Hi all, simmer down before you all start as I know the rules on "bodily fluids"

We're moving house soon to a house that's off of mains drainage and has a shared septic tank.

Whilst our messy sessions to date haven't been huge, there's no guarantee that they might change in the future.

Are there any things to beware of when wamming to drain into a septic tank washed away, substances to avoid (obviously a bath full of pretty much anything is likely to be an issue) as the last thing I want is to have to try and have a conversation with the neighbours as to why the septic tank is broken... but the odd pie, custard, oil, chocolate syrup etc I guess shouldn't be a problem?

Larger quantities could, I guess, be "bucketed out" and dumped in a field somewhere else but I'd rather avoid that sort of hard work especially if we need to use the same bathroom (there's just one) to clean up and it's hard to do that when you're ankle deep in pudding...)

Many thanks

Bog

I've heard that gelatin can be an issue. Years ago, Chainsaw John (a long-time member) mentioned that shortly after he moved out of a place, his former landlord had to dig up the septic tank because a tree's roots had grown into it and clogged the whole thing up. He mentioned gelatin as being the main culprit. I don't remember any further details, though.

The real problem with wam and septic tanks is that that scene in MEET THE PARENTS didn't have a single decent shot of Teri Polo.

I've lived in two properties with a septic tank and had to maintain them.

They all work on the same principle but there are a few variables (like non-toilet waste water often drains off somewhere else to take the pressure off the tank)

Firstly, depending on age and location, some systems are better engineered than others. A well engineered tank and soakaway will break down normal biodegradable waste naturally, over time, and drain off water, without any intervention. It will have been installed, hopefully, to a spec which can cope with a reasonable volume in accordance with the size of the property(ies) it serves. Quite often, in older properties and remote areas built before or without regard for building regs the tanks cannot cope with the volume and have to be manually drained off by a tanker periodically (this will cost about £200 each time)

Basically a lot more care must be taken as - if you dispose of an excessive amount of 'stuff' all at once - you might well see it again as the system becomes blocked/backed up/overflows.

As with the public sewers, the enemy is build ups of fat and grease (as well as objects like sanitary towels and condoms which don't break down at all) which eventually cause blockages and their mass displaces the system's useful capacity.

Try to avoid sanitary blockages at all because you must not use bleach and other chemicals to unblock them in a septic tank.

My advice is just to go a bit easy on it - dispose of solids elsewhere.

BTW, Unrelated fun fact: 'Septic Tank' in London is derogatory Cockney rhyming slang when referring to an American ('Yank')

Flushed down the loo simple as that after being diluted

i will tell yall this, my friend who runs a professional plumbing company has heard ALL of my disposal stories and here is the thing.
when you put stuff down the drain, yes, it may dilute and go down but you have to think of EVERYTHING ELSE that goes down there.
he also noted to me that toilet paper, womens stuff (that says it can be flushed) HAIR, everything else is in there and gets piled up sometimes. right now, we are having to hire a plumbing company to come out and basically snake clean out all of our drains because we can smell an odor coming from them. even batter going down can get stuck to hair and other things and create some problems.
like i said, i told him EVERY WAY i have gotten rid of stuff and he told me that i should have my drains cleaned ATLEAST twice a year. he said most clients, he does this for atleast once a year and they are NOT wammers. now, we dont have a shared septic tank but, if we were to clog up our pipes, that is THOUSANDS of dollars as opposed to hiring a professional to come out and clean your pipes for around 100 bucks a couple times a year....and YES that is another thing that us girls that do customs all the time have to pay for (to add to the other thread bitching about a 200 dollar custom) lol. He said they shouldnt charge more as long as there are no problems but i am assuming if they get to something that makes it to where they have to work more hours on the pipes, clearing them, that we will be charged more. i dont know WHY we didnt think to do this sooner but having a professional tell me that ppls pipes get clogged up with just NORMAL stuff....and then him hearing everythign i was putting down my drains and hearing his reaction....it made me realize im just gonna have to bite the bullet and have it done. especially now, that we are having a real problem with a smell coming from our larger drains.

oh and if you clear anything in a field....make sure its FAR AWAY. i did that once in the ditch beside our house with peanut butter. i bleached that area for months before the flies and yes (disgusting) maggots would go away...no rain, no sleet no dead of night could make that pb move...AT ALL. !!

So basically, if you have an annoying neighbor or someone that is a douche, dispose of your wam stuff in their backyard. Plenty of PB&J LOL

FUCK YES. what is that shit you put down when you bury a dead body? lime? yeah, i dont think that would even help that shit!! omg. for real. its better than putting tons of roadkill in the yard bc you can spray it, try to rake it, and that pb just STICKS to the ground and grass. omg. i was SO FUCKING MAD!! LOL! This was after i did my first head dunking custom with 5 GALLON BUCKETS of pb, NO LESS (of course, i use pb for my first head dunking session, twas awesome, couldnt hear correctly for a few months. lol) and i just went down the back yard a bit and dumped it in the ditch/creek when it would rain a lot. IT. NEVER. FUCKING. WENT. AWAY. you wanna mess with someone? put some melted gummi bears (yeah i got some of that accidentally in my yard the other day) and some pb in their yard and just heap it!!! lol! why am i telling people how to be dickheads??? hahahaha! the more you know! *ding!*

There are bottles of enzymes, or microbes that are available at the hardware stores to help they systems along, too. Couldn't hurt.. Just flush the powder down..
The last problem I had with a backup was for a sanitary sewer line. Some roots, but clogging, like indicated in an earlier thread, with the fats and grease. All this dish and hand soap with the bacterial additives kill the very thing that the lines and tanks need to work .