Septic Tanks & Water Wells

mimzy

mimzy

Active Member
alright y'all. who's got 'em? I know next to nothing about 'em other than the fact that I've got to have both of 'em inspected & the water tested for bacteria before we buy this house.
I know we've got to use single-ply or septic safe toilet paper, and that we must be absolutely diligent about not allowing any food or other non-human-waste products down the drains.
...anything else I should know?
 
alix2.0

alix2.0

Active Member
we have a well (everyone bashes well water, but ours is great. we dont have a softener or any of that crap, it is literally from the ground to the tap, and it tastes like RO.) and a septic system. septic safe toilet paper isnt hard to find (i dont think weve ever put any extra thought into it) and ive never heard about not letting food or anything go down the drain. you know, dont flush a turkey or anything, but a little bit of whatever after dinner isnt going to hurt anything. plus, we use toilet bowl cleaner and draino & stuff and have never had any problems.
 
digitydash

digitydash

Active Member
Nothing like whipping you butt and it desolving in your hand at the same time.
Depends where you live.Well water in the swaps of florida in yuky.
 
alix2.0

alix2.0

Active Member
yeah i know that some of it is gross. houses just down the street from us have red tap water!
but im just saying that just because its well water doesnt mean its automatically really hard or smelly or anything.
 
mimzy

mimzy

Active Member
Originally Posted by alix2.0
http:///forum/post/2664102
yeah i know that some of it is gross. just down the street from us have red tap water!
but im just saying that just because its well water doesnt mean its automatically really hard or smelly or anything.
we've tasted the water in the area and it is pristine and beautiful. one place we looked at had SULFUR coming up from the well

but the water in this new house is really lovely. certainly a far cry from the NJ tapwater we deal with now. ...but then...raw sewage would be a step up from NJ tapwater.....
 
reefraff

reefraff

Active Member
Best rule for a septic is don't put anything in it you don't have to. Food really isn't going to cause any problem but it is one of those things you can easily avoid having go down the drain.
One thing you can do even if only for 3 seasons is not have your washing machine drain into the septic. Over a long period of time fibers from polyester and other synthetic fabrics build up in the drain field and eventually cause the field to fail. Basically waterproofs the ground. Isn't a huge deal but it will make it last longer and the water does a fine job on your grass. My mom has done that for years because the drain in the garage where the laundy is doesn't run fast enough to drain a washer.
 
laurie01

laurie01

Member
other septic suggestions (according to the company who cleans my tank out) -
do not use powdered laundry detergent; it doesn't dissolve very well in the septic tank.
have the tank cleaned out every 2-3 years (on average for a family of maybe 4), probably less if there are only 2 in the house.
You may also want to be careful about not dumping something like bacon grease down the sink - it could clog the pipes up.
Remember, the tests for the septic & well (& home inspection - make sure you get one of these) are designed to protect you from potentially buying a house with expensive problems that you may only discover after signing your life & money away.
Septic-safe toilet paper & household cleaners are not too hard to find. Just look for a "septic safe" label on the back of the product. A lot of products are safe.
Congratulations on your new house. Hopefully everything will go well.
 
T

tizzo

Guest
Well, Mimz, call a local plumber in the area and ask about the most common problems.
I grew up on septic and well, and I know the well needs primed when the power goes out, single ply toilet paper is your best bet, and there is this bacteria stuff you can use every few years to eat up what's down there.
Some well's don't have any pressure, check that.
Ask if city water will be in the area soon. That might be something you'd wanna know.

Oh yeah the bacon grease!! But that SHOULD be anywhere.
 
mimzy

mimzy

Active Member
Originally Posted by laurie01
http:///forum/post/2664421
other septic suggestions (according to the company who cleans my tank out) -
do not use powdered laundry detergent; it doesn't dissolve very well in the septic tank.
have the tank cleaned out every 2-3 years (on average for a family of maybe 4), probably less if there are only 2 in the house.
You may also want to be careful about not dumping something like bacon grease down the sink - it could clog the pipes up.
Remember, the tests for the septic & well (& home inspection - make sure you get one of these) are designed to protect you from potentially buying a house with expensive problems that you may only discover after signing your life & money away.
Septic-safe toilet paper & household cleaners are not too hard to find. Just look for a "septic safe" label on the back of the product. A lot of products are safe.
Congratulations on your new house. Hopefully everything will go well.
thanks Laurie! we are indeed having an inspection - radon, the well, the septic system, the house and all the decks plus the pool are all being inspected on the same day this weekend, and we are going to be following the inspectors around with cameras and notebooks. it was NUTS trying to coordinate all this, but we finally did it!
Tizz - I never would have thought to ask that, thank you, we definitely will add that to our list!
Armywife - awesome. Never would have thought of this either - many thanx!
 
D

dragonzim

Active Member
I have well water with a water softener. The water here in LI is great though. There was no requirement that I get my water tested when I bought my house, but I did it anyway.
 
armywife1314

armywife1314

Member
also one more thing, its not true with all wells but it is common. when you have the water tested make sure and check the flouride levels, if you have kids or when you have kids do bottled water because (most of my family have this) if you let the kids primarily drink from the well they will have an excess of flouride that they cant process and it will result in white spots on their adult teeth. i asked the dentist about it, if it was hereditary when my son was born and the first question was: do you have well water?
 
jmj6239

jmj6239

Member
I think it is a lack of flouride in well water, they add it in, in most cities. the level depends on where you live.
 
armywife1314

armywife1314

Member
the dentist said it was flouride build-up that makes the white spots and that it doesnt hurt you but i guess purely for asthetic reasons i would prefer not to have them or let my kids get them.
 
camfish

camfish

Active Member
We have well water and it isn't too great. It is clear, but if you put it in a container, the container will be stained. We have a water softener though and it makes the water acceptional. It is good enough to use for my freshwater aquariums...but sw is a little dif. About the septic tank, it sucks when it rains too much. Thats all I got...good luck.
 
mimzy

mimzy

Active Member
by the way, we asked if the water testers could test for flouride, and the inspector said it's possible, but the owners don't add flouride to it, so there's no flouride in it. the well is theirs.
 
armywife1314

armywife1314

Member
it doesnt matter if they add it. you can take a sample and send it to the epa and they will test for everything. my parents well has been in the family for generations and they dont add anything at all but there are still chemicals in it.
 
mimzy

mimzy

Active Member
anyone know of any good septic-safe cleaning products (sorry, my question mark is broken) i was in BJs last night and didn't see ANYTHING with a septic safe label other than the 1-ply toilet paper. anyone know of good handsoap, dishsoap, dishwasher detergent, clothing detergentbleach alternative, shampoo.....anything!!
 
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