S/O disposals and a septic tank

[busymama7]

Uh... I didn't know there was any limit on using the disposal with a septic tank. I mean we don't do vegetable peels but other than that anything goes. I never scrape plates. Like ever. And there are 11 of us but we have only lived here for 4 years and never had one before. I only just learned (here) last year that I shouldn't flush tampons 😳

 

What else do I need to worry about? I know that I don't want it to have to be pumped. Thanks.

[Lucy the Valiant]

We have our septic tank pumped every 1.5 - 2 years as regular maintenance; so does everyone around here. 

 

Don't put bleach down it (tiny amounts every now and then are okay), and some people like to purchase and flush an enzyme to help maintain the system as a whole. 

 

We buy toilet paper that dissolves easily in our system. 

 

 

 

Editing to add: Nobody that I know on a well / septic even uses a garbage disposal; I think they are a big no-no on septic systems. We are pretty careful to prevent any solid kitchen waste going down the drain.

Edited September 2, 2017 by Lucy the Valiant

[Ottakee]

We pump ours out every 4-5 years but we have a huge double tank system. Pumping out the tank is regular maintenance...and you don't want to skip that.

[LMD]

Yeah, you have to pump it, it's just a tank that you're putting stuff in, that space will run out! If you're putting extra stuff in there (food/tampons) it will fill up faster.

 

We're putting in a vermiculture system (worms) which doesn't need pumping because the worms break down solid matter into liquid which seeps into the drainage trenches.

[Barb_]

You want to find out the size of your septic and then figure out how often it will need pumping. We had a septic for five years with five, then six kids. We had a disposal and used it. I could never figure out why we should use it, except for the fact it may fill faster? I don't know. I figured digested food waste goes down there; why not predigested? We did use the enzymes every so often to help break things down. We didn't use bleach (kills beneficial bacteria). We didn't use special toilet paper. I had it pumped once after five years and the guy said it was a little more than half full. So it depends on the size of your system and the habits of your family.

[Barb_]

If you've been there four years, you should probably get on the phone and have someone come pump it.

[Elizabeth86]

Flushable baby wipes are not good for a septic tank.

[Elizabeth86]

If you've been there four years, you should probably get on the phone and have someone come pump it.

we went like 9 years?

[Barb_]

Flushable baby wipes are not good for a septic tank.

Flushable wipes are of the devil across the board. They're terrible for sewer systems and plumbing too

[Barb_]

we went like 9 years?

Yeah, when we had ours done after five, they said we could have held out a few years too. But with 11 people and a garbage disposal, four years is probably a good place to check in with the health of the system.

[busymama7]

Wow I had no idea. I thought pumping was not for maintaince but if you did something wrong! My neighbors have all lived here for nearly 30 years and all knew the previous owners so I will check with them to see if they know when it was done last. I've also not seen any of my neighbors have it done and it is a unique neighborhood with 9 close houses and we all know each other well. I'm pretty sure I would have know if they had theirs done. But I'm glad to know this! I'm not sure how to retrain all my kids not to use the disposal!

[happypamama]

We've had a septic system for ten years and have had it pumped every couple. We also use a disposal and have had no problems. We don't put bleach down it (once in a grand while for whites), and we scrape plates first before rinsing. No flushable wipes, and no Charmin either because it tends to be bad for septic systems. (And no tampons.)

[Scarlett]

My BIL owns a septic pumping system company. A septic system done properly never needs to be pumped. I lived with one for 7 years.....never pumped....xh still lives there and hasn't had to pump it. Granted it was 3 people than 1 person....but this house I live in now.? 5 years, 4 people, not one problem.

 

I used a garbage disposal at the other house. I was careful to not abuse it...but nver a problem.

[Scarlett]

No tampons or flushable wipes or flushable toilet discs.

[EKS]

What else do I need to worry about? I know that I don't want it to have to be pumped. Thanks.

 

Why not?  That's part of owning a septic system.  We have ours pumped every 5 years.

Edited September 2, 2017 by EKS

[busymama7]

Why not? That's part of owning a septic system. We have ours pumped every 5 years.

Well, i didn't know that. Now everyone is telling me that except one poster who said that if it's done right it shouldn't need to be pumped, which was the understanding I had. Hmmmm

[Scarlett]

Well, i didn't know that. Now everyone is telling me that except one poster who said that if it's done right it shouldn't need to be pumped, which was the understanding I had. Hmmmm

It is the truth. Done right it doesn't need to be pumped. Ever.

[EKS]

It is the truth. Done right it doesn't need to be pumped. Ever.

 

Um, do you know how a septic tank works?

[Scarlett]

Um, do you know how a septic tank works?

Yes I quite do.

[EKS]

Yes I quite do.

 

So what happens to the solids that accumulate on the bottom if you don't pump it?

[Anne]

Part of the equation regarding when/how often your tank needs to be pumped is the quality of your soil. Around here, you have to get a perk test done BEFORE you install a septic system. Our soils just barely met the criteria. We went 20+ years without pumping. I now pump every year because the typical life of a septic system around here is about 35 years and ours is now about that age, and I really, really don't want to have to replace it, because it will be $$$$$.

 

Anne

 

ETA: Nothing goes down the disposal, very rarely use bleach and certainly don't flush any feminine products.

Edited September 2, 2017 by Anne

[Scarlett]

So what happens to the solids that accumulate on the bottom if you don't pump it?

It breaks down and turns to sludge which goes out the lateral lines.

[Retired]

well I'm with scarlet I know people with 50 year system that have never been pumped.  IF you have long adequate field lines then it should never clog.   My own system is 20 years old and has never been pumped. 

 

The only people I know that ever get them pumped have been people from the city that move out here and demand it get pumped before they buy the property.  THen guess what they don't pump it either LOL

 

If you had your septic tank put on property that has not perk correctly then you will get back-up, clogged lines, tree roots can rip up field lines.  My neighbor  who house was built  in 1968 just now had to redo his field  lines. 

 

My inlaw have a house build "late 50's rural that has never had the septic pumped

 

SO anyway that's our exeirence not sure what part of the country push or needs such frequent pumping out 

[Happy]

We have an aerobic septic...our first pumping came at year 12.

 

We NEVER put feminine products down the toilet. I even pin a humorous note above the TP holders when we have large groups asking they not flush feminine products. 

 

We don't use the disposal. 

 

I draw the line at using poor quality toilet paper. Cottonelle all the way. ;) 

 

 

[Suzanne in ABQ]

It is the truth. Done right it doesn't need to be pumped. Ever.

 

 

This is true.  Pumping a septic system that doesn't need to be pumped can cause problems.  The system depends on bacteria to break up the waste.  Pumping can deplete the system of those good bacteria, and problems can arise if it can't repopulate soon enough to handle the load.  

 

If you don't put anything down there except human waste and minimal toilet paper, it shouldn't need pumping, especially if it's a modern system.  If it's old (like, older than 20 years), it may need to be pumped no matter what you do.  If you have a modern system, but you've been flushing the wrong stuff down there for years, it may need to be pumped once, but then may serve you well without pumping for years to come.

 

We've had our system for over 12 years, and have never had it pumped.  We do have a garbage disposal, but we scrape everything thoroughly, so only little tiny bits go down.  I only need to run the disposal about once or twice a week.  That's how little food goes down.

I never use chlorine bleach or anti-bacterial soap.  The tank depends on bacterial to break up the waste.  If you kill those bacterial, the system will fail.  

I have enzyme tablets that dissolve and feed the bacterial in the tank.  (I don't remember to flush them every month, like I'm supposed to, but I do flush them occasionally)

We don't flush feminine products or facial tissue (or paper towels or bandaids, or anything other than pee and poop and toilet tissue)

We have a second leach field (some systems are built with two), but I only recently learned how to switch fields.  The septic guys (who checked my system and said it didn't need to be pumped, even though it was 10 years old) showed me how to switch fields, and told me to do it once a year.

[AK_Mom4]

We are in the Never Pump crowd.

 

We had a new septic installed when we bought the house 21 years ago because the old one was not big enough for the number of bathrooms per code. We expect to never have it pumped.

 

We do use a garbage disposal. No bleach or nasty chemicals, but food is just fine.

[EKS]

The only people I know that ever get them pumped have been people from the city that move out here and demand it get pumped before they buy the property.  

It seems to me that it would be prudent when buying a house to have the septic system inspected and to get the tank into a known state before moving in.  It has nothing to do with being from the city.

[Scarlett]

It seems to me that it would be prudent when buying a house to have the septic system inspected and to get the tank into a known state before moving in. It has nothing to do with being from the city.

The house we have now sat empty for at least two years. We have been here 5. No issues.

[EKS]

I guess I'm wondering why all of the never pump folks think that pumping the septic tank is such a big deal.  It costs a few hundred dollars and happens once in a blue moon--or two.

[EKS]

The house we have now sat empty for at least two years. We have been here 5. No issues.

 

Ok.  Your point being what?  If you started from zero with a properly functioning system, I wouldn't expect any problems to occur in five years.

[Scarlett]

Well it is a 40 year old property. I highly doubt it has ever been pumped.

[Scarlett]

I guess I'm wondering why all of the never pump folks think that pumping the septic tank is such a big deal. It costs a few hundred dollars and happens once in a blue moon--or two.

It is just money that could be saved. Why spend it if you don't need to.

[Guest]

Flushable wipes are of the devil across the board. They're terrible for sewer systems and plumbing too

Yep. Our plumber gave me a firm talking to last time he snaked our line. He said he found lots of flushable wipes. They are only flushable because they will fit down the toilet, they do not dissolve. Go ahead, put one in water overnight, it will be intact tomorrow.

[EKS]

It is just money that could be saved. Why spend it if you don't need to.

 

We would rather our septic system didn't fail, so we pump it.  Well, that and it's required by law (ETA: It is required by law to have it inspected annually and to do any needed maintenance or repair).  But we may be a special case in that we have very poor soils, and our system is special (read: expensive) in order to deal with that.

Edited September 3, 2017 by EKS

[Barb_]

Yep. Our plumber gave me a firm talking to last time he snaked our line. He said he found lots of flushable wipes. They are only flushable because they will fit down the toilet, they do not dissolve. Go ahead, put one in water overnight, it will be intact tomorrow.

:lol: good point. Flushable wipes are flushable the way hot wheels cars and playmobil are flushable

[Barb_]

I missed the original thread this spun off from, so maybe this was addressed here, but I'm trying to figure out the no garbage disposal thing currently at my house. What do you do when you have things like soup left over that people didn't finish? That seems way too liquidy to put into the garbage can. In general, it would be really helpful for me to know what people's dish routine is when they don't use a garbage disposal. This is my first time in 40 years to not have one

I have a garbage disposal, but in that case I'd pour the soup into a strainer and let it drain then dump the big chunks in the trash, finally rinsing the residue down the disposal.

 

ETA: duh. I missed the part where you have no disposal at all. Same goes, but use a stainless steel food catcher in the drain to catch the residue.

 

I have these in our apartment in the city where my husband works (no disposal there). They are terrific and stay looking brand new: https://m.bedbathandbeyond.com/m/product/rsvp-endurance-reg-sink-strainer/1045966996?skuId=45966996&mcid=PS_googlepla_nonbrand_kitchenaccessories_online&product_id=45966996&adtype=pla&product_channel=online&adpos=1o4&creative=43742642389&device=m&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=Cj0KCQjwiqTNBRDVARIsAGsd9Mps7uEsIDNji3vBQ-_HoQkvJtREFCY3zKz2SA78kVHH9pPnQVtiopIaAqkHEALw_wcB

Edited September 2, 2017 by Barb_

[Suzanne in ABQ]

I guess I'm wondering why all of the never pump folks think that pumping the septic tank is such a big deal.  It costs a few hundred dollars and happens once in a blue moon--or two.

 

 

For us, our choice to not pump has little to do with the cost.  It's more about messing with the ecosystem inside the tank.  It would be like taking antibiotics when you don't need them.  If you kill off all the bacteria in your gut, you kill the good bacterial that you need for digestion.  This leads to other problems with food intolerances, serotonin depletion, etc.  It causes problems.  Antibiotics are a marvel, and used properly when they're needed for a true bacterial infection, they save lives.  But, precautions (taking probiotics, for example) need to be made to ensure that your body doesn't have negative consequences from taking the antibiotics.  And, they shouldn't be used unless they're truly needed.  Taking antibiotics "just in case" is destructive.    

 

The same is true for septic systems.  If you suck out all the bacteria from your septic system, you get rid of all the "good bacteria" that normally eats your poop and other waste.  If you dump bleach and anti-bacterial soap into your septic tank, you get the same result, only the bacteria aren't gone; they're just dead.  

 

If your system is clogged, then by all means, have it pumped.  Get rid of whatever is plugging it up.  Then, do what you need to do to repopulate the bacteria in the tank (flush live bacterial cultures, flush enzymes, etc), and stop flushing stuff that causes problems (tampons, etc). 

 

I'm not saying that pumping is always bad.  I'm saying that pumping a tank that doesn't need to be pumped could have bad results (and it's also expensive).

[KathyBC]

I missed the original thread this spun off from, so maybe this was addressed here, but I'm trying to figure out the no garbage disposal thing currently at my house. What do you do when you have things like soup left over that people didn't finish? That seems way too liquidy to put into the garbage can. In general, it would be really helpful for me to know what people's dish routine is when they don't use a garbage disposal. This is my first time in 40 years to not have one

At various stages of life: chickens, dogs or compost.

Even the sink strainer will probably be sufficient to drain a soup bowl if you empty it each bowl at a time, allowing only the liquid to drain.

[xixstar]

I missed the original thread this spun off from, so maybe this was addressed here, but I'm trying to figure out the no garbage disposal thing currently at my house. What do you do when you have things like soup left over that people didn't finish? That seems way too liquidy to put into the garbage can. In general, it would be really helpful for me to know what people's dish routine is when they don't use a garbage disposal. This is my first time in 40 years to not have one

All food waste goes into the compost bin. 

 

We're one of those people that composts EVERYTHING - including all that stuff you're supposedly not supposed to. Been doing it 11 years now and it's never been a problem. 

 

We had our very old septic system inspected (and they pump when inspecting) when we bough the house 11 years ago... and then 2 years ago I had someone come pump it because of all the "you must pump every 2 years" fears -- the tank was just fine then... so I don't see us pumping it again in the next 5-10 years most likely. 

[KathyBC]

So what happens to the solids that accumulate on the bottom if you don't pump it?

I was told it takes days to do when it finally needs doing, chiselling it out, if it hasn't been done regularly - all the money saved not doing it every five years gets spent all at once instead. Shrug. But I'm not going to argue with those who haven't done it for 20-50 years. It obviously is working for them. Different soil and all that. Just wouldn't work at our place.

[Scarlett]

We would rather our septic system didn't fail, so we pump it. Well, that and it's required by law. But we may be a special case in that we have very poor soils, and our system is special (read: expensive) in order to deal with that.

I have nver heard required by law, so there is your answer.

[Barb_]

These threads are always so enlightening as to how many customs and laws are regional in the US.

[xixstar]

These threads are always so enlightening as to how many customs and laws are regional in the US.

 

I agree - that is one of my favorite things about this board -- I've lived in many places but I still learn so much. Would have never thought that you would be legally required to pump your tank, but sure enough. Apparently, that happens in the state to my North. :) 

[Elizabeth86]

Im pretty sure people on this board could debate anything. I say this completely i. fun, but really... Am I right?

[Barb_]

Im pretty sure people on this board could debate anything. I say this completely i. fun, but really... Am I right?

No.

[Barb_]

:lol:

[Carol in Cal.]

When we got our cabin, we had septic for the first time.

We talked with our realtor about it.  He said he doesn't feed his enzymes, and he never has his pumped out, but every year or two he puts a pound of hamburger down the disposal to encourage the bacteria.  I kid you not.

 

What I HAVE heard is that you really really need to avoid putting grease down there, because it floats on top of the sludge and keeps oxygen out that the bacteria need or something.  OK, I am not positive that that is the reason, but I AM positive about the grease.  All of our neighbors have horror stories about it.  So we save cans and pour off grease into them, and then if it doesn't solidify we freeze it, and then put it in veggie bags into the garbage.  We do have a disposal and use it for things like eggshells, but we don't put veggie clippings or meat trimmings down it.

[KungFuPanda]

Im pretty sure people on this board could debate anything. I say this completely i. fun, but really... Am I right?

This thread, more than any other, proves that we can argue about any ole s#!t.

 

I learned on a wastewater treatment field trip (homeschoolers really are weird) that the professional guys really HATE garbage disposals and Thanksgiving. They feel disposals are a mistake and aggressively spread the gospel of No FOGs (fats, oils, grease), feminine products, or wipes should going into these systems because they're not designed to handle them. Their solution for kitchen waste is to use use the trash. I did not do the landfill tour to hear the rebuttal.

 

Since I'm a giver, I give you the virtual tour: https://www.howardcountymd.gov/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=bI8fYDL6oBI%3d&portalid=0

#scarredforlife

I regret that I can't recreate the smell for you.

[Guest]

This thread, more than any other, proves that we can argue about any ole s#!t.

 

I learned on a wastewater treatment field trip (homeschoolers really are weird) that the professional guys really HATE garbage disposals and Thanksgiving. They feel disposals are a mistake and aggressively spread the gospel of No FOGs (fats, oils, grease), feminine products, or wipes should going into these systems because they're not designed to handle them. Their solution for kitchen waste is to use use the trash. I did not do the landfill tour to hear the rebuttal.

 

Since I'm a giver, I give you the virtual tour: https://www.howardcountymd.gov/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=bI8fYDL6oBI%3d&portalid=0

#scarredforlife

I regret that I can't recreate the smell for you.

Well, if you can't be bothered to get a thorough report, why even post?!? Sanitation will have their day!

[fraidycat]

My parents have a disposal and a septic system. Everything that can go down the disposal does. Everything. Vegetable peels, apple cores, coffee grounds, small chicken bones, leftovers from supper - if the disposal will "chew" it, in it goes.

 

They are also in the "only pump if you have a problem crowd" (ie:never) and they have not had a problem in the 10+ years they've had the disposal. I think the limits on what you can place in the disposal really depends on the health of your septic system.

 

Eta: I just asked my Dad about the last time they pumped the septic system, and he said "It's been a long time. Since we got the garburator, it eats up much better" ie: the septic bacterial population is better and does a better job of cleaning/clearing the system so they don't have to have it pumped as often.

Edited September 2, 2017 by fraidycat