That is the exact reason why I was told..."Do not channel your gray water into the septic tank. It deters the break-down of the solids."
The system will not work as designed.(too much water) You will be having it pumped often. Post#6
Mine has not been pumped in the last 25 years.

We were looking at a house on a river and the dumbest move I ever made was to not have it inspected before buying it. The realtor said the existing system was grandfathered in to the old code. Well, a couple months after we moved in, the old septic failed. Due to the proximity to the river and neighbor's water wells, there was not enough land to put in a new system. We ended up losing the house as the health department said we couldn't live there. One of the neighbors bought it as he had some land across the street.

I would say get the inspection as you are probably grandfathered in with the existing system. Have the inspector tell you if you have enough land for a new aerobic system. If you don't have enough land, then get some incinerating toilets. That will save you as even if your system fails, it will just be wash water from the sinks and washing machine and not raw sewage. Less chance anyone will notice.

I'm sorry I didn't have a gray water outlet plumbed into our showers & sinks at the time of construction. I did, however, put in a gray water outlet for the washing machine. With only two of us, I don't think our 1.5K gal. tank can be overloaded with gray water discharge. (I hope.)

I'm tempted to say that 99% of septic systems installed in the last 50 years have both black and grey water plumbed to them. So long as they are installed correctly and designed for the capacity of use, they work fine.

I believe this to be true , I don't think many areas allow separate grey and black tanks . I wish they did . I am old school and still believe some extra bacteria added to the tank every once in a while is a good thing . My wife and I are currently out of state on vacation . Just before I turned off the water supply I flushed three packets of yeast down both of our toilets . Flushed three times to make sure it got to the tank . With no one at the house for two weeks the bacteria can have a party :D and do their thing .

A follow up question: In regards to the well - is there any routine maintenance for the outdoor components that should be performed? The water was sampled and sent to the lab and the pressure tank was tested for proper operation. What about the well pump itself? Should it be pulled and inspected for clogging / build up? Our system is working great now (though we have only been here for two months) but as winter is approaching, I would hate to have any water-related problems occur when there is 20" of snow on the ground especially if some early detection procedures could have prevented this.

I have never heard of " preventative maintenance " for a submerged well pump . Basically they work or they don't . Usually they either wear out due to age or are damaged by lightning .

I agree. I did have to have my well "gravel sleeved" to prevent the pump from getting clogged by sediment. The pressure tank will quit pressurizing the system when the internal bladder gives up & the tank needs to be replaced (minbe is 11 years oid now). One thing I'd consider is insulating the connections from your large storage tank to your pressure tank if you have freezing weather. My pressure tank is housed in a 5'x6' shed next to my 10K storage tank. One cold morning, I opened a faucet & a bare dribble came out. I kind of knew what the problem was & went up to the tank with a propane torch, warmed up the connection between the tank & the pressure tank shed. After that, water flowed freely. I insulated the pipe with foam insulation & wrapped it with black tape & haven't had a problem since.

You should be able to drink the water off the top of a properly operating septic system

Good to know, but I'm not going to be testing that theory.

We spent a week out at the house. Coffee grounds went down the drain. I noticed that at least some (washing machine) stuff must drain separate from the septic, and I saw what I suspect is evidence of the drain field. The septic tanks are just north of the northwest corner of the house. I noticed that there's a depression that runs nearly due north from the septic tanks for about 50 yards. It's the sort of thing that you might see if people or animals frequently walked a path, but there's no reason for anything or anyone to have walked that path. You can see it in the photo below.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1609252550.jpg

The missus had some laundry running and while walking around, about 30-35 yards due east we noticed water with a tiny bit of suds bubbling up out of the ground where the ground slopes down to a ravine with water runoff.

I'm assuming the track due north of the septic tanks is the drain field and bubbling water due east is (would actually have to curve around to the south a bit from the septic tank) is gray water for the washing machine, and possibly other stuff.

All I know is the grass is always greener over the septic field laterals and the tank.

Anyone ever shock their wells? I need to, getting iron bacteria, otherwise nothing bad.

Mausram- that sounds like a single lateral field. You might consider putting some loam on top if it and seeding it. Do not drive over it or pack it.

With respect to shocking your water well, I have done this a couple times and am due to do it again. It isn’t just pouring bleach down your water well. This information/ instruction sheet is from our local government and is actually quite a good resource.

https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/09b71647-f9f5-45e0-9fa5-36276471f4fc/resource/68610f93-357b-49f6-ab4a-e5f84bd12a83/download/issue3-shockchlorinatingwell-mar2017.pdf

To get rid of the water afterwards, I pump it into my tanks and go for a drive. It’s lightly chlorinated water so not really littering. I just don’t want to put it into my septic system or kill grass with it.

That's nice and convenient. My well is 520', not sure that would work!

That's what it looks like to me too. Most of the diagrams that I saw online looked like they usually branched out into 3 lines, but this definitely looks like one long one. The previous owners had a large tractor and several trailers (including a horse trailer) that they used to park out a bit past the end of the "trail". I suspect they mostly drove around the house and missed this area when they moved/used the trailers, but I can't say for sure.

unclebilly,
That is some great information in the link you posted. We have that sulfurous-type smell when we first turn on our water as well as some buildup in the toilet tanks. Apparently that is a common thing here in Michigan's Upper Peninsula; however, I think that we will go the route of shock chlorinating to see if it improves things. The water was tested as part of the inspection process and came back fine. Our well is seven years old and has never been treated by the previous owner (we just bought it in September).