Where'm I gonna live?

[Undertoad]

Bringin' this one back,

For the last few weeks there has been raw sewage draining into my back yard. I figured this out when one section of grass was MUCH MUCH greener and thicker than the rest of the yard.

I reported this to the RE management, and they sent a dude out who handed me a bottle of something and told me to pour the stuff in the shitter and flush twice.

It turns out that this is a septic system, and septic systems require maintenance. I never had one before. It turns out the emergency septic treatment liquid is a bunch of bacteria and enzymes that eat sewage sludge. The stuff goes down there and converts your black waste ooze into something more... drainable?

These bacteria literally eat shit and die.

Anyway, the treatment didn't work and there is still sewage in my backyard, so I just went and bought a bottle of the stuff myself. It says flush twice, but then don't flush again, and try not to drain any water for 24 hours. The dude didn't tell me that, so I'm guessing that I inadvertently messed up the first treatment.

24 hours began after the morning duke. Wish me luck.

[zippyt]

Septic tanks need to be pumped out every few years ,
Shitty Job , but some body has to do it

[Griff]

I've been told that the box o' bacterium is bull. You just have to pump it every few years and don't flush anything that kills bacteria, so heavy use of chlorine (bleach etc.) is a no no.

[jimhelm]

I can't begin to tell you how pleased I am that you refer to your feces as Duke

[Aliantha]

We've never had our septic cleaned out. In fact, I've been told specifically not to have this done because it upsets the balance of the septic system.

We get our grease trap cleaned out every few months. That separates the grey water from the sludge and stuff that goes down the drains in the form of dirt and (obviously) grease.

Maybe you guys don't have grease traps over there and that's why they have to be cleaned out?

[Griff]

That's exactly why. The Great State of Pennsylvania, in its infinite wisdom, insists that grey water go into the septic system. Toad has an old timey leach field and may actually have a separate grey water route. My thoroughly modern super duper PA code version has a three chamber tank with pump to feed the great sand mound. All of which may eventually fail because we need to send all soap and grease into the dookie tank.

[zippyt]

Grease and oil does Not go down the drain !!!!!!
We have a tank and leech field(put in by the now county judge ),
Problem is the ground around here don, t perk (absorb liguid ) for shit ,
And there is a few damp spots, so i fully expect a neighbor to nark us out again to the health dept , again

[footfootfoot]

We have (I had--w00t) a cesspit, c.1850. Just a big dome of dry stacked shale about 8 feet deep and 15 feet in diameter. Gets pumped out about every year now since it is failing, when we get really heavy rains it fills with ground water and takes a few days to drain back down. Most of our neighbors' cesspits have failed in the past few years and they've replaced them. Costs about 5-7 grand. At $200 a pump out, you could do two a year and it would still take you 12 to 15 years to break even.

The yeast/bacteria stuff sort of works. The guys who pump your tank will tell you it's BS. Yeast and some fungi will eat oil and grease, probably some bacteria too. What happens with the cesspits is the dry stack stone gets packed in with solids and won't percolate the liquid through.

[zippyt]

A neighbor has 2 55 gallon drums and a pipe into the woods , ssssssssss not many folks know

[lumberjim]

I think your definition of neighbor differs from mine.

[tw]

A tank collects solids. Then liquids flow out to the leach field. Bacteria will decompose only some solids. Eventually the tank must be cleaned out.

Bacteria is to increase the decomposition. But once tank or field water is observed on the surface, then nothing short of digging can fix it.

In some cases, it might be a broken or blocked pipe from the tank to the field. In worst cases, the leach field must be dug up and reconstructed. Once water appears, then no 'magic bottle' will fix it. Especially with so little rain. And when earth in that venue is sand - soil that perks quite well.

[xoxoxoBruce]

tw knows his shit.

[monster]

you need a gong farmer

[Undertoad]

There is still water on the surface, but no water at the top of the vent pipe, so I'm hopeful. It's one week so far, supposed to wait two weeks to prove it's better or not better.

[wolf]

In the meantime, don't walk barefoot on the squishy part of the lawn.