[JGatti]

I just wanted to share my nightmare story in hopes that it might help someone prevent a costly mistake. If your a new home owner, maybe just not aware and your home has a septic tank. KEEP IT CLEAN! I've never owned a home prior to our current house. I had no idea what the schedule for pumping a tank was. This caused our system to fail. Since the home was built my wife and her ex had a in ground fiberglass swimming pool installed in the back yard. This limited our options for the new field. We were lucky we got away with a new normal system instead of what is called an engineered system ( cost up to $10,000 +). So our new system is going to run $4500-$5000. Came at the worst time as I have not worked in 5 months. To top it off the new system is limited to one area only, and guess what...... there is a gas line in the way. So in addition to the $4-5k we had to borrow $1200 from my in-laws to have that moved.
So the moral of the story. Pay the $150 every 2 years to get it pumped. It's a pain to dig up, replant grass there etc. But man I wish I would have known then what I know now. If it's been more than 2 years, don't wait.

[GalFriday]

We just bought a house that has a septic field. We don't know the condition of it yet (but judging on the work we've already done on the rest of the house, we're sure it's going to need SOMETHING). And yes, it is is TONS of cash if your septic gets messed up. The only think my husband and I have going for us in this respect is that we both grew up with septic tanks.

Always use the right kind of toilet paper (Scott is great) and don't throw ANYTHING besides the typical toilet waste down the drain.

[YAZ]

Been there, done that with my first home in Michigan. Costly.

I was on the Huron River so the DNR had to come out and approve everything.

Yikes!

5k back in 1989...

[JGatti]

Originally Posted by GalFriday

We just bought a house that has a septic field. We don't know the condition of it yet (but judging on the work we've already done on the rest of the house, we're sure it's going to need SOMETHING). And yes, it is is TONS of cash if your septic gets messed up. The only think my husband and I have going for us in this respect is that we both grew up with septic tanks.

Always use the right kind of toilet paper (Scott is great) and don't throw ANYTHING besides the typical toilet waste down the drain.

Well I'm not going to use this to promote anyone, but if you want a great company I'll send you our guys name. Him ans his wife are life savers. Honest and affordable.

[Peter B]

Septic maintenance is not difficult. The thought of a backed up system petrifies me so the 5 years we've been in the house, we take a few precautions and have never had an issue. As said above, Scott toilet paper is best. Also, use screened sink traps in the kitchen sinks. The amount of waste that you keep out of your system is absolutely amazing and over time can very likely negate the need to EVER have it pumped again if you have a good drain field. We've never had to pump ours thankfully.

[GalFriday]

Originally Posted by JGatti

Well I'm not going to use this to promote anyone, but if you want a great company I'll send you our guys name. Him ans his wife are life savers. Honest and affordable.

Send away. We planned on calling around to have someone come out and locate the tank since we're not exactly sure where it is. (We have an idea, but the house was a foreclosure and we had no info about it.) I've had a tough time getting contractors, so I'm happy to have a phone number on hand BEFORE an emergency happens.

[tryin2buy]

I have lived with septic tanks for 20 years and with proper care you shouldn't have any major problems. You don't have to use just SCOTT TP...little to cardboardy for my taste. Any ONE ply will do, Kleenex Cottonelle is fine as long as it's the one ply. Nothing but TP goes down the toilet! Nothing! Also, use the garbage disposal sparingly.

How often to have it pumped is based on family size, etc. When in doubt, have it pumped.

I've seen entire subs need their septic fields replaced because they weren't sized correctly for the homes (new builds) and it is one stinky process!

Hard lesson to learn but with a new system installed you should be good to go for many, many years. No sewer bills

[Coldjensens]

My parents have septic and never did anything special, just pump it out once in a while and sometimes use laundry detergent that is not as bad, (but not all the time). I think they had a guy actually get in it and scrape down the sides once. THeir septic tank/field went in in 1971 and they have had not significant problems. Maybe they are just lucky.

You sure get nice gass over the septic field.

[JGatti]

Here are some of the tips I was given by the people doing my system.

Do not use powder soap in your washing machine- the soap does not always dissolve and kills the good bacteria in the tank.

Make sure if your washing has a lint screen on it. The lint build's up in the tank and does not break down.

Do not install a garbage disposal on your sink. Ground up food does not break down properly and creates solid wastes.

Don't use Dawn dish soap. This soap is strong and kills the needed good bacteria in the tank.

Also avoid allowing any grease down the kitchen sink drain.