Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

I live on about 5 acres and have a house and septic system about 10 years old. The system has two 500 gallons tanks and two drainage fields. Just my wife and I, we wash one load a day, run the dishwasher everyother, and take at least one bath a day. However, the system stopped (maybe could say backed up) up this week for the second time in 2 years. The owner of the company came out yesterday to pump them out. He asked a few questions such as how many use the system and how much water is run through it and told me we should not be having a problem. Then he said some types of toilet paper are not very degradable such as Charmin Ultra. Hummn, guess what type of paper I have been using, yep, Charmin. He said it feels great, is really absorbent, but is very hard to breakdown and to go to a cheaper brand that is easily broken down. Guess I will have to go green and start reading the labels at the grocery store on toilet paper. Probably get some prep H while I am there too!

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

Install a bidet and use a fluffy cotton towel afterwards. Problem solved.

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

most people i know that have a septic system never put paper in them . trash can next to toilet

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

That will teach you to flush too many FRNs at once!!

:rofl:

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper

Are we talking about Congress here?

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

Composting toilets are another option. I plan to go that route when I move out to the country in couple of years from now (assuming I haven't been consumed by TEOTWAWKI zombie hordes by then).

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

wow, i did not know that... I thought you could put tp in there with no problems.

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

your field lines are prolly plugged, too. The septic tank pumping guy should have water jetted those out as well as pumping the tanks. Wet weather ground saturation can also create problems for the field lines.

I'm assuming that you don't let you kitchen water go into the septic tank which creates grease/laundry detergent clog cakes.

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

Another thing to keep out of your septic system are
white rats...

They do not break down easy or at all...

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

Ideally, compost feces and urine separately. A 5 gal bucket filled with sawdust or other dry, brownplant fiber makes a fine urinal. Urine compost can be used in the garden pretty much right away, though peeing directly on your vegetable beds is usually too strong. (Though I know a fellow who swears by urine to keep the slugs off his eggplant). Of course, you can always just donate your extra nitrogen directly to the nearest tree.

Composting feces is a bit more troublesome, due to sanitation concerns. Feces needs at least a year to compost before being used, and even then is not recommended directly on garden beds. Often humanure is used on orchards.

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

I once built a septic system out of two 50 gallon plastic drums and four 10' pieces of 4" perforated pipe. Two of us lived there for 18 months, flushed toilet paper, did 3 loads laundry a week and put septic anerobic bacteria in it every couple weeks. Never had a problem. I think your septic installer screwed something up.

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

I thought using Human manure was a BIG no no because of how piss poor are diets are and the medicine we injest will up being resubmitted into our foods.

Is my thinking incorrect on this??


T

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

I hadn't particularly heard that. Personally, I don't put anything in or on my body that I wouldn't want recycled through a food system. But there are lots of toxic people out there, I'll have to install a geiger counter to scan folks before they use my crapper.

Most of the danger of environmental toxicity buildup is with seafood, as toxins accumulate in animal fats at the top of the food chain, and the ocean is at the end of our waste stream. Toxicity doesn't tend to concentrate in plant foods to such a high degree. But something to think about for sure.

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

Out of the hundreds of farmers that i know that have septic systems exactly zero put tp in the garbage.

And exactly zero use human waste as compost.

I cant believe how some of you are so far removed from how to live on the land.

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

I put yeast in my twice a year, don't put grease down the sink, that's bad. Mine is 20 years old, no problems.

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

Too bad we haven't yet figured out the TP

Which plogs up the Federal/State taxation drainfield.

scyth

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

We dont live in a third world country. Its ok to flush the paper in the US.

:15_1_70v:

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

I just had my septic tank pumped out yesterday.
It was pumped 1 year ago so there is defiantly a problem with the leach field, the gray water was running back from the leach pipe after the tank was emptied.
A lot of my neighbors have had problems this year, the wet summer seems to have saturated the ground so it is not perking well.
Next year I will add an extra line, it really stinks:biggrin: when the poo won't go down.:hissyfit_m:

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

At my old place I did the yeast trick once a month for a happy septic (we have low perc around here)

Activated a big bag of it and flushed it down. 3 bucks a month in yeast was well worth zero problems.

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

I happen to be well versed in this scenario... I routinely work on shipboard Marine Sanitation Devices. As anyone with a boat knows, the toilet paper sold in stores has CHOPPED FIBERGLASS in it to make it stronger.
Oh Really?!
Yes!

Try going to West Marine any buying the special biodegradable marine grade toilet paper. Not as soft but does the job JUST FINE, and does not imbed fiberglass into that Oh-So-Important sphincter muscle.

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

I happen to be well versed in this scenario... I routinely work on shipboard Marine Sanitation Devices. As anyone with a boat knows, the toilet paper sold in stores has CHOPPED FIBERGLASS in it to make it stronger.
Oh Really?!
Yes!

Try going to West Marine any buying the special biodegradable marine grade toilet paper. Not as soft but does the job JUST FINE, and does not imbed fiberglass into that Oh-So-Important sphincter muscle.

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

I'm a farmer/rancher. 90 acres in a very rural location.

There are four of us including 10 and 11 year olds. Who use too much TP no matter what you say.

We've lived here for ten years. We have a septic tank. Too small and an inadequate leach field.

But we flush our toilet paper every time and we've really never had a problem.

We don't put anything special down the pipe either. Commercial or otherwise.

Our kitchen has a separate gray line. The septic is just two toilets, bathroom sink, tub, and shower.

Gregg

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

I don't think the TP is your problem.

Your fields may be to small
lines clogged
grease from kitchen and laundry soap is the real hazard
excess ground water from rain

Your system may have been improperly installed or sized from the beginning. So you may have intermittant problems before it all goes to hell. Do you know how many feet of leach field you have?

We survived many years with a poorly installed system that was about 1/3 of legal size. Many times we had problems if it rained a lot.

18 months ago we installed a new system using plastic chambers instead of the old stone and perforated pipe system. Easy to install, cheaper and works great.

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

When we bought our place in '84, an old bachelor farmer lived here and used an outhouse, therefore, no indoor plumbing.

Here they are putting in alot of what are known as mound systems, which are
like an above ground drain field. You have to have pumps installed to pump liquids
up into the mound to evaporate. they are very costly and only have a life expectancy
of 15 to 20 years.

We were lucky in that our ground perked well enough to put in a conventional
system.( 1200 gal. tank and ground level drain field). We have been getting our tank
pumped at least every other year. You don't want to wait much longer than that, because once the solids get high enough in the tank it will start pushing out into the drain
field plugging all the lines.

Everything except washing machine water goes into the system and you'd be surprised at how quick liquids will fill a tank. A baffle setup in the tank separates the solids
from the liquids so only fluids go into the drain field, but when it fills up with crap and paper if it isn't pumped it will force it into the drain field, plugging it.

Costs for pumping around here are usually 85.00 to110.00. Thats pretty cheap insurance when new system might cost 15 to 20,000 dollars.

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

There is a special line cleaner chemical you can buy.

I just used some on my system which was slowing down in volume being pumped out.

This is a powerful chemical.

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

Forgot to mention you REALLY!! need to put a special trap type filter between your pump and tank if you dont have one.This gets cleaned out once a year and stops all sorts of problems from entering your pump out line.

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

Your post has 2 key points that every septic owner should be aware of, pumping and tank maintenance. Baffles can deteriorate, so visual inspection by qualified personnel is a must. I used to own a property that had a 25+ y/o septic system, glad to have moved on to another house on city sewer. Pumping and gneral maintenance is a must. I had to get my leach lines hydrojetted and the tank baffle replaced, cost be a cool $1800. Glad that's in the past!

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

So you're saying if I move out to the country I have to keep my used toilet paper in a wastebasket? Eeeeewww

No wonder your taxes are so low.

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

in order for your septic to work, you have to make sure that there is at least 3 feet isolation between ground water and drain field,more is better,
you can't dispose into wet/saturated soil-don't add next to it, construct elevated bed/engineered field it will work for you

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

This is a crappy thread....(smile)

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

Pumping out septic tanks is highly overrated and mostly promoted by pump truck owners.

I lived in a house for 8 years that had a 500 gallon septic tank and the system always worked great. The Texas County I was living in required it to be pumped out and inspected whenever the property changed hands. So I had it pumped at the beginning and end of those 8 years and never in between. When they pumped it the second time there were no substantial solids. Why would you have to pump the tank if the system works?

Putting yeast in the system is better than nothing, but the septic activator you buy for $8 a jug has the right kinds of anaerobic bacteria for digesting s%#@, not making bread.

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

I've had four houses with septic systems. One in a flood zone with a 18-24 inch water table.

I usually pump them every 3-4 years.

Try using Scott brand toilet tissue. It's cheap, 1000 sheets per roll and soft. Good to trade with zombies later on.

I would divert the laundry water away from the septic system. No need to dump 50+ gallons of soapy water into a drain field that is already over loaded. I've done this on the two more recent properties with good results. Some people build a small drain fields for them, I just let them water the banana plants, they love it.

Re: Septic System Stopped Up - Wrong Toilet Paper
 

A properly designed and installed septic system should have no trouble digesting toilet paper and all household drainage.

There is no need to add yeast or other biological activators, as they already exist in your toilet waste.

It doesn't hurt to pump every four years or so to be on the safe side (although my tank has never had a large accumulation of solids).

The only things to avoid are chlorine (kills the bacteria in the tank that breaks down waste) and granulated soaps, which can plug up the holes in the leach fields. Use liquid detergents...