Septic

coalkirk wrote:... don't use chlorine bleach ... No kitchen grease down the drain. No tissues, paper towels, qtips, cig butts, condoms, feminine products, etc.

I would enforce those rules at my house, but wife-beating is a crime.

Sorry, we are a family of 5, 2 adults and three kids... We have a glass jar for the grease from cooking and compost all left over veggie, coffee grounds, egg shells, etc....

Well damn, outhouses are still within code up here--speaking of compost--run it by the wife & kids I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself

A friend had a new septic system installed. He said the sludge was to great in the bottom so he now has a second one with a 3 way valve, the sludge should deteorate after 5 years without use then he can switch back and forth. His went 30 years, new system was over $20,000 with the engineering studies.

Holy *censored* ( no pun intended) .... If I was hit with that bill, I'd be shoveling at midnight .... and there would be some floaters in the swamp here. That's all I have to say ......

Also refrain from using any chemical drain cleaners for the same reason. Use only plungers or compressed air. A known natural drain cleaner is baking soda with vinegar. Won't hurt a thing & won't mess with your septic's chemistry......

info right from the health dept
http://www.health.ny.gov/publications/3208/

Obviously, the more you poop, the more you pump.

I have a family of 5. I had a new 1500 gallon tank and sand filter (in lieu of a leach field due to poor perk) installed when I bought the house. I waited about 10 years for the first pumping. This was too long and on the brink of causing problems. Septic people recommend every 3 years. I am slowly becomming an empty nester and am going to pump every 5 years.