Hello,
We bought a home about 6 months ago that has well and septic for water and sewer. My first experiences with both of these. We did have the septic tank pumped as a condition of the purchase of the house and inspected. It was said to be in good condition. Just curious if using a product like RID-X is advisable for maintaining the septic system. Any experiences with additives or other maintenance ideas is appreciated.
Thanks!
Welcome to the group.
A cursory search of this forum or a cursory search of the web using google would tell you the same thing.
If you have a conventional septic.(with field lines) It will be ok.
If you have an aerobic septic. Do not put anything like that in it!
It will cause you allot of headaches, and damage to the system.
Travis
Originally Posted by waterwelldude
If you have a conventional septic.(with field lines) It will be ok.
If you have an aerobic septic. Do not put anything like that in it!
It will cause you allot of headaches, and damage to the system.
Travis
It is a conventional system roughly 22 years old. Was looking for a little more feedback......is this product recommended for maintenance, not necessary unless you start to develop problems, good for preventing issues or what?
Originally Posted by Vey
Welcome to the group.
A cursory search of this forum or a cursory search of the web using google would tell you the same thing.
I did search (before posting) this particular forum for rid-x but didn't get anything back. Hadn't tried google.
Traditional septic tanks such as yours, have been in use since 1895 and they are very simple in concept and operation.
Our toilet flows into a water filled tank, where the microbes in our toilet consume most of the solids and turn them into mainly methane gas and carbon dioxide. This process starts the moment the solids arrive in the tank and the process is totally self contained - it requires no outside help, merely an air free anaerobic environment. The remaining liquid flows into a drain field where it undergoes an aerobic process where it is cleaned and passed into our rivers, lakes and aquifers.
Providing you only use the septic tank and drain field as intended, it will go on for years. If on the other hand you allow salt, sodium, alcohol, bleach or any other type of antiseptic to enter the septic tank and kill the bacteria. Then the process will stop.
Then you will have to pay to have the tank emptied.
Perry
The choice is yours. Look after the septic tank and save money.
Use it as a rubbish dump, stop the process, and pay to have it emptied.
Originally Posted by try2diy
I did search (before posting) this particular forum for rid-x but didn't get anything back. Hadn't tried google.
Search | DoItYourself.com
Originally Posted by Perry525
Traditional septic tanks such as yours, have been in use since 1895 and they are very simple in concept and operation.
Our toilet flows into a water filled tank, where the microbes in our toilet consume most of the solids and turn them into mainly methane gas and carbon dioxide. This process starts the moment the solids arrive in the tank and the process is totally self contained - it requires no outside help, merely an air free anaerobic environment. The remaining liquid flows into a drain field where it undergoes an aerobic process where it is cleaned and passed into our rivers, lakes and aquifers.
Providing you only use the septic tank and drain field as intended, it will go on for years. If on the other hand you allow salt, sodium, alcohol, bleach or any other type of antiseptic to enter the septic tank and kill the bacteria. Then the process will stop.
Then you will have to pay to have the tank emptied.
Perry
The choice is yours. Look after the septic tank and save money.
Use it as a rubbish dump, stop the process, and pay to have it emptied.
Sounds like you think an additive like RID-X is unnecessary if the septic is used properly. We are only 2 people here so the pressure on the system is not much. We are pretty conscious of what goes down the drains in terms of gray water and not pouring cooking greases/oils down the drains. We are definitely NOT having ANY issues with the septic so I guess leave well enough alone. I was just curious about the benefits of a product like RID-X, if any. Thanks for your reply.
Originally Posted by Vey
Search | DoItYourself.com
Yeah, I'll spend a little more time searching this site next time before posting. Maybe I need to start at the top instead of just searching in the forum I thought I might find the info I was looking for. Thanks for the tip.
Dumping spoiled milk down the drain will do the same thing as Rid-x and will be cheaper.
Airman...who lets milk spoil? 50 y/o and I still go through 3 gal a week.
Hey btw..yer not south of Richmond by chance are ya?
I am not saying I'm an expert at the septic system thing but I will tell you that if you use a product like Rid-X it could screw up your drain field. I had the same question and went online searching for an answer and when I read that I decided that I'd rather have a septic tank to empty than a drain field that had to be dug up and repaired, which could be very costly. My home was built in 1880 but I don't know when the tank was installed, but I do know it works well and I just called the septic people to have it emptied. The last time I called them was in May 2007, and I'm not even sure I need them right now. I don't use Rid-X or anything like it; I just let it take care of itself.
Ernie, there is a simple way to check if your septic tank needs to be emptied!
Your get or make, a ten foot pole, thin enough to go down the inlet T.
You lower it through the water and feel the top of the compacted sludge, it feels a bit soft. You then make a mark on the side of the pole level with the top of the tank. Take the pole out and measure how far down the top of the sludge is.
The measure from the top of the tank down to the bottom of the outlet T - do this with a short stick with a nail in the side, the nail will hook over the bottom of the T..
Take one measure away from the other and if you have 12 inches of space, or less it need to be emptied.
More than 12 inches and its good for a few more years.
If you measure it in mid summer each year, when its at its hottest/lowest and the coldest time in winter when its at its highest you will soon get the hang of how much it fills up each year, rising during the winter, going down in the summer.
A tip. The bacteria in the tank work best when they are warm, make sure there are no bushes or anything else round the tank that stop the sun from shining on it. If you can, make sure that only the very smallest amount of cold water goes in the tank, as cold slows the action.
Perry
Research on effectiveness of septic tank additives remains biased. There is no product that eliminates pumping of the tank or that can restore soil permeability and absorption. With proper care and maintenance, you don't need septic additives, which can upset the delicate balance of the septic's bacteria.
perry525, thank you for the input. My tank seems to be working very well and in fact it is being emptied or cleaned as I write this. I left it go too long, though, and I must keep better track of it in the future. It was filled to the top and the septic man said it would soon back up into my house. It was last emptied in May '07, which is way too long to wait. I will do better, though. Thanks again for your reply.
Originally Posted by erniebanks
perry525, thank you for the input. My tank seems to be working very well and in fact it is being emptied or cleaned as I write this. I left it go too long, though, and I must keep better track of it in the future. It was filled to the top and the septic man said it would soon back up into my house. It was last emptied in May '07, which is way too long to wait. I will do better, though. Thanks again for your reply.
Wow, I'm no septic expert but it sounds like you have some other issue to have to have it emptied again in about 1 1/2 yrs time.....
Tags: septic, septic tank, drain field, Originally Posted, cursory search, flows into, have emptied, will have, anything like, before posting, have have
