Care of Septic Tank

[tractchores]

I'll having a slightly differing opinion here to the others. Talking to folks who work in the industry the consensus is that you don't need to put anything extra, just what naturally goes in there. That provides plenty of bacteria, bacterial additives probably don't hurt, but anything that promotes dissolving grease etc and getting it into the leech field is bad news. You can find recommended pumping schedules online for your size tank and family, but its generally 2 - 5 years. Other things to be careful of are not putting grease or harsh chemicals down the drain. Try not to use anti-bacterial soap and limit use of things like bleach, though regular cleaning with bleach products doesn't have enough to really matter in your tank. Basically if its not biodegradable don't put it down. The only other concern is not to drive or use heavy equipment on the field and be careful of the Distro box, pump box (if there is one) and tank itself, you can fall through it if you drive the wrong thing on top.

 

[kenmac]

You add bacteria to your system every time you flush # 2 down the toilet.No need to add store bought products. Pump every 5 yrs

 

[Don87]

Others have mentioned something I forgot. Keep grease out of your system............I dump mine in the woods.

And I'll argue one other point that was made: Bleach kills beneficial bacteria, and a person would be surprised at just how little bleach it takes to accomplish this task(or at least slow the bacteria process down to where one has a problem).

 

[murphy1244]

I'll having a slightly differing opinion here to the others. Talking to folks who work in the industry the consensus is that you don't need to put anything extra, just what naturally goes in there. That provides plenty of bacteria, bacterial additives probably don't hurt, but anything that promotes dissolving grease etc and getting it into the leech field is bad news. You can find recommended pumping schedules online for your size tank and family, but its generally 2 - 5 years. Other things to be careful of are not putting grease or harsh chemicals down the drain. Try not to use anti-bacterial soap and limit use of things like bleach, though regular cleaning with bleach products doesn't have enough to really matter in your tank. Basically if its not biodegradable don't put it down. The only other concern is not to drive or use heavy equipment on the field and be careful of the Distro box, pump box (if there is one) and tank itself, you can fall through it if you drive the wrong thing on top.

That's what my septic cleaning guy told me.

 

[Buckgnarly]

For 34 years my parents and just about everyone I knew growing up have done nothing special to their septic tank, for the past 7 years my wife and I have done nothing special. It's not rocket science, just don't go dumping gallons of industrial cleaners or waste and you will be fine.
Only thing I would do is to get it pumped after a few years to get an idea of how often to pump it. Solids will ruin leach fields, but depending on use it could be 3 or 10 years before solids reach the tank outlet. Problem is you do not know until it gets pumped and its's all based on useage.

 

[gilbertmsg]

We went 6 years in our new home before pumping. I watched when the honey truck came in. There was a 2-3 inch brown brownie on top of the tank. The guys broke the top layer with hose and pumped clean. There was very little solids in our tank. I will pump again in 2018. I don't add any special treatments, just try to keep grease an tampons out.

Eddie

 

[cqaigy2]

Been on septic for years. Pretty much what others have said. Don't add anything. Reduce water usage. Don't poison it. Don't drive on any part of it. Get it pumped maybe in a few years to see how well your doing, maybe you can increase the interval. The point is to not have solids flow into the drain field.
It's good you don't have a garbage disposal!:thumbsup:

 

[clemsonfor]

My cousin does septic systems for a living. He suggest raw chicken skin and guts to get good bacteria brewing in a septic tank. My wife killed our bacteria once using Clorox to clean the toilet. Had to have it pumped and start all over. I used the chicken recipe and a box of Ridx to get it going, so far so good, knock on wood that was about 4 or 5 years ago. We also have extreme clay soil where the leech bed goes. We had new lines put in about 6 or 7 years ago and he put an extra wide trench and an additional 16 tons of washed stone.

u can use bleach you just have to refresh with something. WE still use bleach in certain nasty laundry drains and to clean a few things.

 

[clemsonfor]

How did you know that the bacteria died? Did you have a backup in the house?

And what did you do to the chicken skin and guts - Did you boil them and then pour down the broth?

wouldn't boiling it kill the bacteria? I would of just put it in a blender or garbage disposal to get it down drain and or just flush down toilet.

 

[Don87]

My cousin does septic systems for a living. He suggest raw chicken skin and guts to get good bacteria brewing in a septic tank. My wife killed our bacteria once using Clorox to clean the toilet. Had to have it pumped and start all over. I used the chicken recipe and a box of Ridx to get it going, so far so good, knock on wood that was about 4 or 5 years ago. We also have extreme clay soil where the leech bed goes. We had new lines put in about 6 or 7 years ago and he put an extra wide trench and an additional 16 tons of washed stone.

To get a new septic system working, the guys around here always pick up a 'roadkill' coon or possum to get them started.