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Septic System Bugs, yes or no?

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  • billtool

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    Nov 16, 2008
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    The Wooldlands
    I recently relocated to a rural property with a house and a cabin. Each has its own septic system. The cabin has about a 3-400 gallon system (fiberglass), and is probably 30 years old and is about 20 years old. The house has a 1,500 gallon system (dual tanks). Neither has ever been pumped.
    I'm having some odor inside the cabin but no other issues. The house system works fine.
    I have contacted a local septic company and will have both pumped in the next few weeks. Even though I'm not having any real issues, I want them cleaned out so I'm starting over with my own excrement, so to speak. It's too wet and muddy right now, and next week calls for more rain.
    Once I have them pumped, do I introduce enzymes (bugs) or just let nature take it's course? Ive heard RidX praised and scorned!
    What do you do/recommend for maintaining a traditional, seep field septic system?
    RidX once a month...every month. Can harm nothing and you'll never pump your system. Do it!
     

    Haystack

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    Jan 2, 2021
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    Edom, TX
    Ancient Country Boy secret.....coupla packets of yeast a month or two does wonders.....and is a LOT cheaper.

    But as noted....if the odor is inside the house, the most likely culprit is a "P" trap that's drying out from non-use. Simplest thing to do is go in every couple of weeks and run a quart or two of water in EVERY sink/tub/fixture. Another "Country Boy" tip....a couple of cups of Copper Sulfate every few months - put it in a commode, and flush well. It will kill any roots trying to enter your drain pipes - won't hurt anything else.

    I've been doing exactly that for decades. Good advice. But I still pump my tanks every 5 years. You never know what the grandkids may have flushed.
     

    Fishkiller

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    Jul 22, 2019
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    Frederickburg
    When we lived rural the tank was pumped out when we bought the house, due to inspection requirements. Lived there for 12 years no issues, but also fed the bugs monthly and no garbage disposal running, no blech, etc.. Had to have the system tested to sell the house. Failed first inspection due to time for water run run out. Had to have the lines dug up to find that the concrete piping from the tank to the distribution box failed. Leach filed tested OK. Never was so glad to write a check for $3200. If the leach failed then it was >$60,000 for an aerated system. Commifornia wants all old septic systems gone. New owner called about a month ago wanting to know where the tank was as it needed to be pumped out, I sold it in 2016, not sure what they put down there.
     

    rotor

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    Nov 1, 2015
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    Texas
    You guys are a wealth of knowledge. I find it hard to believe that adding bacteria to a system that already must have more bacteria than stars in the universe would make a difference but what do I know.
     

    Axxe55

    Retiretgtshit stirrer
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    Dec 15, 2019
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    Lost in East Texas Elhart Texas
    Been using RID-X for 27 years and only had my tanks pumped once
    when the pump from #2 tank quit working .

    I wished I had spent the extra money now when our house was built to have the drains for the sink, tubs, and washer put on a separate system from the septic tank. But they said to modify the drains and septic system would cost me over $6K and I would have to pay for that upfront and out of my pocket separate from the cost of the house.

    So everything drains into the septic tank because of the way it's been designed. Because of that I use two boxes a month to counter for the chemicals that come from the sink and washer draining into the septic tank.
     

    striker55

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    Jan 6, 2021
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    Katy
    When I lived in the country I was buying a product to flush down the drain, once a month. After a couple of years I realized the money spent for the product was more useful for getting the septic pumped once a year, worked better that way.
     
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