Septic Tanks.

[Tilly2]

Does anyone live in a house which has a septic tank?
Can you explain how they are 'managed' please.

[tonyav]

Yeah, it does doesn't it Yilly. :-)

[tamborine]

I use domestos & all the regular cleaners. Usual toilet paper etc. Council call the cess cleaners.

[2sp_]

We have a septic tank and I used all the products I used when I lived in a house with mains sewage.

It's not been emptied in the last 12 years, not sure how long before that it would have been emptied.

It's no problem at all, in fact I don't really think about it unless someone like yourself asks what it's like to have one.

[Tilly2]

Thank you for that, tambo and 2sp.

[tamborine]

Ive never had to rod drains at home but my high street workplace constantly suffers blockages.

[Clanad]

Haven't read the entire thread, Tilly, so forgive me if I duplicate something…here in rural western U.S., everyone uses a septic system. Ours consists of a largish (8 feet long X 5 feet wide X 4 feet deep) cement tank buried in the ground (duh!) out of which flows a single plastic 4 inch diameter pipe which connects to a distribution box which, in turn, feeds a leech field made up of several courses of perforated PVC pipe buried in gravel, covered with tar paper and filled with top soil.

We used to pump ours once a year, but found doing so destroyed a goodly amount of the bacteria that breaks down solids and with our County Agents advice we only pump it once every 3 or 4 years now. Costs about $125 U.S.

Some of the systems are over 40 years old with nary a problem…

We do feed ours a commercially available bacteria starter about once a year, but probably nor really necessary...

[The Builder]

Very interesting Clanad. Much the same as here, only we tend to use glass-fibre (plastic) tanks.

[jomifl]

Tilly, originally ours took only the waste from the loo and the 'grey water' went into a soakaway which had over the years become clogged with grease so it was with some trepidation that I diverted all the waste water to the septic tank. Over a period of about 3 years the tank coped with it all. Septic tanks work on the principle that domestic solids are nearly all organic and what isn't is soluble so all the organics get digested by bacteria and are converted to methane or carbon dioxide an escape to the atmosphere. The inorganics are soluble so disappear through the overflow soakaway. The result is that nothing accumulates in the tank once it has come to equilibrium so never needs emptying. I don't think ours had ever been emptied in the 90 or so years it had been installed. It helps if the soil is free draining, ours was gravelly so was ideal.

[Tilly2]

Blimey, this is getting more and more complicated.

So septic tanks are o.k. and nothing to worry about. That's good.

[tonyav]

Yes, you'll be fine Yilly, bet you would forget that you have one in no time.