Do these products made to clean, and produce bacterial action, actually work to keep the tanks working, and system clean. I had to start using more water, and detergents do to a family member added to our home. Do to incontinance, various bleaches and ammonia, had to be used in order to control order on clothes.
The system is starting to get slugguish, will anything help?
It sounds like you're basically overloading it with water. If there are options to get your washer and dishwasher OFF the septic system, that may be your best bet. Unless you're right in the middle of a bunch of snooty houses, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to relieve the septic system from these items. (if you catch my drift). As for the additives, forget them, you don't need that.
Andy, the only option short of what Steve suggested is to take the soiled clothes to a laundromat. Too much bleach and detergent *is* the likely culprit, as you stated. Tough situation, besides the septic issue. Oh yea, have you considered 'Depends' for the incontinent family member. That way there is considerably less problem with clothing being soiled and odorous. I'm speaking from family experience. Best of luck to you all, Chuck
IMHO, additives are good only if your system has sat idle for a period of weeks, or if you have flushed a quantity of bleach into the system. They are not needed on a regular basis nor will they help in your situation.
Bob
Thanks, everbody for you help, I got my brother to take over the washing duties for now, he is on a public system. We are going to wash our the clothes in the laundrmat. until i can get it going. I must have 2ft of snow in the yard, with an ice crust. The tank is working, but it is slow.
I put Roebic septic cleaner in the tank last night, I will post back to tell you if it helped! Thanks again! Andy >
How can you tell if a septic tank is "sluggish" under 2 feet of snow? If water is backing up it is possible the drainage or weeping tiles or pipes are frozen up or clogged. When was the last time the tank was pumped out to get rid of the sludge that slowly fills up the tank.
Couldn't resist could you? Hope it didn't cost much.
------------------- Bingo! When was the last time you pumped and inspected the tank? Depending on diets, cleaning should be done every couple of years. Freezing can slow down the leach lines, but failing to clean the tank can clog it!
While authorities will insist on the laundry water be drained through the septic tank, it is one of the worst things you could do. Many years ago before synthetics, cotton, wool and flax fibers and lint would break down in the tank along with the normal waste products. However, polyester, nylon and other synthetics do not break down. They sit inside the tank or flush out into the drainage field and slowly over time build up a matte of synthetic fibers throughout the drainage field causing it to eventually clog up and need replacing. Since the regulations are much tighter now than when older septic systems were installed, a similar system cannot be installed in the same space if you have limited room. This now will require a much more expensive system to be installed.
It is much better to protect and not abuse your present system than to destroy it and have to pay to install a complete new style system.
It's not really the fibers or even the detergents that are the evil culprit. It's really just the volume of water going in there. There's no reason to have a washer on a septic system. Just plumb it out somewhere away from the house. It's really no different than if you were doing it with a wash board or a wringer washer out on the front porch, you just dump it on the ground. Authorities won't bitch about things they don't know about.
FWIW, I have had my washer draining into my front yard for the entire 29 years I have lived here, mainly because of the septic, but also to water the yard. It is a very old Wards(Norge)washer with a huge tub that uses a LOT of water. I have a friend (also on septic) who has a 55 gallon barrel on it's side in the crawl space under his house with the washer draining into the top of it, and a large diameter garden hose attatched to a fitting on the bottom so he can move it around the yard. I also have a customer/friend who is on city sewer, but drains her washer into a plastic trash can, and waters the yard with it by siphoning it out with a hose, just to not waste the water. Unless you have some really nosey and troublemaking neighbors, you should be able to drain the washer outside somewhere without any big problems. BTW, the soap and bleach should not harm the grass or plants. Larry
if the authorties find out around here its a BIG deal. I heard they REQUIRED a person to install a whole new mound system then 3 years later sewers arrived and 5 grand tap in fee plus new lines. the poor fellow put 25 grand in sewage and ended up selling the property since he couldnt afford the payments
Before I started panicking about the septic I would start checking vents. A "sluggish" system, assuming you mean slow draining, is usually cause by a problem with inadequate system venting. Is the vent stack pipe getting clogged or blocked, has he drain/vent system been worked on or added to recently, etc. The only other possibility would be a blockage in your drain system, possibly in the distribution box, tank, or worse - the drain field. It would seem to me if that were the case you would be getting backups into the lower drains on the system, not simply 'sluggish' drainage.
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Agreed. When my sewer system starts acting up, I run a sewer snake in there and pull out gobs of lint. Didn't have the problem when the washers had internal lint catchers, but now they catch the lint and backflush it on the drain cycle. I can imagine they cause lots of problems in a septic tank/field.
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