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Originally posted by: Ipno
You should have your septic tank inspected and pumped every year. If you think the $50-$100 this costs is expensive, the people who pay for sewer usually pay on the order of $500-$1000 over the course of a year to have their crap hauled away.

if your septic system goes bad on you it could cost well over $500 to fix, thats why you get it maintained every year.
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Septic tanks do not have to be pumped every year. If yours does, you have something wrong with your system. They should be pumped every 3 to 5 years on average.
 
Originally posted by: Ipno
You should have your septic tank inspected and pumped every year. If you think the $50-$100 this costs is expensive, the people who pay for sewer usually pay on the order of $500-$1000 over the course of a year to have their crap hauled away.

if your septic system goes bad on you it could cost well over $500 to fix, thats why you get it maintained every year.
Click to expand...

you kid yourself if you get it pumped and inspected every year.

just get it pumped about 5-10 years w/ normal usage

and for all hell it costs well of 500$, in my county for a whole new septic system, which is now required on all new houses, and if replacing tank, you have to replace the whole system it costs 10 grand +
 
Originally posted by: mrrman
maybe you should add the enzymes to the septic tank that break down the crap...possibly the drainage field is plugged due to this to
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There was a CD that was in the packet that came with my house, and I popped it in the computer yesterday. One of the things it mentions is that any additives are basically worthless. I am not saying that this is necessarily correct, but it is something that is produced by my local government (county maybe it was). It says that at best they have no effect.

Can anyone step in on this with first hand knowledge on using them?
 
I have used them any they work...I used to have a duplex rental property and this exact scenario happened.
 
Originally posted by: homestarmy
Originally posted by: mrrman
maybe you should add the enzymes to the septic tank that break down the crap...possibly the drainage field is plugged due to this to
Click to expand...

There was a CD that was in the packet that came with my house, and I popped it in the computer yesterday. One of the things it mentions is that any additives are basically worthless. I am not saying that this is necessarily correct, but it is something that is produced by my local government (county maybe it was). It says that at best they have no effect.

Can anyone step in on this with first hand knowledge on using them?
Click to expand...

The bacteria needed to break down what's in your septic tank is already present in your feces. Everytime you take a cr@p, you add to the bacterial stew in your tank.
 
Originally posted by: mrrman
I have used them any they work...I used to have a duplex rental property and this exact scenario happened.
Click to expand...

Are you saying that you had basically the exact same problem that I am experiencing and you added that type of item and it actually fixed this same problem? If so, very interesting! Where do you buy this stuff anyway? Is this something you can get at WalMart?
 
Originally posted by: Bryophyte
Originally posted by: homestarmy
Originally posted by: mrrman
maybe you should add the enzymes to the septic tank that break down the crap...possibly the drainage field is plugged due to this to
Click to expand...

There was a CD that was in the packet that came with my house, and I popped it in the computer yesterday. One of the things it mentions is that any additives are basically worthless. I am not saying that this is necessarily correct, but it is something that is produced by my local government (county maybe it was). It says that at best they have no effect.

Can anyone step in on this with first hand knowledge on using them?
Click to expand...

The bacteria needed to break down what's in your septic tank is already present in your feces. Everytime you take a cr@p, you add to the bacterial stew in your tank.
Click to expand...


Yes, and what often happens is the phosphates in laundry detergent kill the bacteria and stop the breakdown process. One of the best things you can do to prevent this is to reroute the drain from your washing machine so that it doesn't dump into your septic, but check your local codes because in many areas its illegal to dump wash water (grey water) on the ground.

The best maint. is to have your septic tested at least anually to check and maintain the enzyme levels. This is true wether you have an older type single tank system with lateral lines, or the newer two stage aerobic systems.

 
I believe heavy ammounts of rain can cause septic issues (and when I say heavy I mean quite a bit). Last year, when my folks were selling there 20 year old house, there was some concern about it passing the septic exam because it had been raining pretty much daily for the past month or two (rare in Wisconsin). It passed the exam, but they still gave the buyers some extra money for the inevitable replacement, as a standard tank needs to be replaced around every 25 years or so (my folks are just nice like that I guess).
 
Well I looked into it a bit. I tried opening the little box there, my father said that some type of breaker etc could have been tripped, but there were no controls in there at all. I was going to locate the box and dig, but my girlfriend was against it and just wanted to pay someone to come and take a look.

I found who did my septic in the first place. I called them and they say that there is nothing beyond a one year warranty, for pump or anything. Is it just me or is that complete BS? Everyone who I have spoken to says to call who put it in and tell them to take care of it, because nothing should happen in two years time. I suppose at this point, I am going to have the place come out that charges $50 to look at it. I can live with losing $50, and my girlfriend said she would even pay for it so I didn't have to dig anything up.
 
Ok, I already have friday off, and since we're not having a single problem, I called the place that will come out and check it for $50 and scheduled a check for tomorrow morning.

I'm going to ask them about this company that put it in and see if there are any known issues or anything. A lot of people on my road have needed major service and they are quite new homes like mine. Maybe there is an issue with this place. The local newspaper may hear about this!
 
If you are freaking out about a $50 service call and/or a ~$500 home repair, you should put a big For Sale sign up and move back to an apartment. 🙂

If I had an alarm that went off that basically said "Hey buddy, any minute your back yard and/or house could be filling up with smelly brown stuff" I would be calling anyone and everyone in the phone book to get somebody to fix the problem.
 
Originally posted by: Ipno
You should have your septic tank inspected and pumped every year. If you think the $50-$100 this costs is expensive, the people who pay for sewer usually pay on the order of $500-$1000 over the course of a year to have their crap hauled away.

if your septic system goes bad on you it could cost well over $500 to fix, thats why you get it maintained every year.
Click to expand...

you really are clueless arent you?

for a normal septic tank you only need to pump it every few years. it really depends on the size of the tank and how many people are useing it.

IF the system goes bad it will cost a lot more then $500! try anywhere around $10-20k to get the system replaced.

When we moved into oure new house we had the tank pumped (they didnt have it pumped in 8 years with a avarage of 9 people in the house) and inspected for $200.
 
Originally posted by: Ipno
Originally posted by: waggy
you really are clueless arent you?
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Hah, but no, at least I try to be polite. 🙂
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If you really want to be polite then try not to give out wrong information?

having a septic tank pumped every year is a huge waste of money. they are designed to hold and destroy waste for a long time. depending on the size of the family it can be up to 10 years.

If there is something wrong with the tank you can not just patch it up. You have to have it replaced. which can run up to $20k (think the new ones that are huge are even more) to have one put in.

Having lived in a farming community for years i have researched (yuck) septic tanks to make sure i was not getting riped off when buying.

edit: more then you want to know about septic tanks
Click to expand...
 
I had relatives with tanks. They would have to have it cleaned every 8-10 years. Not sure of your tank's capacity though.
 
Originally posted by: flot
If you are freaking out about a $50 service call and/or a ~$500 home repair, you should put a big For Sale sign up and move back to an apartment. 🙂

If I had an alarm that went off that basically said "Hey buddy, any minute your back yard and/or house could be filling up with smelly brown stuff" I would be calling anyone and everyone in the phone book to get somebody to fix the problem.
Click to expand...

Ok I'll try to be nice, but you are a dumbass. Did you not read my budget etc that I posted? I could pay, but why pay if it is not necessary? I have not had a single problem, just a stupid light that probably indicates a floater is tangled up or something. I bet you pay $29.99 each time you need to have your oil changed too, right? Because if you don't, your car's engine could break...

So you think I should have the people that want to charge $125 (the first people I called) to come out and just look at it, or possibly pay over $200 to have it pumped, when that might not even be the problem?
 
BTW, my neighbor's house was built in '81 (I talked to him last night). He had problems about three years later because he was using cheap powdered laundry soap. Besides that, he hasn't had to have it pumped in 20 years!
 
For anyone who was still interested. I ended up having one set of guys come out for $50. They dug up my manhole-type cover (good thing I know where it is now), and found that the float had fell. The idiots who put it in (the guys also know about them, they are a bunch of drunks, no joke) used a plastic zip tie to hold the thing in place, and I could see it floating in the water. These guys wrapped it around a pipe a couple of times until it was hanging at the correct height, and then used a metal clamp (the type that one would use to hold a hose on an engine) to keep it where it should be. Problem solved.
 
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