Hiya,
My septic drain field failed last year and I had to re-route it to a
different location. The septic was approx. 13 years old with only moderate
use (ie. no more than 2 people living in the house). I see most of the
houses around me are having to redo theirs as well. The soil is a very
sandy soil (we live in New Mexico). I have heard that adding bleach to the
drain field (not the tank) will help to break up the field as it becomes
saturated and thereby keep the field intact for some time. I don't really
like the idea more so from an enviromental standpoint but was wondering if
this is true? I've heard a lot of stories of how to keep a septic working
well including throwing a dead rabbit into it once a year so naturally I'm
skeptical about this latest "remedy". Any advice?
Thanks much,
jlc

James "Cubby" Culbertson writes:

I don't really
like the idea more so from an enviromental standpoint but was
wondering if this is true?

Strictly superstition without any physical basis.

"James "Cubby" Culbertson" wrote in message
. ..
Hiya,
My septic drain field failed last year and I had to re-route it to a
different location. The septic was approx. 13 years old with only
moderate use (ie. no more than 2 people living in the house). I see most
of the houses around me are having to redo theirs as well. The soil is a
very sandy soil (we live in New Mexico). I have heard that adding bleach
to the drain field (not the tank) will help to break up the field as it
becomes saturated and thereby keep the field intact for some time. I
don't really like the idea more so from an enviromental standpoint but was
wondering if this is true? I've heard a lot of stories of how to keep a
septic working well including throwing a dead rabbit into it once a year
so naturally I'm skeptical about this latest "remedy". Any advice?
Thanks much,
jlc

You couldn't possibly put enough bleach in that septic system to affect
anything - at least without the EPA or the FBI taking notice.

I have heard of adding hydrogen peroxide in large amounts.

"James "Cubby" Culbertson" wrote in message
. ..
Hiya,
My septic drain field failed last year and I had to re-route it to a
different location. The septic was approx. 13 years old with only
moderate use (ie. no more than 2 people living in the house). I see most
of the houses around me are having to redo theirs as well. The soil is a
very sandy soil (we live in New Mexico). I have heard that adding bleach
to the drain field (not the tank) will help to break up the field as it
becomes saturated and thereby keep the field intact for some time. I
don't really like the idea more so from an enviromental standpoint but was
wondering if this is true? I've heard a lot of stories of how to keep a
septic working well including throwing a dead rabbit into it once a year
so naturally I'm skeptical about this latest "remedy". Any advice?
Thanks much,
jlc

On Apr 21, 2:11 am, "Pat" wrote:
I have heard of adding hydrogen peroxide in large amounts.

"James "Cubby" Culbertson" wrote in messagenews:YbGdnfcp3Ze85rTbnZ2dnUVZ_rqhnZ2d@comca st.com...



Hiya,
My septic drain field failed last year and I had to re-route it to a
different location. The septic was approx. 13 years old with only
moderate use (ie. no more than 2 people living in the house). I see most
of the houses around me are having to redo theirs as well. The soil is a
very sandy soil (we live in New Mexico). I have heard that adding bleach
to the drain field (not the tank) will help to break up the field as it
becomes saturated and thereby keep the field intact for some time. I
don't really like the idea more so from an enviromental standpoint but was
wondering if this is true? I've heard a lot of stories of how to keep a
septic working well including throwing a dead rabbit into it once a year
so naturally I'm skeptical about this latest "remedy". Any advice?
Thanks much,
jlc- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Large amounts of bleach or peroxide in tank will kill bacteria and
clog field. Large amounts of these chemicals on sandy soil over the
field will turn it into a desert
Frank

"James \"Cubby\" Culbertson" wrote:

I have heard that adding bleach to the
drain field (not the tank) will help to break up the field as it becomes
saturated and thereby keep the field intact for some time.

Septic fields fail over time because the suspended matter in the fluid
eventually plugs up the field. Nothing is going to prevent that. The field size
requirements have greatly increased over the years, so new fields will last
longer than the smaller older ones.

The best thing to do to preserve a field is to make sure nothing besides toilet
paper, body waste and water go into the septic system...

On Fri, 20 Apr 2007 20:47:47 -0600, "James \"Cubby\" Culbertson"
wrote:

Hiya,
My septic drain field failed last year and I had to re-route it to a
different location. The septic was approx. 13 years old with only moderate
use (ie. no more than 2 people living in the house). I see most of the
houses around me are having to redo theirs as well. The soil is a very
sandy soil (we live in New Mexico). I have heard that adding bleach to the
drain field (not the tank) will help to break up the field as it becomes
saturated and thereby keep the field intact for some time. I don't really
like the idea more so from an enviromental standpoint but was wondering if
this is true? I've heard a lot of stories of how to keep a septic working
well including throwing a dead rabbit into it once a year so naturally I'm
skeptical about this latest "remedy". Any advice?
Thanks much,
jlc


You need to examine the evidence and see why it failed. My first
guess was that it was improperly built with inferior parts and
improperly constructed.

And while you are examining the evidence, you have already started
the repair process. Grab your shovel and get busy.

In article , "James
\"Cubby\" Culbertson" ("James \"Cubby\"
Culbertson" ) says...
Hiya,
My septic drain field failed last year and I had to re-route it to a
different location. The septic was approx. 13 years old with only moderate
use (ie. no more than 2 people living in the house). I see most of the
houses around me are having to redo theirs as well.

There is something very wrong with your septic system. I can't imagine
how a drain field could get plugged that fast, unless there are no
baffles in your septic tank. If you haven't already done it, you need
to have it pumped and inspected. Your drain field failed because solids
somehow got pushed out of the tank into the lines. All solids are
supposed to stay in the tank, where they can be pumped out periodically.
The only thing that is supposed go into the drain field is liquid.

The soil is a very
sandy soil (we live in New Mexico).

This makes it even more astonishing that your drain field failed. How
often are you having the tank pumped? Two people on a 1500 gallon tank,
no garbage disposal, should be good for 7 years between pumping. If you
waited 13 years, that was obviously about 5 years too long.

Wait -- are you talking about a sand filter system? Those require
regular user maintenance, including back flushing and annual sand
replacement.

I have heard that adding bleach to the
drain field (not the tank) will help to break up the field as it becomes
saturated and thereby keep the field intact for some time.

It should take many years for a drain field to become saturated. It
should last at least 50 years. There is something wrong with your
system. I have heard that air injection will open up a plugged drain
field, but haven't ever seen it happen.

I don't really
like the idea more so from an enviromental standpoint but was wondering if
this is true? I've heard a lot of stories of how to keep a septic working
well including throwing a dead rabbit into it once a year so naturally I'm
skeptical about this latest "remedy". Any advice?

There are dozens of state-sponsored sites on the internet that give
excellent directions for maintaining a septic system. Only throw dead
animals in the septic system if you eat the animal first. My septic
system is mostly treated with dead cow and chicken, with the occasional
goose, turkey and sheep.


--
For email, replace firstnamelastinitial
with my first name and last initial.

"James "Cubby" Culbertson" wrote in message
. ..
Hiya,
My septic drain field failed last year and I had to re-route it to a
different location. The septic was approx. 13 years old with only
moderate use (ie. no more than 2 people living in the house). I see most
of the houses around me are having to redo theirs as well. The soil is a
very sandy soil (we live in New Mexico). I have heard that adding bleach
to the drain field (not the tank) will help to break up the field as it
becomes saturated and thereby keep the field intact for some time. I
don't really like the idea more so from an enviromental standpoint but was
wondering if this is true? I've heard a lot of stories of how to keep a
septic working well including throwing a dead rabbit into it once a year
so naturally I'm skeptical about this latest "remedy". Any advice?
Thanks much,
jlc


I had a septic field fail due to the output pipe breaking off inside the
septic tank. When the output pipe broke, it allowed soid matter to fill up
the field. We fixed the output pipe and replace the field with PVC pipe.
The original field was about 45 years old at the time. We moved out of the
house about 5 years ago and as far as I know, the field is still working
fine. A good running septic tank and field is the most enviromentally safe
system of waste disposal.

"Frank" wrote in message
ups.com...
Large amounts of bleach or peroxide in tank will kill bacteria and
clog field. Large amounts of these chemicals on sandy soil over the
field will turn it into a desert
Frank


As I said, it wouldn't be going in the tank...only the lines out into the
field. And I already live in the desert.

"deke" wrote in message
news
You need to examine the evidence and see why it failed. My first
guess was that it was improperly built with inferior parts and
improperly constructed.

And while you are examining the evidence, you have already started
the repair process. Grab your shovel and get busy.

As I said in my OP, the system has already been re-routed...about a year
ago. When we opened it all up, all the install work was fine. It's just
a matter of the soil solidifying way too fast. Most of the houses around
me are having to dig their's up as well.
Cheers,
cc

"Larry Caldwell" wrote in message
.. .
There is something very wrong with your septic system. I can't imagine
how a drain field could get plugged that fast, unless there are no
baffles in your septic tank. If you haven't already done it, you need
to have it pumped and inspected. Your drain field failed because solids
somehow got pushed out of the tank into the lines. All solids are
supposed to stay in the tank, where they can be pumped out periodically.
The only thing that is supposed go into the drain field is liquid.

I have a baffle system in the tank and we pump it yearly. The folks that
came out to inspect/quote replacement explained that with this soil, the
effluent mixes and basically forms a concrete around the pipes. I agree,
13 years is way too soon to see a failure but most of the neighbors around
me are having the very same issues.

The soil is a very
sandy soil (we live in New Mexico).
This makes it even more astonishing that your drain field failed. How
often are you having the tank pumped? Two people on a 1500 gallon tank,
no garbage disposal, should be good for 7 years between pumping. If you
waited 13 years, that was obviously about 5 years too long.

Every year. In fact that is soon to be a village ordinance as well that
tanks are pumped yearly.


Wait -- are you talking about a sand filter system? Those require
regular user maintenance, including back flushing and annual sand
replacement.

Nope.

I have heard that adding bleach to the
drain field (not the tank) will help to break up the field as it becomes
saturated and thereby keep the field intact for some time.

It should take many years for a drain field to become saturated. It
should last at least 50 years. There is something wrong with your
system. I have heard that air injection will open up a plugged drain
field, but haven't ever seen it happen.

I don't really
like the idea more so from an enviromental standpoint but was wondering
if
this is true? I've heard a lot of stories of how to keep a septic
working
well including throwing a dead rabbit into it once a year so naturally
I'm
skeptical about this latest "remedy". Any advice?

There are dozens of state-sponsored sites on the internet that give
excellent directions for maintaining a septic system. Only throw dead
animals in the septic system if you eat the animal first. My septic
system is mostly treated with dead cow and chicken, with the occasional
goose, turkey and sheep.

Thanks. I'll keep researching ways to extend it's life!

"James "Cubby" Culbertson" wrote in message
. ..

I have a baffle system in the tank and we pump it yearly. The folks that
came out to inspect/quote replacement explained that with this soil, the
effluent mixes and basically forms a concrete around the pipes.

don't know if gypsum will help but it does break up and soften clay and make
it more porous. might be worth a try.

"James "Cubby" Culbertson" wrote in message
. ..

"Larry Caldwell" wrote in message
.. .
There is something very wrong with your septic system. I can't imagine
how a drain field could get plugged that fast, unless there are no
baffles in your septic tank. If you haven't already done it, you need
to have it pumped and inspected. Your drain field failed because solids
somehow got pushed out of the tank into the lines. All solids are
supposed to stay in the tank, where they can be pumped out periodically.
The only thing that is supposed go into the drain field is liquid.

I have a baffle system in the tank and we pump it yearly. The folks that
came out to inspect/quote replacement explained that with this soil, the
effluent mixes and basically forms a concrete around the pipes. I agree,
13 years is way too soon to see a failure but most of the neighbors around
me are having the very same issues.

The soil is a very
sandy soil (we live in New Mexico).
This makes it even more astonishing that your drain field failed. How
often are you having the tank pumped? Two people on a 1500 gallon tank,
no garbage disposal, should be good for 7 years between pumping. If you
waited 13 years, that was obviously about 5 years too long.

Every year. In fact that is soon to be a village ordinance as well that
tanks are pumped yearly.


Wait -- are you talking about a sand filter system? Those require
regular user maintenance, including back flushing and annual sand
replacement.

Nope.

I have heard that adding bleach to the
drain field (not the tank) will help to break up the field as it becomes
saturated and thereby keep the field intact for some time.

It should take many years for a drain field to become saturated. It
should last at least 50 years. There is something wrong with your
system. I have heard that air injection will open up a plugged drain
field, but haven't ever seen it happen.

I don't really
like the idea more so from an enviromental standpoint but was wondering
if
this is true? I've heard a lot of stories of how to keep a septic
working
well including throwing a dead rabbit into it once a year so naturally
I'm
skeptical about this latest "remedy". Any advice?

There are dozens of state-sponsored sites on the internet that give
excellent directions for maintaining a septic system. Only throw dead
animals in the septic system if you eat the animal first. My septic
system is mostly treated with dead cow and chicken, with the occasional
goose, turkey and sheep.

Thanks. I'll keep researching ways to extend it's life!


Are your septic field lines buried in the sandy soil, in direct contact with
the soil?

In my replacement field, I laid the field line on a one foot bed of pea
gravel, then backfilled the top of the line with another foot of pea
gravel. The trench was a foot wide, resulting in my 4" field line in the
middle of a square foot of pea gravel. I topped off the bed of pea gravel
with landscape fabric to allow any moisture to drain into the surrounding
ground and not permit any soil to pass into the top of the pea gravel bed.
The job was finished by backfilling the trench and planting grass on the
surface.

"Frank from Deeetroit" wrote in message
. ..

Are your septic field lines buried in the sandy soil, in direct contact
with the soil?

In my replacement field, I laid the field line on a one foot bed of pea
gravel, then backfilled the top of the line with another foot of pea
gravel. The trench was a foot wide, resulting in my 4" field line in the
middle of a square foot of pea gravel. I topped off the bed of pea gravel
with landscape fabric to allow any moisture to drain into the surrounding
ground and not permit any soil to pass into the top of the pea gravel bed.
The job was finished by backfilling the trench and planting grass on the
surface.


the company that re-did the field did a number of things. One, they
changed it to a two line field whereas before it was only a single line as
far as I know (and even then, I'm not certain). It is certainly longer
than the previous one. Two, they dug it with a backhoe, set the pvc lines
(directly ON the soil), then put about 2ft of gravel over the top and sides
of it. On top of the gravel, they laid rosen paper and then backfilled
with soil. In retrospect, I probably should have asked them to put a layer
of gravel UNDER the lines and then put fabric over the gravel vs. rosen
paper.
Cheers,
cc

On Apr 21, 9:38 pm, "James \"Cubby\" Culbertson"
wrote:


As I said in my OP, the system has already been re-routed...about a year
ago. When we opened it all up, all the install work was fine. It's just
a matter of the soil solidifying way too fast. Most of the houses around
me are having to dig their's up as well.
Cheers,
cc

This is one of those "you'd have to live here to know what I'm talking
about" situations. NM soil is VERY sandy - I've poured a 5 gallon
bucket of water on the ground and wet an area the size of a dinner
plate. Plus it is very alkaline (similar to LOTS of lime). So what
Cubby is saying is that all the ingredients for concretion (lime,
sand, & water) are in his, and everyone elses, septic field. That
being the case, I doubt anyone outside a similar area would be able to
give good advice. My advise is to follow whatever the local
"experts", who have lots of experience with the problem, recommend.
Consider it a price you have to pay for living in the area of your
choice.
-Red

On 22 Apr 2007 11:11:40 -0700, Red wrote:

On Apr 21, 9:38 pm, "James \"Cubby\" Culbertson"
wrote:


As I said in my OP, the system has already been re-routed...about a year
ago. When we opened it all up, all the install work was fine. It's just
a matter of the soil solidifying way too fast. Most of the houses around
me are having to dig their's up as well.
Cheers,
cc

This is one of those "you'd have to live here to know what I'm talking
about" situations. NM soil is VERY sandy - I've poured a 5 gallon
bucket of water on the ground and wet an area the size of a dinner
plate. Plus it is very alkaline (similar to LOTS of lime). So what
Cubby is saying is that all the ingredients for concretion (lime,
sand, & water) are in his, and everyone elses, septic field. That
being the case, I doubt anyone outside a similar area would be able to
give good advice. My advise is to follow whatever the local
"experts", who have lots of experience with the problem, recommend.
Consider it a price you have to pay for living in the area of your
choice.
-Red

Sounds like you guys need
1. Drain pipe with holes all around
2. Very Course Gravel under, around and over the drain pipe - at least
12 inches deep.

How could that ever clog?

On Sat, 21 Apr 2007 20:57:19 -0400, "Frank from Deeetroit"
wrote:


"James "Cubby" Culbertson" wrote in message
...
Hiya,
My septic drain field failed last year and I had to re-route it to a
different location. The septic was approx. 13 years old with only
moderate use (ie. no more than 2 people living in the house). I see most
of the houses around me are having to redo theirs as well. The soil is a
very sandy soil (we live in New Mexico). I have heard that adding bleach
to the drain field (not the tank) will help to break up the field as it
becomes saturated and thereby keep the field intact for some time. I
don't really like the idea more so from an enviromental standpoint but was
wondering if this is true? I've heard a lot of stories of how to keep a
septic working well including throwing a dead rabbit into it once a year
so naturally I'm skeptical about this latest "remedy". Any advice?
Thanks much,
jlc


I had a septic field fail due to the output pipe breaking off inside the
septic tank. When the output pipe broke, it allowed soid matter to fill up
the field. We fixed the output pipe and replace the field with PVC pipe.
The original field was about 45 years old at the time. We moved out of the
house about 5 years ago and as far as I know, the field is still working
fine. A good running septic tank and field is the most enviromentally safe
system of waste disposal.


That's what I figured. Poor construction. Septic fields shouldn't
fail.

"deke" wrote in message
...
Sounds like you guys need
1. Drain pipe with holes all around
2. Very Course Gravel under, around and over the drain pipe - at least
12 inches deep.

How could that ever clog?


The pipes didn't clog. The ground became saturated/solidified and wouldn't
let the effluent pass into the soil.

"deke" wrote in message
...
That's what I figured. Poor construction. Septic fields shouldn't
fail.


I'd agree, for a "normal" type of soil. What we have here is far from
normal.

In article , "James
\"Cubby\" Culbertson" ("James \"Cubby\"
Culbertson" ) says...

the company that re-did the field did a number of things. One, they
changed it to a two line field whereas before it was only a single line as
far as I know (and even then, I'm not certain). It is certainly longer
than the previous one. Two, they dug it with a backhoe, set the pvc lines
(directly ON the soil), then put about 2ft of gravel over the top and sides
of it. On top of the gravel, they laid rosen paper and then backfilled
with soil. In retrospect, I probably should have asked them to put a layer
of gravel UNDER the lines and then put fabric over the gravel vs. rosen
paper.

Yes, the rock goes UNDER the drain line, not on top of it. The quantity
of rock was about right. Two feet of rock in a 2 foot trench by a
couple hundred feet long gives plenty of storage for water surges. I
assume your house is only 2-bedroom. A 3-bedroom house would need 300'
of drain line. The rock should also be 2 inch washed drain rock, with
no fines, with only enough covering the pipe to keep soil away from the
pipe. Rosen paper will eventually break down. Modern standards spec
geotech fabric, a porous synthetic that will be good for the life of the
system.

--
For email, replace firstnamelastinitial
with my first name and last initial.

"Larry Caldwell" wrote in message
.. .

Yes, the rock goes UNDER the drain line, not on top of it. The quantity
of rock was about right. Two feet of rock in a 2 foot trench by a
couple hundred feet long gives plenty of storage for water surges. I
assume your house is only 2-bedroom. A 3-bedroom house would need 300'
of drain line. The rock should also be 2 inch washed drain rock, with
no fines, with only enough covering the pipe to keep soil away from the
pipe. Rosen paper will eventually break down. Modern standards spec
geotech fabric, a porous synthetic that will be good for the life of the
system.


It's a 3 BR house. They laid two lines each at 150' or so. The gravel
they used was the bigger stuff and it looked pretty consistent (ie. no
fines). I just wished I had known more about all of this when they did it
as I would have insisted they put the rock under the line and a fabric vs.
the paper. They are a reputable company here so I assume the methods they
used are the same they use pretty consistently. I suppose at this point,
one of my better options to extending the life of the field is to remove as
much water discharge from the house as possible. I'm looking at diverting
my clothes washer's drain into a grey water system. I'd do the showers as
well but unfortunately, it's a slab on grade house so that's probably a near
imposibility. Thanks for the help.
Cheers,
cc

James "Cubby" Culbertson wrote:
Hiya,
My septic drain field failed last year and I had to re-route it to a
different location. The septic was approx. 13 years old with only moderate
use (ie. no more than 2 people living in the house). I see most of the
houses around me are having to redo theirs as well. The soil is a very
sandy soil (we live in New Mexico). I have heard that adding bleach to the
drain field (not the tank) will help to break up the field as it becomes
saturated and thereby keep the field intact for some time. I don't really
like the idea more so from an enviromental standpoint but was wondering if
this is true? I've heard a lot of stories of how to keep a septic working
well including throwing a dead rabbit into it once a year so naturally I'm
skeptical about this latest "remedy". Any advice?
Thanks much,
jlc



If your local codes allow it, use this stuff next time:

http://www.ads-pipe.com/en/product.asp?productID=237

You can even put in a clean out on the far end (an access door big
enough to drop a sump pump through) and clean it out...

Not sure if it will help your soil conditions, but it typically has an
area 2.5x bigger per foot of run than a conventional gravel field, so it
should last 2.5x longer before it plugs up....

On Mon, 23 Apr 2007 01:53:02 -0600, "James \"Cubby\" Culbertson"
wrote:


"deke" wrote in message
.. .
That's what I figured. Poor construction. Septic fields shouldn't
fail.


I'd agree, for a "normal" type of soil. What we have here is far from
normal.


I hear you.

You have too much ribbonning....

http://empiretribune.com/articles/20...ews/news03.txt


That's a very good article on a guy with a dirty job.

"deke" wrote in message
...

I hear you.

You have too much ribbonning....

http://empiretribune.com/articles/20...ews/news03.txt


That's a very good article on a guy with a dirty job.



Unfortunately I can't view the article (asking for member ID). What's
ribboning?

On Mon, 23 Apr 2007 21:08:22 -0600, "James \"Cubby\" Culbertson"
wrote:


"deke" wrote in message
.. .

I hear you.

You have too much ribbonning....

http://empiretribune.com/articles/20...ews/news03.txt


That's a very good article on a guy with a dirty job.



Unfortunately I can't view the article (asking for member ID). What's
ribboning?


Here you go:
=========
Septic expert goes where the waters don’t flow


By MORGAN CHRISTENSEN Texan News Service
Monday, April 23, 2007 12:56 PM CDT





Anyone who has ever played poker knows a full house beats a flush. But
for Audie Wienecke, who’s been in the septic business for more than a
decade, a good flush always beats a full house.

On a recent spring day, the smell of raw sewage filled the air as
Wienecke and his crew worked on a septic system. Sewage water flowed
onto the ground from pipes that had unearthed themselves as settlement
clogged the lines. Despite the dreadful smell, three men toiled inside
a giant rectangle carved into the red and yellow earth.

“Their lateral lines were sitting in clay and the water was coming to
the top. You have to replace the system if your lines fail,” Wienecke
said.

Being foreman or “top dawg,” as Wienecke calls himself, of Ace Pumping
& Septic Services, Inc., can be a dirty job, but someone has to do it.
Wienecke figures it might as well be him.

On a typical day he pumps about 8,000 gallons of raw sewage, exposing
himself to deadly pathogens and disease-causing organisms, especially
E.coli. He said he’s never gotten sick from the job, but he takes
precautions and tries to keep himself and his workers as sanitary as
possible.

“You’re going to get it on you. There’s no keeping it off,” Wienecke
said. “All my guys are required to wear gloves and use a disinfectant
hand wash. All the trucks carry rinse water so they can go to the
truck and wash themselves off” in case they are exposed to sewage.

Wienecke is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Each call must
be responded to within 48 hours, but most calls are handled within 12
hours of the time they were reported.

“When septic problems happen, I got work to do,” said Wienecke, a man
with salt-and-pepper hair and a slow Texas drawl.

Installing septic systems involves more science than many people might
think. It begins with a soil evaluation test at the customer’s site.

Wienecke kneels down, takes a pinch of fresh soil and rubs it between
his thumb and index finger. “This is the best type of soil. It just
crumbles,” he said. “But when you get into the yellow looking clay
over there? You can put that in a ball and it will start ribboning.”

Ribboning is a technique used to determine soil texture. For example,
when clay is pinched between the fingers, it ribbons out before
breaking off from its own weight. How long the soil will ribbon helps
determine its classification.

If the soil evaluated is porous and does not ribbon well, a
conventional septic system can be installed because treated water from
the settlement tank will soak quickly into the soil.

In a conventional system, two tanks made of either steel or concrete
are used. Wastewater, or sewage, flows from the sewer pipes inside the
home into the trash tank. There, the solids separate from the liquids
and fall to the bottom of the tank. Then, the water freely flows into
a settlement tank.

“The second tank is on there so that your settlements don’t go out
into your pipe and gravel field and clog it up,” Wienecke said.

Soils rated Class 3 and higher, however, require an aerobic system to
chlorinate the water, purifying it enough to disperse on top of the
ground.

Aerobic systems are like a mini-sewer plant with three tanks instead
of two. The sewage enters the trash tank through the sewer pipes, and
separates into solids and liquids, like it does in a conventional
system. The settlements and water then enter the aeration tank, where
the solids break down. From the aeration tank, water flows into the
pump tank to be chlorinated and purified for dispersal.

Wienecke warned that septic systems are like houses. “If you don’t
maintain a house and do a little work on it, the house will just run
down and you’ll have problems with it,” he said.

He recommended that septic tanks be pumped every three to five years,
depending on the number of people in a household. Preventing sludge
build-up is impossible, of course, because certain matter will not
decay. Simply put, the more toilet traffic, the more often a septic
system must be pumped.

Most homes have two 500-gallon tanks, but tanks can hold from 250 to
6,000 gallons and more. To pump 1,000 gallons of sewage from start to
finish takes roughly 45 minutes to an hour.

On his busiest day, Wienecke pumped over 18,000 gallons of sewage.

“A wet situation,” he called it.

Disposing of 72 tons of wastewater can be done two ways. It can be
dumped at a city sewer, the closest one being in Fort Worth. Or, with
a beneficial land application permit, wastewater can be treated with a
high concentration of lime to balance the pH for dispersal onto the
ground.

“It makes great fertilizer,” Wiencke said. “Human waste is the highest
concentrated fertilizer there is because of the bacteria, potassium,
methane gas, nitrogen, and so on.”

Wieneck has found some surprising items when he’s pumped the tanks on
some septic systems. He recalled his most memorable job, one that he’d
rather forget.

“It took us six hours to pump that tank, and we had a five-gallon
bucket full of toys, small bottles of baby powder, golf balls,”
Wienecke said. “Every time it stopped up we would have to break a hose
down, wash it out, find the thing and start over,” he said. “That had
to be one of the worst” experiences.

As the wind gusted, stench swept through the air. Stagnant green water
from the trash tank rippled as mosquito larvae bathed in it. The smell
didn’t seem to bother Wienecke. He said he grew accustomed to it years
ago.

“You got to have a strong stomach,” he said. “And a great
understanding.”

The Texan News Service is a project of the Tarleton State University
journalism program.
=========

"deke" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 23 Apr 2007 01:53:02 -0600, "James \"Cubby\" Culbertson"
wrote:
I hear you.

You have too much ribbonning....

http://empiretribune.com/articles/20...ews/news03.txt


That's a very good article on a guy with a dirty job.



Actually, per the article, I have virtually no ribboning. I have sand
which doesn't stick together.
Cheers,
cc

"jiml" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 23 Apr 2007 21:08:22 -0600, "James \"Cubby\" Culbertson"
wrote:


Here you go:

Thanks!

James "Cubby" Culbertson wrote:


Actually, per the article, I have virtually no ribboning. I have sand
which doesn't stick together.

Soil that's too porous is just as bad as clay.... Septic systems depend
on water and time to break down solids. If the soil is too porous, the
water drains too quickly, leaving the solids on top of the sand. What
you have is a very efficient filter, which, unfortunately, will blind
fairly quickly.

Not sure what you can do about it, especially if the 'sand' is actually
powdered limestone, which is what yours sounds like....

Your local septic permitting agency should have some good information.

--Yan

Hypochlorite bleach will break down biomat and sludge so if the drainfield is locked due to this, it might work. But if the field is locked due to reminerialization of limestone or caliche, it does nothing. Sodium hypochlorite can sodium lock clays causing a mineral gel so only calcium hypochlorite which is safer. Use tablets in tge distribution box, not the septic tank.. It will reduce beneficial microbes so dont use often.