In the city everyone hooks up to the sewer system. No such system exists in the country, so most people use septic tanks.
Decades ago these tanks were made of concrete or thick metal. Polypropalene ones and concrete ones are available now.
Kinds of Waste Water
Two grades of waste water flow out of the house. One, the grey water, is from sinks and the bathtub. This water has mostly water, dirt and soap in it.
The second comes from the toilet. This has urine and waste in it.
Many old houses like mine have two sewer systems. One takes out the grey water. The other takes the sewer water to the septic tank.
Taking Care of Septic Tanks
Since septic tanks let solid matter in and keep it there, the less that goes in, the longer it takes to fill it up. Water flows through the tank and out to a leach field.
One way to cut down on the solids going in is to not flush paper down. Instead this paper is burned or put out with the trash.
According to Daniel Black, owner of A-1 Septic, the tank should be pumped out every three to five years. This keeps it from packing so solid it is hard to empty.
The solids are taken out to be sprayed out on hay fields as fertilizer. It breaks down quickly to grow grass well. A field isn’t cut for over a month after spraying so the waste is washed by rain and broken down by bacteria and the sun.
Old Septic Tanks
I’ve learned a lot about this lately because my tank needed to be pumped out. It had seemed just fine for three decades and was easy to ignore.
The crew came out. First, they had to find the tank. They have a little camera on a long line that goes up the pipes to the septic tank exit. This can be found by a device like a homing device.
Second, the dirt is taken off of the top of the tank. The smart way is to have a clean out pipe, but mine didn’t have one. This is not unusual for old houses.
Metal tanks have a big defect. The metal rusts. My tank had almost rusted away.
Now I need a new septic tank.