Water Wells & Septic systems - what should I know

[masraum]

Originally Posted by MBAtarga

Rather than using RidX - we use Septic Treatment by Cabin Obsession purchased off that big web site. Less than $2 a month - a year's supply and comes in convenient packs that you just drop in a toilet when you flush.

I was told "never use Rid-X!" I was told that there were places where you could get good stuff, that was more like buying the septic version of a probiotic, but with the right stuff (bacteria/enzymes) for septic. I mentioned using yeast, and that seemed to be more well received than Rid-X

[unclebilly]

Like was mentioned above about the dead raccoon, my dad told me that they used to throw a chicken into the septic tank to initiate the bacteria bloom. My father has done a lot of things and one of them was being a licensed septic field installer when he did his land development. His license number was #50 for the province of Alberta.

When we built our house, dad put in a temporary system for us until I designed and built our field... it worked for 2 years until we installed the proper field.

[fintstone]

Unless you are putting a lot of really harsh chemicals into the system, you probably have plenty of crap growing in your septic tank. I don't put anything in any of mine...and there is no problem.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

Like was mentioned above about the dead raccoon, my dad told me that they used to throw a chicken into the septic tank to initiate the bacteria bloom. My father has done a lot of things and one of them was being a licensed septic field installer when he did his land development. His license number was #50 for the province of Alberta.

When we built our house, dad put in a temporary system for us until I designed and built our field... it worked for 2 years until we installed the proper field.

It's fascinating to hear of multiple references to dead bodies.

Originally Posted by fintstone

Unless you are putting a lot of really harsh chemicals into the system, you probably have plenty of crap growing in your septic tank. I don't put anything in any of mine...and there is no problem.

Right, absolutely not. We'll be careful about what goes down the drain.

[MBAtarga]

And keep in mind - "septic safe" is a marketing term for "this probably won't blow up your septic system" - it doesn't mean that it is GOOD for the system. Any of those toilet bowl cleaning automatic dispensing products should be avoided as an example. And don't get me started on those butt wipe toilette products that I found out my MIL was using.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by MBAtarga

And keep in mind - "septic safe" is a marketing term for "this probably won't blow up your septic system" - it doesn't mean that it is GOOD for the system. Any of those toilet bowl cleaning automatic dispensing products should be avoided as an example. And don't get me started on those butt wipe toilette products that I found out my MIL was using.

Right. We're planning to stick to toilet paper only, and then non-harsh soaps. We'll check out the soaps and see what we can find that seems safe. And we won't use a ton.

[chrismorse]

The most trouble free system is a gravity system, that is “stuff” flows continuously down hill from house to tank and finally down to the leach field.
If your house, and or tank are below the leach field, (or sewer), the effluent must be pumped UPHILL for disposal. This means you are dependent on electricity to move it, so I consider a generator a must have for our more frequent outages.

I’ve done two major remodels, developing living space, (kitchen and bath/laundry), below the main floor of the house. Both required upsizing of the pump tank and moving the pump/tank to well below the shower/toilet elevation, to ensure that if the power goes out, the downstairs unit will not flood.

+1 on Neil’s recommendation for risers with lids for all septic tanks.

Chris

[juanbenae]

ive been on septic and well now for a year at my new place in the foothills and have learned a ton thus far. more on the well than septic.

the septic was inspected and pumped as part of the purchase agreement and was found to be in good working order. after it was pumped there was a large amount of water, 200 gallons as i recall pumped into the tank and it was observed to see the drainage rate was acceptable. as thoroughly stated above there are do's and don'ts to abide by. im live here alone so the septic does not see super heavy usage and with the covid visitors are much less common that before.

my well? heavy iron content that had me very concerned at the outset. still does from time to time. ive got a believe this or not a pelican water filtration system! it works very well with a prefilter that i wash and/or clean about once a week and can use a filter 5-6 times before i trash it. the after the prefilter as noted above there is a chlorine uptake system that i have to add water and bleach to every few months (40 gal tank). as noted above the chlorine gathers the iron particles and they glob together for more effective filtration. it then goes through a green sand filter that back washes every three days at around 80 gallons. from the green sand filter it goes through a charcoal type filter to neutralize the residual chlorine, and lastly through a non salt type water softener. ive had the water tested post filter system and the iron and manganese levels are lower than the prescribed thresholds of PPM. there is another filter just past the hot water heater that i change every six months that does show signs of iron.

my well is deep. 500+ feet as at one time it was more shallow and late in the summer and fall it would not produce. i as suggested above got all the documents the county had on the well that were somewhat usefull only the county well inspector's penmanship was unreadable. the pump is at around 250'. ive got a variable speed pump that eliminates the need for the big pressure tanks with a single 5 gallon tank that save a ton of room in the well house.

the amount of iron in the water is in direct relation to surface water intrusion. last winter there was a very dry month and the iron content went through the roof. i had quit irrigating the turf areas at that point in the winter and became aware of this rather quickly. i am fortunate to have my property supplied with a gravity fed ditch water system from the mountain behind my house for the irrigation. im in the foothills of the motherload where gold mining was prevalent and the gravity fed ditch water systems continue to be maintained and run year around served from various reservoirs. ive found that the landscape irrigation helps a bunch and i actually "water the hill" with it to create surface water intrusion with very noticeable results. i run sprinklers of the ditch water system a few times a week around the well house putting hundreds of gallons of surface water down that is very effective in keeping the iron content low. if not for this the summer and fall months would be a real struggle in keeping the iron content down. i water strictly for quality as the well is a good producer giving 8 gpm during the testing at purchase. i was told to keep it moving, cause the more water it produces the less iron affect.

i do use the iron out tablets in the toilets to keep the slime at bay and a year in seeing little to no rust spots on fixtures. the hardness of the water is what it is and just has to be expected from a well. i do not drink or cook with the water.

im still learning, but gather my techniques and keep a log of water quality and well maintenance in the pump house to refer to moving forward. it's a way of life that im becoming accustom too.

[Mark Henry]

Several years ago I replaced the old ceramic tile septic bed at my house, here as long as you DIY you don't need permits. I added some tank updates and the risers. The tank itself was in good condition. It took some research but it isn't rocket science.
Quoted $12-20K, I did it for ten but I got a 60hp tractor out of the deal.
BTW that's $4K for the infitrators, sand and mini excavator rental, $6K for the tractor.

I used this product called Infiltrators, 150' (3X50') which was 50' more than I needed.
https://youtu.be/nUmqj5-HWbg

[masraum]

Originally Posted by juanbenae

ive been on septic and well now for a year at my new place in the foothills and have learned a ton thus far. more on the well than septic.

the septic was inspected and pumped as part of the purchase agreement and was found to be in good working order. after it was pumped there was a large amount of water, 200 gallons as i recall pumped into the tank and it was observed to see the drainage rate was acceptable. as thoroughly stated above there are do's and don'ts to abide by. im live here alone so the septic does not see super heavy usage and with the covid visitors are much less common that before.

my well? heavy iron content that had me very concerned at the outset. still does from time to time. ive got a believe this or not a pelican water filtration system! it works very well with a prefilter that i wash and/or clean about once a week and can use a filter 5-6 times before i trash it. the after the prefilter as noted above there is a chlorine uptake system that i have to add water and bleach to every few months (40 gal tank). as noted above the chlorine gathers the iron particles and they glob together for more effective filtration. it then goes through a green sand filter that back washes every three days at around 80 gallons. from the green sand filter it goes through a charcoal type filter to neutralize the residual chlorine, and lastly through a non salt type water softener. ive had the water tested post filter system and the iron and manganese levels are lower than the prescribed thresholds of PPM. there is another filter just past the hot water heater that i change every six months that does show signs of iron.

my well is deep. 500+ feet as at one time it was more shallow and late in the summer and fall it would not produce. i as suggested above got all the documents the county had on the well that were somewhat usefull only the county well inspector's penmanship was unreadable. the pump is at around 250'. ive got a variable speed pump that eliminates the need for the big pressure tanks with a single 5 gallon tank that save a ton of room in the well house.

the amount of iron in the water is in direct relation to surface water intrusion. last winter there was a very dry month and the iron content went through the roof. i had quit irrigating the turf areas at that point in the winter and became aware of this rather quickly. i am fortunate to have my property supplied with a gravity fed ditch water system from the mountain behind my house for the irrigation. im in the foothills of the motherload where gold mining was prevalent and the gravity fed ditch water systems continue to be maintained and run year around served from various reservoirs. ive found that the landscape irrigation helps a bunch and i actually "water the hill" with it to create surface water intrusion with very noticeable results. i run sprinklers of the ditch water system a few times a week around the well house putting hundreds of gallons of surface water down that is very effective in keeping the iron content low. if not for this the summer and fall months would be a real struggle in keeping the iron content down. i water strictly for quality as the well is a good producer giving 8 gpm during the testing at purchase. i was told to keep it moving, cause the more water it produces the less iron affect.

i do use the iron out tablets in the toilets to keep the slime at bay and a year in seeing little to no rust spots on fixtures. the hardness of the water is what it is and just has to be expected from a well. i do not drink or cook with the water.

im still learning, but gather my techniques and keep a log of water quality and well maintenance in the pump house to refer to moving forward. it's a way of life that im becoming accustom too.

Lots of good info. Thanks for typing all of that up!

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Mark Henry

Several years ago I replaced the old ceramic tile septic bed at my house, here as long as you DIY you don't need permits. I added some tank updates and the risers. The tank itself was in good condition. It took some research but it isn't rocket science.
Quoted $12-20K, I did it for ten but I got a 60hp tractor out of the deal.
BTW that's $4K for the infitrators, sand and mini excavator rental, $6K for the tractor.
https://youtu.be/nUmqj5-HWbg

Originally Posted by Mark Henry

The number of feet you need is in correlation to the permeability of the soil. I only needed 150' (not 100') and added 75', the original old clay tile field was 4 X 50'.

Edit: I just checked my bills and realized I was wrong, must be oldtimers disease, I have 3 x 75', I needed 150' for a family of 5 and added an extra 75'. I corrected above, but I can't correct Steve's quote of my previous post.

Cool, thx.

[Evans, Marv]

I got an infiltrator field installed with my septic system. They installed 320 ft. of it since I needed 100 ft. for each bedroom (or so they said at the time). That & a 1,500 gal. tank cost $7,900 eleven years ago. I have room for the alternate system, which I don't think I or anybody who owns the house after I would have to use. The infiltrator makes sense.

[Mark Henry]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

I got an infiltrator field installed with my septic system. They installed 320 ft. of it since I needed 100 ft. for each bedroom (or so they said at the time). That & a 1,500 gal. tank cost $7,900 eleven years ago. I have room for the alternate system, which I don't think I or anybody who owns the house after I would have to use. The infiltrator makes sense.

The number of feet you need is in correlation to the permeability of the soil. I only needed 150' (not 100') and added 75', the original old clay tile field was 4 X 50'.

Edit: I just checked my bills and realized I was wrong, must be oldtimers disease, I have 3 x 75', I needed 150' for a family of 5 and added an extra 75'. I corrected above, but I can't correct Steve's quote of my previous post.

[masraum]

fixed, I think.

[jhynesrockmtn]

Sorry, didn't read the whole thread but the advice to not get the septic inspected is something that scares me. I've owned multiple homes with septic systems. I've had them fail. In some areas the leach fields will fail over time. You need to know if it is in good shape or not. You need to know if it is gravity or pump driven, where the tanks and lines are, where the leach field is, what all goes into the tank. Toilet only or all gray water as well? A good septic person isn't going to report you to the health district if for some reason it is not to current code. It was legal and signed off when it was installed. Repairs can get expensive. If the field is no longer flowing well, doubly expensive.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by jhynesrockmtn

Sorry, didn't read the whole thread but the advice to not get the septic inspected is something that scares me. I've owned multiple homes with septic systems. I've had them fail. In some areas the leach fields will fail over time. You need to know if it is in good shape or not. You need to know if it is gravity or pump driven, where the tanks and lines are, where the leach field is, what all goes into the tank. Toilet only or all gray water as well? A good septic person isn't going to report you to the health district if for some reason it is not to current code. It was legal and signed off when it was installed. Repairs can get expensive. If the field is no longer flowing well, doubly expensive.

I didn't care for that advice either. I don't think anyone around here, especially way out in the country is going to report the septic from a 100 year old home unless it's full of dead bodies or plumbed directly in to the local public water system.
We got the inspection and the guy thought the septic was functioning well.

[cabmandone]

I think the suggestion to not get it inspected was meant to say "by the health department". Not sure what a plumbing or septic installation and inspection company's responsibility is to report if there's a shortcoming in the system. Some places around me are still on the old two clay tiles as holding tanks. No way it would pass a health department inspection.

[fireant911]

I am a little late here but I wanted to give it a little time for our particular situation to settle down. We just moved 900+ miles from Alabama to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan last month. Our new home has both a septic system and well. Last week I removed one of the lids on the septic to clean the filter (which was rather clean) and then I removed the second septic lid just to look inside.

The previous owner built had this home built in 2013 and stated that he had never had the septic pumped. We wanted to start with a clean and 'poop-free' slate so I called a septic service and they arrived yesterday to pump the tank. During this activity, I inquired as to what, if anything, is recommended to add to the tank to promote proper breakdown. Without any hesitation, I was told do NOT use Rid-X; instead, simply flush a pack of yeast down the toilet one a month. Additionally, it was recommended to have the tank pumped every three to five years because only two people are living here.

I was following this thread earlier (when it was still active) and my curiosity was piqued regarding treatments for septic tanks. I investigated and saw that there was much, much information stating to steer clear of Rid-X... the previous owner had always used this religiously once a month / every month and the tank looked good after accumulating seven years of waste. In fact, he left us two large boxes of Rid-X but after my research and subsequent discussion with the septic service, I am going the yeast route.

On another note, this is the first time home my wife and I have had with a well. Initially, I was a bit concerned as her parents (who also live in the UP) have a water softener which makes the water taste horrible... showering is also a strange sensation because the water just does feel right. Luckily, no need for a water softer here - the water tastes great and feels good.

My, how I have quickly fallen in love the UP... that is until the first snows come since this Southern boy has never dealt with such!

[masraum]

Originally Posted by fireant911

I am a little late here but I wanted to give it a little time for our particular situation to settle down. We just moved 900+ miles from Alabama to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan last month. Our new home has both a septic system and well. Last week I removed one of the lids on the septic to clean the filter (which was rather clean) and then I removed the second septic lid just to look inside.

The previous owner built had this home built in 2013 and stated that he had never had the septic pumped. We wanted to start with a clean and 'poop-free' slate so I called a septic service and they arrived yesterday to pump the tank. During this activity, I inquired as to what, if anything, is recommended to add to the tank to promote proper breakdown. Without any hesitation, I was told do NOT use Rid-X; instead, simply flush a pack of yeast down the toilet one a month. Additionally, it was recommended to have the tank pumped every three to five years because only two people are living here.

I was following this thread earlier (when it was still active) and my curiosity was piqued regarding treatments for septic tanks. I investigated and saw that there was much, much information stating to steer clear of Rid-X... the previous owner had always used this religiously once a month / every month and the tank looked good after accumulating seven years of waste. In fact, he left us two large boxes of Rid-X but after my research and subsequent discussion with the septic service, I am going the yeast route.

On another note, this is the first time home my wife and I have had with a well. Initially, I was a bit concerned as her parents (who also live in the UP) have a water softener which makes the water taste horrible... showering is also a strange sensation because the water just does feel right. Luckily, no need for a water softer here - the water tastes great and feels good.

My, how I have quickly fallen in love the UP... that is until the first snows come since this Southern boy has never dealt with such!

Lots of good info. My parents used to live in the panhandle of FL. the water that came out of their well was amazing. It tasted great. They were told that because of the sandy soil that it was essentially super well (no pun intended) filtered and just about the cleanest water you could get.

I've been places where I didn't like to drink the water because of taste or where washing with soap was a pain because it felt like the soap never rinsed off. The latter is weird, but I suspect is something that you could get used to. The former is just horrible.

[Evans, Marv]

We've had our well & septic here since we moved into the house eleven years ago. I've had the spetic tank pumped once after four years after moving in. Haven't done it since. I have a can of some kind of septic treatment I use occasionally but is maybe five or more years old now. At the time I talked to the guy who pumped the tank out, he said it wasn't necessary to use an additive. The reason being poop is a quarter to a third bacteria & is sufficient to treat the tank environment. My neighbor across the road has used his septic system for almost thirty years and never had it pumped. As far as softening the water is concerned, we have a softener that has more capacity than we need & does a good job. We are accustomed to soft water and can feel any difference when we go some place else and definitely notice the water is more hard. I prefer to have softened water as a protection against scale build up in our pipes, valves, & water heaters.