Laundry/Septic Drain water

[SandburRanch]

Our laundry water drained into the pasture for years and when within hearing distance the milk cow came running if she heard the washer pumping. To this day I haven't a clue what she liked about that water. The next milking the milk tasted a bit like Oxydol and foamed too much in the milk pail when milking but we were poor, hungry and didn't mind.:laughing: Just kidding about the taste and foam.:laughing:

 

[Larry Caldwell]

A front-load washing machine might reduce the amount of laundry gray water you are producing. Large toploaders will overpower most any septic system after two or 3 loads. In my aerobic system, the lint in the laundry water and the soap residue will plug a filter in no time. My neighbor has 1/2" of gray sludge and lint on his filter every month. My filter has a brownish yellow residue of less than 1/8" thick that is easily removed with a hose nozzle. I route my gray water out to water my grass and it seems to love it. I think leach fields are likely clogged by soap suds residue as well. All that soap has also got to be tough on the bacteria/bugs that process the sewage. I'd bet you could reduce your solids in your tank a bunch if you eliminated gray water. I just don't think that any reasonable septic system is going to handle the laundry gray water for a family of four or more.

What killed the septic system was the chemical they put in holding tanks to keep them from stinking. That stuff should never go into a septic. I have a RV hookup for guests, but I make them dump their tanks before showing up in my driveway.

A septic needs time to let the soilds settle out. The smaller the tank, the less water it will handle before pushing solids into the drain field. Solids in the drain field will plug it. I replaced the old steel tank about 8 years ago with a 1500 gallon 2-chamber tank. The first tank is 1000 gallons, and the second tank is 500 gallons, each with its own baffles. We also have a front loading washer, efficient shower heads, etc., so the chances of overloading the tank are minimal. I still have the old 2.5 gallon flush toilets, though.

 

[jinman]

That I can see as a very valid reason for your statement.

Can you tell me about your filter?

The filter I am mentioning is in my current aerobic septic system as seen in this brochure in PDF format. They call it a bio-kinetic filter.

 

[jinman]

What killed the septic system was the chemical they put in holding tanks to keep them from stinking. That stuff should never go into a septic. I have a RV hookup for guests, but I make them dump their tanks before showing up in my driveway.

I didn't have RVs in that trailer park. Some people called it a mobile home park, but believe me, it was a trailer park. My dad should never have built that trailer park. It was unsatisfactory in every way and ended up costing him more in taxes than it brought in after expenses. Land that had a farm tax exemption suddenly was zoned commercial with property taxes through the roof. When he passed away, I closed the park down and then paid off the debt before selling the property where it was located.

 

[OKnewguy]

Man, you miss a day on the forum and there was tons of action! Thanks to all that posted. I got into my tank a couple of days ago, I put a section of window screen on the overflow to help keep solids out. As of yesterday the screen had no evidence of being overflowed.
I have put my family on major water conservation. I am going to temporarily run my washer out the patio, and give the tree roots time to root (after severing them with the trencher) and after using root x.
We always let it mellow if it is yellow, but we are limiting shower lengths too.
I am going to proceed cautiously for now, keep the laundry out, limit water usage, and just give these roots time to rot. After a few months I am going to put the washer back in the system and see what happens. I have a feeling I will be adding the drywell or adding onto our leach field.
Thank you all, DAve

 

[SixHoeBob]

I would rent a mini-excavator and dig a wide, 60' long, shallow trench. I would put stuff in the trench. Then test your skills, by making the area look like you were never there. Wait until the play area is very dry to minimize ground/yard destruction before starting.

 

[dieselscout80]

The filter I am mentioning is in my current aerobic septic system as seen in this brochure in PDF format. They call it a bio-kinetic filter.

Thanks by the way what kind of $$ is that filter?

 

[jinman]

Thanks by the way what kind of $$ is that filter?

You just clean it and it is used over and over. It's just a fine mesh plastic screen. Bio-Kinetic Filter makes it sound fancy. It's kind of like saying when the poo hits the fan that's "Bio-Kinetic Distribution.":laughing:

My system installed in 2001 with a 2-yr maintenance contract was $5700. A $400 registration/inspection fee to the county and $120 for an engineer's stamp was the total cost. That's about what a conventional septic costs to put in these days. I think aerobic systems are $10k plus. There's really not $10k worth of stuff in an aerobic system, but only licensed installers can do it. It's kinda like going to the dentist to have a tooth pulled instead of tying a string to a door knob and slamming the door.

 

[tawilson]

To the op, have you looked at where the surface water is going? I cured a problem with my leach field by putting in a french drain and giving the rain water a place to go. As far as soap in a septic, doesn't that turn into the layer of white greasy stuff the septic man has to break up when he pumps out the septic?

 

[OKnewguy]

I wish we were having surface water here. We are in a horrid drought! My parents house was almost burned down yesterday (near Jones Ok). I know what you mean about surface water thou, last year it did have some issues during our rainy season.
I dug some exploratory holes today, trying to figure out where the distribution box is and the lines go. I followed the line out of the septic tank and got into all sorts of busted up clay pipe. I knew the outlet line at the tank is pvc. So I kept digging and found pvc underneath all the busted clay. So at one time they replaced some clay with pvc, and then threw the clay in the trench. I just wonder if the pvc mates to the clay somewhere and the clay has collapsed. I am going to have to do a ton of digging to figure out what is going on. I will try to keep you all posted of the progress, but it might take me awhile.
Thanks for all the help! I really love this place, it is such a great sounding board, and makes me think of other possibilities.
Dave

 

[Harry Palmer]

My neighbor had a similar problem. He added a French drain to the inlet side, filled with large rock, then large gravel. The drain was 12 feet deep by 5 feet wide with three feet of soil on top. This stopped the problem for his three bath 5 person household. :thumbsup: Last year, the person who owns the same place now had to replace the entire system since the leach lines clogged up. He put in a new tank (2000 gal vs. the 1500 gal tank) and a Suez Canal for the drains. The tank dumps into a newly dug pit (25 x 12 x 15 deep) filled with rock and gravel. He lined the entire pit with fabric barrier, which allows liquids to flow through but not dirt, sand, or gravel. From the pit, he has the leach lines extend out 25 feet into the yard. I think he put 150 ft of leach line in place. After he put the heavy rock in, he put in two or three dump truck loads of 3/4 gravel, then he covered everything with about two feet of soil. Based on what the Septic Tank company told him, this system is large enough for a home of 10 bedrooms and twenty people. He told them Good, I won't have any septic problems while the kids are home. :laughing::laughing:

 

[Sidwuffler]

Relocated to

Aerobic vs. Anaerobic Septic Systems - Page 4 - TractorByNet.com

 

[clemsonfor]

There are only two of us on a fairly large septic system. I always flush a few extra times just to make sure it has enough water.

Why not just stay in the shower 5 mins longer every now and then?

 

[SixHoeBob]

My neighbor had a similar problem. He added a French drain to the inlet side, filled with large rock, then large gravel. The drain was 12 feet deep by 5 feet wide with three feet of soil on top. This stopped the problem for his three bath 5 person household. :thumbsup: Last year, the person who owns the same place now had to replace the entire system since the leach lines clogged up. He put in a new tank (2000 gal vs. the 1500 gal tank) and a Suez Canal for the drains. The tank dumps into a newly dug pit (25 x 12 x 15 deep) filled with rock and gravel. He lined the entire pit with fabric barrier, which allows liquids to flow through but not dirt, sand, or gravel. From the pit, he has the leach lines extend out 25 feet into the yard. I think he put 150 ft of leach line in place. After he put the heavy rock in, he put in two or three dump truck loads of 3/4 gravel, then he covered everything with about two feet of soil. Based on what the Septic Tank company told him, this system is large enough for a home of 10 bedrooms and twenty people. He told them Good, I won't have any septic problems while the kids are home. :laughing::laughing:

Septic system drain fields are not supposed to be a deep holes in the ground filled with rocks/stones.

The goal is to have a large shallow hole, to maintain separation between the effluent and the ground water. Two foot deep trenches/bed. One foot of 2b stone in trench. Rosin paper or geo-textile fabric on top of stone. One foot of topsoil for cover. Four foot minimum separation between limiting zone and bottom of stone.

Often times conditions do not allow for an in-ground conventional system, and a sand mound is required.

Follow all applicable D.E.P. regulations etc.

The deep hole increases the possibility of contaminating the groundwater.

 

[OKnewguy]

Just for everyone's info, we ended up redoing the whole leachfield. We used the infiltrator's. Man those things are a great labor saver! They might cost a bit, but I think by the time you include your gravel and conventional piping it is cheaper then an older style. Sorry no pics, it was basically no big deal. The company had it done in a day and I got to sod and smooth. It basically looks normal already. When they put it in, they tore up some of the old field to get to the new location, those leach line were 100 % clogged up. And it was all original. I was under the impression that the leachfield had been replaced because there is newer pvc leaving the tank, but that line just ran to the first distro box. The old system was octagonal clay pipe, and for life of me, it looked like they just butted up to each other in 2' sections. And all of the gravel was clogged up with dirt (no fabric)
If this leachfield lasted 46 years, the new one with these chambers should last much longer!
Thank you all, I have learned so much from TBN, and I would have most likely went with conventional system.
Dave