I was told by a rural resident that when you put a new tank in, the
anaerobic digestion is not started yet so you add shredded cabbage to start
the process and of course fill all your sink and shower traps with water if
they are new or dried out.
He said that the cabbage works!! That sounds better than oil.
I have never tried it, but he swears by it. I use Roebic Cesspool treatment
and pour it down the toilet and then not use the toilet for a hour or so.
This seems to help keep my drain lines clear to the tank, although I have a
Septic tank not a cesspool.

Hope this helps I have had the house with the septic system for about 4
years and I have finally got the thing working pretty good. The one thing I
did on the East tank was put a "T" on the intake pipe of the tank with a 2
foot extension into the tank. The level of the water kept blocking up the
intake (waste from the house) and the sewer man that came out to empty the
tank said that the county was requiring it on all tanks and it would help my
problem. I double check that with a friend who is a plumber and he agreed.
It has eliminated the problem of the blockage at the water surface. The west
tank does not have the problem but it looks newer. It might be that the
east tank is a bit old and needs a new leach field. I may just be prolonging
the replacement..not sure.

any comments?


"Larry Caldwell" wrote in message
k.net...
About a year and a half ago I had my old rotting steel septic tank
replaced with a new 1500 gallon 2-chamber tank. Everything worked out
well, except I started getting a horrible stench out of the plumbing
vents that made it really unpleasant to be outside unless a wind was
blowing.

I talked to the installer, who seemed fairly knowledgeable, and he said
it is a common problem, but tanks eventually "flip over" and quit
stinking. The Department of Environmental Quality came out to do a dye
test to assure that the old drain field was working right. The inspector
just shrugged and said it was a common problem. Posting questions here
provided suggestions for activated charcoal filters on the plumbing
stacks, which seemed like it would work, but I have never needed them
before. I tried various yeast and bacterial additives with no success,
and even tried the dead chicken trick.

Last week, I finally found the solution. I poured a gallon of vegetable
oil down the drain. Like all rural people I had avoided any kind of
grease going down the drain because it forms a scum layer and doesn't
digest. Well, it turns out you need a little scum to keep the tank from
stinking. The odors stopped immediately!

Thanks to all who shared their experience. I hope this solution makes
life more pleasant for lots of country folk. Enjoy the rest of the
summer.

Larry

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http://home.teleport.com/~larryc