Water, Pee and Poo: Septic Follow-Up
Figuring my septic saga has readers sitting on pins and needles of suspense, I’m continuing with a follow-up.
We’ve recently been blessed with two visits in two days from the liquid and solid waste recycling company (doesn’t that sound so much cleaner than it actually is?) Happily, we now are unplugged and ready for use. But not without some interesting conversation with James, a very knowledgeable journeyman plumber. He offered further advice on how home owners can help the environment, pamper their delicate septic systems and defer what could easily be a $20,000 replacement.
Water, Pee and Poo
According to James, the knowledgeable plumber, we should be putting only three things into our septic systems. You’ve got it, I won’t repeat them again. To help my very right-sided brain visualize, he compared the septic system to the human stomach. They are very similar and both use bacteria to digest solids. In fact, the very bacteria present in human solid wastes is necessary for their decomposition in a septic system. When we introduce unnatural substances into our septic systems, we disrupt the chemical balance and kill the natural bacteria.
Ladies, are we listening? I know we hear this over and over, but once again let us be told we should not be flushing our you-know-what’s down the toilet. As if I don’t hear that enough from my husband. I can’t tell you how painful it is to admit he’s right.
But what about the biodegradable feminine hygiene products on the market? Are these bad too?
Apparently so. According to James, the plumber, these products are designed to be passable in newer systems with pvc piping. Even in these systems, however, they are slow to decompose. This, combined with other destructive factors such as artificial scents in feminine products and toilet papers which disrupt the chemical balance, creates a reduced life span for the septic system, whether old or new.
Which brings us to toilet paper. Of course, we have to add this to our list of three allowables. It’s an allowable and necessary sub-item. But we should keep it as that—a sub-item. While delicate on our derriere, today’s multi-ply toilet paper is not so delicate in the septic. Like feminine products, toilet paper today is taking much too long to break down. It’s also clogging in the pipes, as was the case with our system.
Now here’s another interesting issue. We know we shouldn’t be flushing food down our toilets. In fact, if you have an old septic, it’s advised you do not have a garbage disposal. Food disrupts the chemical balance of the system. But what I found concerning was the plumber’s mention of medication. He said they’re finding more and more chemical imbalances in the septic systems due to pharmaceutical residues retained in human wastes. Not only are pharmaceuticals showing up in our water supplies, they also are leeching their way into the soil through our septic systems.
Obviously, there’s more to flushing the toilet than one cares to think about. But, believe me, thinking green is much better than seeing another color that was rising in my toilet a few days ago!
March 25th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
There’s an interesting conversation going on at gardenweb.com. According to some, if taken care of properly, a septic system should never need pumping.
March 26th, 2008 at 6:26 am
Under no circumstances should a septic tank not be pumped on a scheduled maintenance program. There are products that are not digested by the natural microbial process that needs attention. You can pay us now,(a little bit) or pay us (a lot) later on.
March 27th, 2008 at 10:50 am
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article Water, Pee and Poo: Septic Follow-Up, but I guess I just need to check some more resources regarding this, because it sounds interesting.
April 4th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Like john says a septic tank should be pumped on a regular schedule. I owned a house for 20 years with a septic tank that was original to the house. @ people in the house the tank was pumped every 2 years. In the summer I would go out and dig up the lid and call the pump guy. We babied the tank. no harsh cleaning products just the normal stuff that goes down the toilet. The septic system functioned without any problems for 60 years until we sold the house and were told to replace it because it no longer met code. Nothing wrong with it, just too old. The system was replaced with an aereation system. The output was funneled to the county field drain system. If we didn’t move I probably would have had it replaced anyhow. The State of Ohio enacted new septic tank regulations that would have cost 10-15K to replace the tank now. The regulations require a mound system for the leach field and pump station put in to put the leachate from the tank to the leach field. Everyone was replacing old systems before the new rules went into effect. They did that so they were in age compliance in case they sold the house. The house then has a modern septic system when they go to sell.
August 2nd, 2008 at 2:06 pm
my weird friend thinks that water is peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee