This week we are looking at a topic that has been very prevalent over the last 2 weeks in work that we have done. Neglected drainfields. A huge, unfortunate issue with septic being "septic" is that no one really wants to know anything about it. It gets lumped in the "out of site, out of mind" category a little too often. Just because your toilet flushes down fine doesn't mean that everything is fine with your system in its entirety. We have had 2 jobs recently of some fairly severe root intrusion in to drainfields which has presented a chance of failure and the need for replacement if we are not able to save it.
An important thing to keep in mind is the sewage water being discharged into the drainfield is practically super food for plants. Any tree or neighboring plants that can have fairly deep root bases will seek out your drainfield for water. Once they get a hold on your system, it's a long, uphill battle to get it back. They will invade your ditches, and in most cases when they wrap around the pipe they will choke it off enough to severely restrict the amount of water you can send to your drainfield. This starts to make itself apparent by high liquid levels in your septic tank, and if left untreated for long enough, either surfacing sewage or back ups in the house.
There are a couple things you should be on top of when it comes to your septic system as a home owner. First would be to keep any vegetation that has an even moderate root base away from your drainfield area. Grass will just about always be the best option to have over your system. Keep any scotch broom, blackberries, trees of any sort not only off, but away from the system. The second thing is to make sure you have regular maintenance. Have your system checked out, we have cameras that we can send down the line to see what it looks like inside our pipes and how things are going. During your routine inspections a data log will be started of how pumps are preforming also. When we start to see a decrease in pump performance, this can be an early sign that were starting to get some sort of blockage in the drainfield, and we can jet it out before we get a bigger issue. This is also why we insist all our assurance plan contracts be jetted out every 2 years. Preventative maintenance is key to keeping our major repair bills down, and increasing the life of our system.
Garbage Disposals and Septic Systems.
Garbage disposals can be quite helpful. Makes cleaning up the scraps from dinner easy, wash everything down the sink, let the water run, turn the disposal on to make everything a little more manageable. Sounds great! Well, not really.
Garbage disposals can not doubt be very helpful, but if you are on a septic system, what you put down there can have large effects on the septic system. I use the analogy of if you have a garbage disposal, its like adding at least one more person to the home, as far as pumping and maintenance go. As a matter of fact nowadays if your designs will state if the system was designed to handle a garbage disposal, which typically means you have a larger than normal tank installed. Even with that you should be very careful what you put down the drain.
First of all, stop using your garbage disposal for garbage. Chicken bones, egg shells, potato peelings, those are garbage and should be thrown into the trash. Items and materials like these tend to grind up into a like fine sand material that sinks to the bottom of your tank, raising your sludge levels in your tank, leading to your tank needing to be pumped much sooner than anticipated or needed.
The proper way to use a garbage disposal would be to only put food down it, but more than just that. The best way I know how to explain is to think about setting the food outside. Now short of some animal coming and eating it, if you put something rich in protein like meet scraps, it's going to break down very easily. Now something that is a little more of say a tree like substance like broccoli for example, that'll be around for quite a while before it starts to break down. So think about those things when rinsing your dinner scraps down the drain. If it'll break down easily then great, to be honest the bacteria in your tank will love it. Something a little tougher like most veggies would be better off in the garbage. Keep these rules in mind when it comes to washing your scraps down the drain to keep your system in the best health possible, and lower your year to year maintenance costs.
Septic Additives And You. Are They Worth Your Money?
We've all seen the commercials, "pour this down your toilet and never pay for repairs or pumpings again." Or "9 out of 10 septic contractors recommend brand X" I'd like to know what 10 contractors they talked to. I would also implore you to call up your 10 local companies and ask them their opinion on the matter. We all pretty much say the same thing, it doesn't appear to really do much. Think about it, if there was this magical product that could solve all your issues don't you think we would be selling it? To us, if you're healthy, your system is healthy, and that's the truth.
Now I'm not saying that it's bad for the system, in fact in some situations, some additives may be a good idea. For example, If you take daily prescribed medications, a lot of that medicine passes straight through you and makes its way into the septic tank, which can have some adverse effects to the bacteria content in your tank. This can lead to needing your tank pumped out more often then normal due to bacteria dying off much more frequently, causing your sludge, and in some cases your scum levels to grow faster than normal. In some cases like this one it would make sense to add a little something to your septic tank to help keep the organic levels growing and reproducing to maintain a healthy septic system.
The title for the article is are they worth your money? My answer is no. But it depends. There are situations like mentioned above where adding some food to the system makes sense. In those situations I would recommend that instead of adding some premixed concoction to your system, that you instead take that money, head down to your local grocery store and get a pound of some EXTRA LEAN ground beef. Make your system a few raw meatballs and flush them down the toilet. Great protein for the system with low fat content. Biodegradable. Natural.
The biggest problem most of us have against additives outside of we don't really see a difference, is that most products are advertised, and people think that by adding this stuff to your system you don't need pumping, no longer need your system inspected, and any catastrophic repairs wont happen again and that is just flat out not true. I don't say that because I own a septic company either. You still need maintenance, still need pumping, and still have the chance of your drainfield failing if ignored.
Next week we will take a look at garbage disposals. Can you have one? will they damage your system? How can you use it responsibly? Check back next week to find out!
Whats the issue with tissue? Toilet paper and your septic system.
Something every septic system owner fears, what people put down the toilet. At one point or another you have probably heard the horror stories of clogs or have seen a sign in someones bathroom saying "we're on septic, please only flush TP down the drain."
It's one of the most common questions we get. What kind of toilet paper should I use. While most people that I have talked to in the industry have their specific brand of toilet paper you should and shouldn't use, such as Costco, probably the most used, and most hated toilet paper out there. To be perfectly honest I've pulled more socks (yes the kind that go on your feet) out of pumps than I have toilet paper. In fact, the only "toilet paper" I've ever pulled out of a pump would be baby/adult wipes that people use instead of toilet paper. Those are the biggest problem causing products you can put down your drain. Don't be fooled by "Flush-able" or "Septic Safe". Flush-able just means it will make it to the septic, problem is it stays there and doesn't break down nearly as fast as toilet paper, despite what the label might say. Not to mention the fact that using these can ruin your septic pumpers day with an impacted tank, poor guy.
I always tell people, your butt likes what your butt likes. Some people like Charmin, Cottonelle, angel soft, Costco, or my favorite response, cheap. Truth is its just like anything else. If you just use less, it will dramatically help the health of your system and can even prolong the frequency in which your tank needs to be pumped. We all know that person that has to use what we call "the catchers mitt" and does 97 wraps around their hand every time they go to the bathroom.
As far as wipes go, you wont find anyone that supports the idea of flushing wipes into a septic system. They just cause issues, plain and simple. If you have to use wipes or your life just wont be the same, then we'd reccomend throwing them away in the garbage can. Not the most pleasant thing to do, but its better than the alternative.