Septic tanks

[biggs682]

my parents bungalow has a septic tank and gets emptied about every year for just over £100 , they asked to have it connected to mains and got a quote for over £5000 a couple of years ago .

so dad now has a measuring stick and lifts the lid every so often to dip it and react accordingley

 

[dellzeqq]

just take care not to fall in through the inspection hatch

 

[Norm]

just take care not to fall in through the inspection hatch

You'd be up the creek without a paddle...

 

[Gareth]

Don't flush sanitary towels or condoms down, don't use bleach or toilet blocks to clean the toilet; use white vinegar instead. Try to avoid using soaps, shampoos and detergents with high amounts of surfactants in them. Pick up the odd ripe road killed corpse and throw it into the septic tank every now and again to top up the bacteria levels: for some reason a dead cat is absolutely perfect for this.


We pumped our own septic tank out once a year in the autumn, normally just after the first frosts. The vegetable patch was 30 metres X 10 metres, and this we ridged with the potato ridger attachment for the cultivator. The submersible pump we used was rated at 1000 gallons/hour (or there abouts), the first 15 minutes worth was pumped on to the lawn, the next 15 minutes worth was pump into the bottom of the hedges, and the rest was pumped into the vee shaped furrows of the veg patch. Where it was left over winter before rotovating it fully into the soil just before springtime sowing and planting.

 

[Fiona N]

...
How many women in the house? Babies..as baby wipes and sanitary towels will clog up the system...

Luvaduck - haven't you educated your women yet

These sort of things don't go down the loo - nor cotton wool buds, condoms and the like.

 

[Globalti]

Condoms? Difficult unless you fill 'em with water then drop them in from head height; they go straight round the U bend like a snake on amphetamines....

 

[Ste T.]

Puts me in mind of Mike Harding's description of when his tank had a problem. He got a local plumber out and when he opened the tank MH staggered back with his eyes watering from the stench. The plumber just stood over the open hatch with his hands in his pockets grinning and said "What's wrong wi thee? It's thines shite"

 

[asterix]

Yep, we have one in France, too.

It was installed about 5 years ago and the local authority had to certify that

a) the work was done to standard
b) the soil was permeable enough to let the overflow drain away (below ground).

So far it has been trouble free although it's capacity was over-specified. Our next door neighbours is more of a problem as it was badly installed by an amateur and can't cope with just 2 people's needs. All the grey water just flows away - down the other side of the hill luckily.