Septic Tank

[WEDWDW]

How often do you empty your tank and what do you usually pay?

 

[lulu2]

Our county requires us to pump every 3 years. It costs about $75.

 

[greeneyedchick]

5 years, $500 dollars. I live near Orlando and have 1 large and 1 small septic tank for a 5000 square foot house.

 

[princesscinderella]

In south Florida I think I paid $400 last time and I empty it every 4-5 years

 

[jeff_h]

...and for those who have had them for a long time, have you tried the Rid-X/Green Gobbler treatments and if so have they made a difference in the interval that tanks need to be emptied? We just moved into a rural house with a septic tank and are trying those but wondering if they are useful or just flushing money down the toilet.

 

[sam_gordon]

...and for those who have had them for a long time, have you tried the Rid-X/Green Gobbler treatments and if so have they made a difference in the interval that tanks need to be emptied? We just moved into a rural house with a septic tank and are trying those but wondering if they are useful or just flushing money down the toilet.

When we got our house we were told those are a waste of money.

As far as how frequently to empty, are there different sizes of tanks based on sizes of house? I think we figured out we need to empty ours every 5 years... don't wait for the 6th (and don't ask us how we know). But how much use it gets will also affect how often it needs emptied. A house with 5 people in it will fill it up quicker than a house with two people.

 

[willowsnn3]

It's been awhile, probably 5 years. $200 or $300 dollars. My daughter pays so I really don't know.

 

[goofyernmost]

When we got our house we were told those are a waste of money.

As far as how frequently to empty, are there different sizes of tanks based on sizes of house? I think we figured out we need to empty ours every 5 years... don't wait for the 6th (and don't ask us how we know). But how much use it gets will also affect how often it needs emptied. A house with 5 people in it will fill it up quicker than a house with two people.

Actually Rid-X worked very well. Not being used to septic tanks when we moved into our house, it completely escaped our minds and after about 8 years started to have a problem. The tank had overflowed solids into the leach field clogging a lot of the drainage holes in the pipes. We had the tank pumped and hoped for the best, but it was a gamble and 3 years later we were having the problems again. I don't remember who, but somebody suggest trying Rid-X so I figured I had nothing to lose so I did. After that I had it pumped out every 5 years and never had the problem again. We lived there for 25 years.

 

[kymom99]

...and for those who have had them for a long time, have you tried the Rid-X/Green Gobbler treatments and if so have they made a difference in the interval that tanks need to be emptied? We just moved into a rural house with a septic tank and are trying those but wondering if they are useful or just flushing money down the toilet.

Our plumber recommends rid-x

 

[amylevan]

The general rule is every 3-5 years, varying based on how many people live in the home. We are a family of 4 and do it every 3 year to avoid any potential problems, and it’s usually $300-$400.

We do not use rid-x.

 

[princesscinderella]

...and for those who have had them for a long time, have you tried the Rid-X/Green Gobbler treatments and if so have they made a difference in the interval that tanks need to be emptied? We just moved into a rural house with a septic tank and are trying those but wondering if they are useful or just flushing money down the toilet.

My daughter just did a science project for school about composting (it was super gross and smelly). However we used as one of the possible accelerants to composition septic tank enzymes and they worked very quickly and liquified the solids after a week. I have started using them in our tank after seeing those results.

 

[seven dwarfs]

Built our house 22 yrs ago. My husband is a plumber/HVAC person by trade. There is a salon attached to our home so we use the septic more then normal I would guess. We have never had our septic pumped. He believes in natural up keep. We use rid x. Have never had an issue. I thought he was nuts. So far he's not. Hopefully writing this doesn't come back to bite me.

 

[WEDcryoHEAD]

Every 2 years. $350 Have used the same company for over 20 years. I think prices are higher but we get a discounted rate.

 

[kymom99]

Built our house 22 yrs ago. My husband is a plumber/HVAC person by trade. There is a salon attached to our home so we use the septic more then normal I would guess. We have never had our septic pumped. He believes in natural up keep. We use rid x. Have never had an issue. I thought he was nuts. So far he's not. Hopefully writing this doesn't come back to bite me.

I was going to say I haven’t heard of people around here having them pumped. I grew up with septic. My sister has it now and I’ll have it soon. My plumber just said use rid-x. He said the cleaners and soaps we use kill the bacteria and it needs to be replaced. He also said use the right kind of TP.

 

[firefly_ris]

Every 3 years, about $125 bucks. 2100 square feet with 4 bathrooms, 3 of which used regularly.

I don't use treatments.

The septic system is original to the home, 1963.


My parents in MD have had theirs pumped maybe one time. 4500 square foot built 1989. They also don't use treatment.

 

[dez1978]

Growing up we had a septic tank and I only remember it being done once.

Where we live currently in the middle of nowhereville USA, our ground has too much clay to leech properly, so we have to have a lagoon. In 9 years, we've had zero maintanence on that.

 

[SC Minnie]

Built our house 22 yrs ago. My husband is a plumber/HVAC person by trade. There is a salon attached to our home so we use the septic more then normal I would guess. We have never had our septic pumped. He believes in natural up keep. We use rid x. Have never had an issue. I thought he was nuts. So far he's not. Hopefully writing this doesn't come back to bite me.

We had been in our house 22 years before we had to have our pumped and the only reason was the toilet in the 2nd bathroom upstairs was running for a long time without anyone noticing (we don't use that bathroom often as it was DDs).

 

[luvnwdwgal]

Our house’s septic tank is from the 50’s. We’ve lived here over 40 years and have only had it pumped once and that was in 2001 before our son’s graduation party just to make sure that we didn’t have any issues with so many people being here. We have never used Rid-X or anything like that because it causes more harm than good long term.

 

[mrodgers]

Built our house 22 yrs ago. My husband is a plumber/HVAC person by trade. There is a salon attached to our home so we use the septic more then normal I would guess. We have never had our septic pumped. He believes in natural up keep. We use rid x. Have never had an issue. I thought he was nuts. So far he's not. Hopefully writing this doesn't come back to bite me.

Not an expert but I understand it as, you should never need to pump out a properly operating septic system.

It's the soaps, detergents, and cleaning liquids that cause you to need to pump out a septic tank.

We were not to code. When we moved in the laundry and bathroom tub was drained to the sump pump in the corner and pumped to the ditch at the corner of the yard. That's a LOT of soaps and detergent not going into our septic.

 

[tzolkin]

Built our house 22 yrs ago... We have never had our septic pumped.

Our first house had no access to pump the septic tank, so we never pumped it in the 11 years we lived there. The previous owners had purchased the house in 1941 and I'm certain they hadn't pumped it either. Not sure when the septic was actually installed (house was 3500sqft built in 1886).

We never experienced any issues, but it was always a bit of a worry for me in the back of my mind. (What if this system fails, especially during the winter when we get 12feet of snow?!) We are a fairly environmentally-conscious family so I think that helped because we just didn't happen to do any of the things that would cause a potential problem.

I was going to say I haven’t heard of people around here having them pumped. I grew up with septic. My sister has it now and I’ll have it soon. My plumber just said use rid-x. He said the cleaners and soaps we use kill the bacteria and it needs to be replaced. He also said use the right kind of TP.

Yes, I think most of the issues people have are from the different behaviors families tend to have now vs in the past. These things are all problematic for septic systems, but the majority of people today find these normal activities: dumping food in the garbage disposal/toilet, flushing feminine products or wipes, paper that doesn't break down, heavy-duty or antibacterial cleaners, and simply using too much water (daily laundry, long or multiple daily showers, etc).