Septic Tank

[JJT]

I have a hard time believing that microscopic/suspended lint is going to plug up a drain field. I have 15 50 laterals, in 30" trenches with 12 inches of #2 stone under the pipe and 6 inches over the pipe. 200 tons of stone and 800 tons of sand were hauled in for my raised bed system, my guess is I'll need more than a few tons of lint to plug this system.....

 

[RJohnson]

Sorry JJT, was not thinking about an ET type of drain field but more of the standard trench and fill type of leach field. Here in my part of Texas the soils are mostly clay. To install a evaporation transpiration field sand and rock would have to be hauled for too many miles to be cost effective.
In clay soils a biomat grows around the leach pipe and starts to slow the movement of water through the soil. Eventually if you let enough material leave the septic tank the biomat can become clogged and everything backs up into the house. Many new installations have dual leach fields where one field can be rested and the biomat be allowed to die and breakdown.
I am sure that you have a good system and it will function well for many years to come.

 

[MossRoad]

I agree with you that lint and other non degradable items will plug up the system eventually. The major cause around here is people that don't pump out the system until there is trouble. By that time, the toilet paper has bypassed the breakdown abilities of the septic tanks and gone directly into the leach field, plugging it up. All it takes is a little preventative mainteinance to keep the systme working properly. I pump mine every 2 years, as did the owner before me. It costs less than $200 bucks, which is about 1/20 th the cost of a new system.