If your system is properly sized, it makes no difference.

The earth would appreciate you using "green" products, and as few detergents as possible. There are many sites on-line where you can buy specific products, but read all labels carefully. It is beyond silly to pay big bucks for a general all-purpose "green" cleaner in a fancy-labelled bottle when that same cleaner can also be bought at your local grocery -- it's called vinegar ~~ or baking soda, depending on the label.

From the septic tank's viewpoint, it's actually more important to have the right-sized field and to never pour poisons or oils down the drain. The septic system really doesn't care about brand name products, but doesn't want trees planted over the field and would appreciate being tanked out every couple years. The system and your wallet will do better if you carefully read the instructions on cleaning products -- detergent labels often instruct using one or two tablespoons of product while having a 6-tablespoon cap! The smaller amount is sufficient. For dishwashers, read the manufacturer's instructions as well as the label on the box... use the lesser amount which is almost always ONE or one-half dispenser, not both. If you have teenagers, both a reduction showerhead and a timer on the hot water is of great help ~~ the system really prefers not to have to deal with hundreds of gallons of water all at once.

We don't use any special products; our septic system is going on 22 years old. We've never had a problem with it and get it pumped every two years according to city requirements. One thing we do, though, is go light on the garbage disposal. I usually peel vegetables into the sink (lined with newspaper) and throw them into our compost. I never liked putting any kind of oil down the drain.

You might consider an additive such as septic helper as well. We use it on our current home and have never experienced problems. You dump it down there by way of the commode and hope that it works. I guess it does as we have been using it for a long time now with no worries.

Here is a link that might be useful: septic helper

We use Persil laundry detergent and all different dish detergents. For TP we use Scotts.

My DH, a septic installer and designer, says the amount of water matters more. If you do a lot of laundry you might want to get a front loader washer. We also have a Bosch dishwasher which uses less water. Definitely don't remove the restrictor on the shower heads. No or little bleach (we use Oxyclean, never bleach), no grease, etc. Our town does not allow garbage disposals and my DH agrees with that.

Some septics will last much pretty forever no matter what you do if you have really well draining soil. We do not (we have horrible clay, typical for our area), so we are cautious even though there's only the two of use and we have a 4 bedroom septic.

A great book on septic systems is "The Septic System Owner's Manual". it is basically a primer on everything related to septic systems and their usage. A good reference book, too, as to how you might want to design your system for your particular circumstances. There is even a chapter on graywater systems.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Septic System Owner's Manual - Amazon.com

We were told by the company who installed ours to not use powder detergents. We switched to liquid laundry and dishwasher detergent. We also limit what we put down the garbage disposal...we rarely use the disposal.

the biggest thing is to remind all the females of the house that other than toilet paper if it did not enter your body in your mouth, and exit your body thru a normal waste process, then it does not go in the toilet!!!! no feminine hygeine products should be flushed.

as far as kitchen/laundry go, limit the grease as much as possible. don't go over board with bleach. and don't leave water running all day long.

the solids int eh tank stay there until they break down. the water pretty much just goes on out in teh field once the tank fills(and no matter what you think the tank will always be full except for a couple days immediately following pumping), and if you run too much water you flood the field and stop it's ability to absorb.

Our installer said one of the worst things is food from the garbage disposal. Also, do not walk or play over the top of the leach field area - don't drive ATV's or bikes over either. (I realize you hafta mow)

I've heard that fabric softener might slime up the leach field walls,stopping evaporation, but don't know if it's true

I have had septic tanks since 1980. Never ever had a problem with a single one of them (there have been 3 total at different locations). I have never had one pumped and never used any septic additives. A properly designed and functioning septic tank should not ever need to be pumped. I do limit how much bleach I use, don't flush harsh chemicals, DO flush feminine hygiene products and always have (they are totally biodegradable), do not use a garbage disposal (food is very slow to break down and will clog the system), never dump grease or oils down the drain. Also, do not drive heavy equipment across the drain field, although occasionally driving a car across the drain field won't hurt it. Just don't do it on a regular basis.

In general then, a riding mower ok, tractor/brushhog not ok?

Part of it depends on the type of septic you have. We don't have a standard leach bed with crushed stone and pipes. We have these things that look like mattresses. We did this because it reduced the size of the bed (and sand needed) by half. But they can't be driven on and the area needs to be treated more carefully than a stone bed. DH says it is generally ok to drive across a normal system occassionally, but if you will be driving over it frequently it needs to be constructed with a stronger grade pipe. A small tractor can drive over a standard leach field (but not a driveway, like to a barn), it cann't drive over ours. We won't even use a ride-mower over ours, but they are definitely ok over a standard field. General yard use (walking, playing, etc.) is fine over a leach field.

All of these posts mention a leach field. Our septic system has sprinklers that go off every so often in the back of our property. Anyone else have these? My 12 yr old daughter calls it the tinkle sprinkle! LOL!!

no sprinklers in my area, but they are mandatory in other areas.

but if you will be driving over it frequently it needs to be constructed with a stronger grade pipe

around here it is illegal to install a field drain line anywhere that will have vehicle traffic. of course, they can't stop you from driving across your own yard, but if you create a driveway across the field they can (and have) condemn your home as unsafe and force you to move out until teh drive is removed and the field repaired if necessary. heck the state of MS won't even allow you to place a gravel walking path across the field!

Concerning driving over the field, our leach pipes are way down, something like 20'. The responses here im assuming all have shallow leach fields? Is it that driving over will compact the soils over the piping and affect it that way and not so much affecting the pipes if down low? A little confused here? Little help please! The reason im asking is that we wont be driving in the area, but have a small backhoe that we will be doing some clearing and landscaping around the area of the leach field. Thanks!

We have an Infiltrator Chamber System rather than a leach field.

Claire

Ny husband and I have lived here for over 5 years and have never pumped the septic tank. We divert our washing machine water (gray water) outside where it waters a pecan tree (bald cypress would also be good for that purpose). In any case, I don't use bleach much and I go easy on detergents. We don't have a garbage disposal, but do have a dishwasher. We compost our vegetable scraps and I am careful not to put oil or grease down the sink. We run a riding mower over the septic field, but I wouldn't drive a tractor or even drive our pickup over it. I use benign cleaning products like vinegar and water or baking soda for the most part and, in general, am very cautious about what enters the septic tank. When you move from municipal sewage systems to your own sewage system, you become much more aware of that part of household life, and that's a good thing.

in my area(no frost line) it is illegal for the trencvhes to be deeper than 36" to undisturbed soil. then they must have 1' of gravel, the pipe, another 1' gravel, then finally 1' of NATIVE SOIL to grade.

in places where the ground actually freezes, i would imagine the increased depth would allow for a little more driving.

BTW, my field is perf'ed white PVC and it holds up fine to me driving over it. the green pipe is thinner and certainly won't hold up. some fields are actually done with the flexible black pipe used for downspout drains, and those barely handle a durn rider over them! so, yes, the type of pipe makes a difference in how IT holds up. the thing is that the gravel and fill gets compacted no matter the type of pipe and this is what causes most problems.

The line from house to tank is below frost requirements and has the proper fall, but we were real close to having to use a pump due to sloped property. Reflecting back, im just a little confused as why they went so deep from tank to field. 20' might be a stretch, but our lot prep guy & helper looked like dwarfs when layimg the three pipes down there. It was deep. Hopefully that's a good thing, but thanks to this thread, i have some questions for our lot prep dude.

Re: the septic system that is 20' deep (really, 20', that's 2 stories)...where I am septics must be built at original grade. Only the top soil, NO subsoil, is scraped away (this is also why we have a pump-up, because the best spot for the field is a little higher than the house). Our area generally only has a few inches of topsoil. I guess in theory you could have a low spot in the yard and put the system there at original grade and then cover it deeply, but then you'd have to have those ugly pipes sticking up to deliver oxygen to the field. Plus, all that sand/fill over the field would cost a darn fortune.

The septic designer you use should be able to explain the rules, etc., in your area.

A pump is no big deal. You have a two-chamber tank with a pump in the small chamber. There will be an alarm in your house that will go off if the pump isn't working. We live in a very cold climate and haven't had any issues with it. The only time the alarm has ever gone off was when they tested it.

Thanks Sue, I'll give the lot prep guy a call and get some info. The tank itself isn't all that deep, but then there's a big drop down to the field pipes which is extremely deep. They only put a certain amount of base sand over the pipes in the field before filling back filling with native soil. The lot prep guy is the only sub so far that we have been a little shaky about. I should also find out the m.o. from the building dept as well. Thanks again!

I had never heard of this 'no garbage disposal' thing until I came here.

Our system was installed about a month ago. The local Board of Health prohibits garbage disposals on septic systems, regardless of system design...a lot of people have their kitchens plumbed and wired for disposals however, and then put them in after they get their certificate of occupancy...we were going to do this (and take it easy on what we put down the drain) until we met with the septic installer and he was absolutely adamant that disposals (no matter how lightly used) adversely tax the systems, and are a really bad idea....we're bummed because we've always had disposals, and can't imagine living without one, but the installer convinced us...

The system (Eljen) components are really cool though, eco-friendly, super efficient, and made of recycled materials...

Here is a link that might be useful: Eljen

No garbage disposal issue here but what concerns me about our septic system (age unknown, but terra cotta type) is that the former owner disconnected the old gray water system which was evidently over loaded and re-routed the washing machine line to the septic tank. As many of you know a washing machine generates quite a bit of lint with each load and today's machines lack a lint catcher so all that lint goes down the drain. Some of it is composed of synthetic fibers which do not breakdown like cotton and other natural (cellulose) fibers. My biggest fear is that these synthetic fibers will eventually clog the field, hope I'm wrong about that but I'm planning a new gray water system down the road. I don't know why washing machine manufacturers stopped making lint catchers? Perhaps I worry too much?
Remember when these used to have a sombrero-like lint catcher which sat atop the adjitator? I can't even find a picture on one on the net.

Instead of making a gray water system I may install a basin catch like this once my new laundry room is built next year :

my house has 2 septics, 1 for teh bathrooms and 1 for the kitchen and laundry rooms. we have a GD and use it often, with no adverse effects. we had teh kitchen septic pumped last year and it had 30 years of grease in it. the septic guy said this was from folks draining meat inteh sink and washing greasy pots/pans without pouring off the excess grease.

you can use a GD on septic, but use it wisely. don't send everythign down it. scrape the majority of food off dishes, then rinse the remnants in teh GD. this is no different than putting the dish inteh dishwasher, as they pump the food scraps out and down the drain as well. you just have to use common sense and not send large stuff down it.

Mojua,
Your septic installer sounds like he would be 100% in agreement with my DH. We used Eljen as well (it reduced the size of our field by 50%).

To others, you shouldn't advise people that a GD is ok if you don't know anything about their area and why GDs are not allowed. GDs create fine particles that can float into the leach field, clogging it and causing it to prematurely fail. If you live in an area with great (sandy) soil this may not be an issue for you because the liquids will just percolate down and the sand will act as a giant leach field. If you live in an area with a lot of clay it is another matter. Towns don't ban GDs for no reason. If installers, who make money off installing new systems and fixing broken ones, tell you not to use a GD you should listen. Incidentally, flour is very bad also (which is why bakeries are required to have special filters installed).

vgkg, DH read somewhere that the lint of synthetics would affect the field, so he bought some kind of filter system that's intended for washing machines. It's an acrylic cylinder (with a filter inside) that's about 1' high and 6" wide that he ran the drain hose into. It collects quite a lot of lint.

Anne

Sue, i agree that soemtimes soil conditions don't allow for it. but many areas ban them jsut because someone else does. if your area bans them, then don't do it. but making the blanket statement that you cannot do it is just as bad as making the statement that you can! we have a good layer of topsoil here, but it is over clay that consumes the sandy loam over time. in some areas of my yard teh SL is 24" deep, in others the surface is clay.

and i don't know about you but my GD does not create fine particles. just smaller bits of whatever is put in it. you keep the COLD water running during and for a minute or so after use and everythign goes to the tank. the food will digest in the bacteria and go away. no different than the corn/certain other foods you eat being put in teh toilet. except after passing thru a GD the food particles will be smaller.

We live in northern VA, and we've had the same septic system since we bought our house 15 years ago.

We do use our garbage disposal a lot during the winter months. I compost mostly during the warmer months, but I hate going out to the compost bin in the cold.

I always flushed feminine hygiene products, and have never used any special products in the kitchen or laundry.

We get our tank cleaned out every 5 years as required by the county, and we've never had any problems at all.

Thanks for the tip Anne, I've heard of certain filters that can be bought for in-line placement. But I'm cheap and lazy so may go the old hosery socking on the end of the effuent hose in the sink route :).

"To others, you shouldn't advise people that a GD is ok if you don't know anything about their area and why GDs are not allowed."

Any more than you should advise people that it's not okay.

Over 20 years on septic systems, four different properties.

1. Garbage disposals can overload a septic system. That is the primary reason they are banned in some places. We use ours sparingly with no problem.

2. If you didn't eat it or drink it, it doesn't belong in the toilet is a good rule to follow. Tell your guests, too.

3. Things not to put down the drain, beyond the obvious chemicals. Eggshells, coffee grounds, finely ground anything.

4. Septic treatments are a complete waste of money. Septic systems work with naturally occurring bacteria. They come free.

5. Tanks should occasionally be pumped. The risk of not pumping is a clogged drainfield and/or sewage backing up in the house. How often the tank should be pumped is determined by a lot of variables, or the law, in some places.

6. Don't plant anything but grass over the drainfield. Don't drive over it unless you absolutely have to, and then don't do it all the time.

7. Don't let any heavy vehicle drive over the septic tank, ever.

8. Lint filters on washer drains are a very good idea. Grey water dry wells are even better, but are now illegal in a lot of places.

9. Use the detergent specified by the dishwasher manufacturer, usually powder. Avoid cheap powder detergents, as they sometimes contain sand.

Don't misinterpret what I said. I never said GD are never ok. I said:

"Our town does not allow garbage disposals and my DH agrees with that." [DH is a septic installer and designer and a CE]

"To others, you shouldn't advise people that a GD is ok if you don't know anything about their area and why GDs are not allowed. GDs create fine particles that can float into the leach field, clogging it and causing it to prematurely fail. If you live in an area with great (sandy) soil this may not be an issue for you because the liquids will just percolate down and the sand will act as a giant leach field. If you live in an area with a lot of clay it is another matter. Towns don't ban GDs for no reason. If installers, who make money off installing new systems and fixing broken ones, tell you not to use a GD you should listen."

Garbage disposals are not good for leach fields, pure and simple. You may never have an issue. Or you might. But if they aren't allowed in your area then that is the last word on it as far as I'm concerned. Code is code.

thetews, I strongly recommend you stop flushing of femiinin products. I can guarantee you many of them are likely in your field. water will filter through them but if once you get enough of them in an area, they will start clogging the system.

My next door neighbor's wife was flushing them and they got lucky. Their's plugged at the "T" box going into field after 3 years of use. They got a back-up and there was no disputing the clog source. When the dug up part of the system and opened the pipe to the "T", they had shooting tampons, and I am not exaggerating.

TRUDYMOM,

You might want to retain this link as a reference for any questions you may have on your septic system. Pretty comprehensive.

http://www.inspect-ny.com/septbook.htm

Perryrip

My DH (the plumber) would throttle me if he caught me flushing feminine products.

We were digging up our septic system 6 months after buying our house. The previous owner was flushing baby wipes. They never made it to the septic tank. They clogged the pipe going to the tank.

Our friend the septic expert says no paper products other than toilet paper. He also said to use liquid laundry and dishwasher detergent.

I don't see how you can never pump a septic tank. The solids have to go somewhere and you don't want them in the drain fields (or seepage pits in our case). I'd rather spend the $100 or so to get our pump every couple years than the big $$$ it will take to dig new drain fields etc.

I figure better safe than sorry. Why risk my septic tank because I am too lazy to wrap up a feminine product and put it in a trash can.

I do not mean to hijack the thread but does anyone know how difficult it is to pump a tank if the outside access to it is underground and not visible?
In our area, it is not code to have a visible outside access or cap.
When we built our house I argued with the builder over the tank stating I would need to have it pumped from time to time and I had no outside access to the tank. He stated it could be pumped from a pipe we have in the basement that is for a future toilet.
The county inspector sided with my builder.
I have visions of my landscaped yard being dug up just to find the cap to the tank.

Our septic tank is also underground and not visible. We were advised to keep a record of measurements to one of the manholes in case of future pump-outs.

I took those measurements, and my eyeball remembrance, and placed a paver over the likely location. The septic system as-built drawing also shows location, although you would have to scale the measurements.

Sure enough, we needed to pump the tank, from both manholes, and the firm excavated the first manhole as I had located it. The second manhole was close by, and some plantings had to be moved. Now I keep a couple of big stones over the manhole locations for the next pumping.

Hopefully you have some drawings, from permits or as-builts, to give you likely location. Or you can relate your memories from construction to a tree or whatever. If you're a believer and/or talented dowser, you might be able to find the tank.

Claire

NEVER landscape over the tank or field. grass only, or you will regret it. in my area we don't have basements due to high ground water and almost all tank lids are below grade. you simply mark where the lid is and when time comes dig it up so they can access it. the pumpers here hate it when someone has a clean out or similar access for pumping, as it never allows them to be 100% sure the tank is free of sludge nor does it allow for visual inspection of the baffles. field failures are caused by solids getting in the field lines, and teh baffles prevent much of this.

Thanks for the replies.

I do have a copy of the permit from DHEC and also know within 5 feet of where the tank is.

I only have grass over the tank and leach field.
I have never seen how a tank is pumped out and thought the whole area would have to be dug up.

I'm curious - why only liquid detergents?

My septic guy said the granules of the powders do not dissolve very well and clog up in the tank.

and how about hair color, i.e, when it's rinsed out of your hair? (I've never had a septic system until now, and all of sudden all the little things I never thought about are occurring to me as they come up.)

Hair dye is fine. Just avoid solids that are light enough to remain suspended in the water: they can enter the drain field and clog up the holes.

I'm EXTREMELY skeptical that powder degerents could do this, sounds like a myth in the making to me. Would P&G or any other big corporation want to run the risk of having to replace every septic field in the country? Can you imagine the size of the class action suit that would amount to? Would make asbestos look like petty cash.

OTOH, I can see some legitimacy to the lint arguement, though I've never heard of a screen of this sort in my area, but will discuss it if my plumber ever returns. Perhaps I'm not seeing clearly, but it seems to me that when the screen plugs, you could have a geyser in the laundry room-- our washer drain pipe would occasionally freeze when I was a kid, and it was not pretty.

As to pumping: in theory, the solids will only get into the drain field a molecule at a time. If you have extremely good drainage [sandy soil], a well designed system, and a high liquid to solid ratio entering the tank, pumping may almost never be necessary [almost, because some material will inevitably get down there that will be too heavy to enter the field-- grains of sand, for instance-- slowly reducing the capacity of the tank]. Molecule by molecule, the nastiness will go back into the ground.

But if there are more solids entering than molecules of former solids leaving, they'll begin to enter the field in much larger than molecule size bits, clogging it, necessitating major repairs.

Pumping could be considered cheap insurance. Doing it too often will ultimately cost less than too rarely.

oruboris, I checked with DH to get the link to the filter we have. He also gave me another link that provides info regarding some of the questions others have raised.

The link for "What leads to drain field clogging and expensive drainfield repairs" is http://www.inspect-ny.com/septic/biomat.htm

Anne

Here is a link that might be useful: Filtrol washing machine filter

Cool: that's a filter that won't cause water to spew.