GardenBanter.co.uk - Septic Tank: how often to clean?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sacha (Post 763452)

On 3/12/07 17:44, in article ,
"Mary Fisher" wrote:

"Malcolm" wrote in message
...

I've lived with septic tanks (if you get my meaning!) for the last 35
years. At our last house, we had it emptied about every three years, which
seemed to be adequate until the day it started overflowing following a
torrential downpour, which just happened to coincide with higher than
normal use of baths, etc. The clear-up was not pleasant and involved some
expensive alterations. I've gone for annual emptying ever since, which has
been well worth the cost, in my view. I now have a standing order with the
local council and don't even have to remember to ask for it to be emptied.

A daughter lives on a Welsh mountain with a septic tank, they've been there
for at least twelve years and have never had the tank emptied. I thought the
system developed bacteria which dealt with solids and they drained away
harmlessly.

Hers is an organic farm and she is scrupulous about not allowing anything
which would be hostile to the bacteria down the drain. She uses special
dishwasher tablets, laundry and other preparations. There are two adults and
a small child so baths are frequent and laundry is too - she only uses
washable nappies.

No, no no and no. If the previous owners of the OP's house have had their
tank emptied every year and paid for it, it's for a reason. Maybe they
don't live on top of a mountain with excellent drainage, no input from the
water table etc. If by 'special' products you mean Ecover, we use those
here, too. We have two septic tanks and soakaways and on the whole, try to
leave them to get on with it which mostly they do. But not all are the same
and sometimes ours have to be emptied, too.

When we go we live in our tiny caravan and have to use similar
bacteria-friendly products if we empty into the tank - which we do. When I
use conventional washing up liquid for dishes the waste is poured into a
ditch.

I daren't do anything else!

Mary

The OP is talking about a permanent residence though, not a holiday.
I repeat, the previous owners did what they did for a reason. If he wants
to save £10 a month and risk an overflow of sewage he could try leaving it
for two years, for example, and see what happens after heavy rainfall or a
couple of summer's worth of guests etc. Again, not everyone lives on top of
well draining land with few neighbours. I'm sorry, Mary, but clearly not
emptying his septic tank for 12 years would be disastrous for this poster if
the previous owners have found it necessary to do it every year.

--
Sacha
Buy plants online, including rare and exotic plant varieties from Hill House Nursery
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

After reading through all these posts it's obvious that there's some conflicting views on how often emptying needs to take place, the real easy answer is it depends....you may be able to go years without having them emptied if you have a few people using a really large tank, but you will most likely at some stage get a buildup of sludge that will cost more to remove or get an overflow problem which will be expensive to remedy if you leave it years.

In my experience it is much better to spend the money having an annual empty than risking the consequences. Some good resources for septic tanks and emptying can be found at SEPTIC TANK MAINTENANCE and septic tank emptying help.