found telling me to do something I found just as many saying to do nothing... Here is a chart that I found that shows how often it should be pumped: http://greenrisks.blogspot.com/2011/11/holiday-septic-backup-and-wh... I also learned that when I am really mad and it is zero out and I am digging up my septic tank with a shovel all I need to keep warm is a sweatshirt... | ||
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paul the original![]() |
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southern MN | When we have a problem like that, we all hope for a simple fix, and turn to the magic powders..... Reality is your septic tank is just like your stomach. It needs a lack of oxygen, and it needs to be fed a fairly regular diet of poo and other easily digestible plant and meat materials, and not fed a bad diet of a lot of bleaches, acids, greases, or soaps. Some are ok, but not a bad slug of them. Then as it works, it needs a place for the clear water to flow away, and it needs room at the bottom for the solids that don't diget to fall to, and it ends up with a layer of grease floating on top that breaks down much slower than the rest of the organics in the slurry in the middle. So if you consider it working like your stomach, if yours acted up, it had a problem. Either you added too much bad stuff. Or too much grease. Or some part of it mechanically failed, so the water couldn't drain off, or the grease was not trapped on top where it should be. Or it filled up with the dirt and metal and other tiny bits that never will digest. Or you fed it a whole lot of table scraps through a kitchen drain that overloaded it. Or too much bleach or harsh chemicals killed the special bacterias. Or it wasn't used and grew cold with nothing to digest and froze over in this cold spell. Or some such. Adding yeast does no good, as yeast uses oxygen, and a septic is supposed to be oxygen free. Adding the purchased chemicals might possibly restart a septic that had the bacteria die off, but generally having the whole family poo and flush adds the eacact same bacteria along with a feedstock for them to work. So the purchased stuff to dump down the drain is basically a waste of money. They do not help you except in rare case, and even then you have a free source you could use instead. Now, you need to figure out what caused your septic problem. Are the pipes broken, is the drainage field full of scum and sealed, or what? Did you wait 20 years to pump it and the solids filled it and now the sludge floated out into the drain field and wrecked your drain field? None of that will be fixed by flushing some magic powder down the drain. That is just wasting money. Paul | ||
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GrainTrader![]() |
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20 Miles West of Indianapolis Indiana | Chuck - 12/30/2013 14:49 +1 on the milk spoiled or spilled will regular milk eventually spoil in the tank if you pour it fresh? | ||
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yallardeere![]() |
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use yeast also..... | |||
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Red Rider![]() |
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NW Illinois | Plumber told me no anti-bacterial soap, because of course it kills bacteria. Add a small 1/4 oz. packet of yeast every month to your toilet. Can't hurt and only costs about .35 cents. | ||
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iseedit![]() |
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central - east central Minnesota - | paul the original - 12/30/2013 15:06 When we have a problem like that, we all hope for a simple fix, and turn to the magic powders..... Reality is your septic tank is just like your stomach. It needs a lack of oxygen, and it needs to be fed a fairly regular diet of poo and other easily digestible plant and meat materials, and not fed a bad diet of a lot of bleaches, acids, greases, or soaps. Some are ok, but not a bad slug of them. Then as it works, it needs a place for the clear water to flow away, and it needs room at the bottom for the solids that don't diget to fall to, and it ends up with a layer of grease floating on top that breaks down much slower than the rest of the organics in the slurry in the middle. So if you consider it working like your stomach, if yours acted up, it had a problem. Either you added too much bad stuff. Or too much grease. Or some part of it mechanically failed, so the water couldn't drain off, or the grease was not trapped on top where it should be. Or it filled up with the dirt and metal and other tiny bits that never will digest. Or you fed it a whole lot of table scraps through a kitchen drain that overloaded it. Or too much bleach or harsh chemicals killed the special bacterias. Or it wasn't used and grew cold with nothing to digest and froze over in this cold spell. Or some such. Adding yeast does no good, as yeast uses oxygen, and a septic is supposed to be oxygen free. Adding the purchased chemicals might possibly restart a septic that had the bacteria die off, but generally having the whole family poo and flush adds the eacact same bacteria along with a feedstock for them to work. So the purchased stuff to dump down the drain is basically a waste of money. They do not help you except in rare case, and even then you have a free source you could use instead. Now, you need to figure out what caused your septic problem. Are the pipes broken, is the drainage field full of scum and sealed, or what? Did you wait 20 years to pump it and the solids filled it and now the sludge floated out into the drain field and wrecked your drain field? None of that will be fixed by flushing some magic powder down the drain. That is just wasting money. Paul Good explaination Paul - agree fullly | ||
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9600Sidehill![]() |
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Idaho | Paul - Good explanation except yeast is anaerobic. | ||
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Case IH 9390![]() |
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North Central Iowa, Humboldt County | Here's an explanation for a couple of you. I have a riser that normally has a rock above it for easy location but when I had it pumped a couple of years ago I never got it put back. Plan b is it is 11 footsteps from the corner of the front steps and 11 footsteps from an old maple tree. Well we sided the house and covered over the door and so we didn't need the steps so we moved them. The tree died and so we took it down and my wife filled in the depression with dirt and seeded it. I burnt a couple of tree and thawed the ground but I got tired of probing so started with the backhoe which then broke the clay tile riser off. I ran water out the outlet and it took it good so that's not a problem. I think the solids got up to the outlet and plugged it which then backs up in the basement. The septic tank man was on vacation so when I got a hold of him he was going to get one of his guys to handle the job but guess what I never heard back from him so lined up someone else. I put a dual walled piece of tile to bring It to the surface which will get cut off level with the ground once it settles. Does any of this sound like it could happen in below zero weather? | ||
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9600Sidehill![]() |
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Idaho | I just moved into my house and the previous owner left me directions to find the tank lind. Septic tank is 12 feet west and one foot south from the crack below the window in the cinder blocks on the west side of the garage. Well when they wrote the directions there was only one window with a crack below it. Now there are 2 windows with cracks in the blocks below them on the west wall... I guessed and got lucky. Paul - I stand corrected. Yeast can be aerobic and anaerobic. | ||
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John SD![]() |
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![]() | Stacy - 12/30/2013 12:04 Same thing with ours, no additives and have never pump it. Same here. No additives and no pumpiing since the original 1960 steel septic tank was replaced in 1988. Edited by John SD 12/30/2013 20:28 | ||
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flyndeere![]() |
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central illinois | Put a 1500 gal cement tank in 1968 family of 4 never been pumped. Water clear coming out of outlet. Have a 1 1/2 pvc bypassing the tank for the softner to go in. | ||
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School Of Hard Knock![]() |
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just a tish NE of central ND | I could maybe see additives for a new system, but I think any household use would get the bacteria started up on its own anyway . I always tell the additive salesman telemarketers, (haven't heard form them for a while now though)Nope, we make our own enzymes and add to our system every day. | ||
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FFJR![]() |
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nc IA | yeast will work in both an aerobic and anaerobic environments - with oxygen they multiply more, without they produce their specialized product more (dependent upon type) | ||
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