# Garbage disposals and septic systems



## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

How old is your system?
That will and can make a difference....

Guessing you don't have a septic system where you live nor a cesspool system?
Probably on a city sewer system currently?

So won't speak for others home situations but I don't intentionally shove pieces of food into my septic system and most certainly not oil or oily food _ever_ as that truly can clog the leech ability..
Garbage disposal or not, your system still needs the ability to have germ warfare happen to degrade and dissolve the residue you shove down it including human waste as they are designed for.
Septic systems only last just so long, the care you give it and way you treat it is how it will treat you in return...
🐴...


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

I don't put much down my garbage disposal but have never had it cause me any trouble because of food. Some fruits & veg are actually not bad, they can compost in the septic system and will help break down solid waste. I also throw a tablespoon of yeast down my toilet once a month, it also keeps things breaking down and not clogging things up. You do not want to plug up your leach field, that is EXPENSIVE. I just had our tank emptied, $450 because they had to find it. So not cheap but given that we're only 2 people, it'll be several years before I need to have it pumped again. We've marked and fenced off the area now, so the ground won't be so compacted next time. Take care of your septic and it will take care of you.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

Do you mean using a waste disposal unit with a septic system?

We do, the house has had one since it was built and it doesn’t seem to have upset the septic system

I’m a keen gardener so I also compost a lot of vegetable waste.

We haven’t used a garbage disposal company for years, my DH takes our garbage to the local Transfer Station.


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## Zimalia22 (Jun 15, 2021)

I LOVE my garbage disposal. But, there are some rules to one. Veg matter only. no meats at all. 
The vegs will help keep the good bacteria going, which will help keep it in good health. In 40+ years of living there, we had the tank pumped once, and it really didn't need it. When I asked the guy about it, he said veggie peels is excellent to put down one. It keeps it going very nicely. 
So here, where I live now, I use it regularly, and veggie matter only.


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## ksbowman (Oct 30, 2018)

We have had a septic or a lagoon everywhere I've lived. As an adult we have always had a garbage disposal but, rarely use it. I don't want to overload the septic and if you do it will have to be pumped out if overused to the point the bacteria can't digest fast enough. What we do is separate our garbage and put it in larger plastic coffee containers then when one is full I take to a designated ditch where it is dumped for the wildlife. Dump it one day a gone the next. Nothing in it that isn't biodegradable so there won't be a mess. Ours is about a 1/4 of a mile from the house or more and I think every coyote, raccoon. possum or other critter is very happy to see it. All our burn ables are burned in a trash burn barrel and our cans and glass are recycled.so we have no trash picked up.


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## MeditativeRider (Feb 5, 2019)

We bokashi our food waste. Bokashi takes everything: meat (not that we eat it), fat (as long as it is solid), dairy products, veg and fruit scraps. The only thing you can't put in it is liquids (like a whole lot of liquid oil, which we don't usually have any to dispose of).

Bokashi is a method for fermenting your food waste with an added innoculant. It makes it not rotting food smelly (just kind of vinegary) so it is ok to keep in the house and less attractive to rodents when you bury it in the garden.

You have a large lidded bucket with holes in the bottom that nests inside another bucket. You can buy a special bucket setup for this. Each day you add your scraps and a sprinkle of the innoculant, which is usually in sawdust. Over time, it starts fermenting and a liquid comes off and collects in the lower bucket. You can use this in your garden or pour it down the sink. Once the bucket is full you set it aside for about 10–12 days to complete fermentation, and then you bury it in your garden. Usually you have two of the double-bucket system, so that when one is full you can be working on the next one.

We have been bokashiing for 5–6 years on a small section and have not had issues with finding places to bury it. Once buried it composts completely to soil (apart from eggshells and avocado pits, which seem to never break down) within 4–8 weeks. The earthworms are attracted to it. It is great for your garden. You just should leave a freshly buried bokashi for a couple of weeks before you directly plant in it. You can also bokashi and add to your compost (to reduce smell and rodent attraction) but we do the burying option.


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## Danneq (Sep 18, 2020)

jaydee said:


> Do you mean using a waste disposal unit with a septic system?
> ...
> We haven’t used a garbage disposal company for years, my DH takes our garbage to the local Transfer Station.


A garbage disposal is a unit in the sink with blades that chop food waste up.

My ma always said never to use them because it's not good for the pipes, according to plumbers she's spoken to. Pipes are meant to carry water, not vegetables. (I do not know if she is correct.) She's on public water. We have a septic system and the company was very firm about what could go into it. Water, human waste, toilet paper, and as little soap as possible.

I've composted my whole life. No meat, it attracts pests. But everything else. A healthy compost heap doesn't smell.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

We compost too. Like I said, I'm not planning on tossing whole veggies and fruits down there. Or even peels. Whenever I cook, I compost what I don't use (potato peels, veggie stalks, etc). Our compost piles are great -- I even fed them (all cotton) clothes for a while, until I realized that while the cloth composts the thread doesn't, and you'd end up with like half a mile of thread. When we had chickens (hopefully we'll get them again) we gave all cooked waste to them. So, again, we're not just throwing food down the drain.

But, still, when you're cleaning dishes there are little bits of this and that that you don't want to have to stop and take over to the compost bowl or even through away -- you just want to scrape them off and let the garbage disposal take care of it.


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## MeditativeRider (Feb 5, 2019)

Danneq said:


> I've composted my whole life. No meat, it attracts pests. But everything else. A healthy compost heap doesn't smell.


I used to compost but love bokashiing more now. It was a necessity of moving to a smaller section where I don't want to lose garden space to a compost heap, but even if I had room, I don't think I would go back to putting food waste in compost now (our garden waste we just mulch and spread directly and we have no lawn so no lawn clippings to compost). Bokashi is so much easier than composting and can take so much more in it (e.g., meat and fats, dairy products). Composting can work well but it is a lot more particular with ratios of green to brown, moisture level, oxygenation etc. Bokashi is pretty fool proof and its convenient as there is no going outside to empty your scraps all the time. Our bucket is in the pantry and we just dump everything in there at the end of the day.


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## MeditativeRider (Feb 5, 2019)

ACinATX said:


> But, still, when you're cleaning dishes there are little bits of this and that that you don't want to have to stop and take over to the compost bowl or even through away -- you just want to scrape them off and let the garbage disposal take care of it.


If it is just the little scraps off dishes, surely it won't matter? We use a dishwasher so I don't clean dishes into the sink, and we don't have this issue. Dishwashers work better with dirty plates (than rinsed ones) and they have a blade to whizz up anything that gets rinsed off plates in the rinse cycle. The only things that seem to bother that are really hard things like popping corn (that has not yet been popped). Then your dishwasher will start making a loud sound at the start of the cycle and you have to open up the blade cover and clear it out. That is the only food item that ours has not been able to deal with so far, the other things have all been non-food items (like a piece of hard plastic).


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

Ok things must be done different in different areas. It doesn’t matter where I’ve lived, including where I now live. It everymhome I’ve owned that was on a septic system also had a leech line where all the kitchen and washer waters drained.

That means the ONLY thing that’s ever gone into a septic tank where I have lived is waste from the commodes.

That said, I have never had a garbage disposal and don’t want one for a several reasons, so food,waste getting ground up and going theu the sink pipes has never been an issue.

As a septic tank sidebar— I have put Rid-x into my septic systems monthly, ever since I learned about Rid-X in the mid-80’s. I have never had an issue BUT @ACinATX you need to ask the realtor representing the home you bought, how many years the septic system has been in service. If it’s been more than a few years, I would request it be pumped out before you move in. The last thing you need is to have to clean out someone else's literal mess💩💩


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

Every home I've had with a septic system put ALL the water into the septic system. Greywater systems are illegal in the areas I've lived. We have a garbage disposal and rarely use it. I'd rather have a strainer and put stuff into the trash. But...we've never had an issue caused by veggies or food type stuff. We pump our tank preemptively every 5-6 years, and it doesn't cost much since the tank has easy access. Far better to pump it out when it isn't needed than wait too long and have nasty stuff destroy the leach field.

Talking to the septic people, though - they say the stuff that is murder on septic are things like baby wipes, feminine hygiene products, excessive toilet paper, paper towels, etc. Also fat, oils and the like. And coffee grounds are a no-no.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

ACinATX said:


> But, still, when you're cleaning dishes there are little bits of this and that that you don't want to have to stop and take over to the compost bowl or even through away -- you just want to scrape them off and let the garbage disposal take care of it.


You "let the garbage disposal take care of it." 
I'm sorry but do you not have a garbage pail/can in your kitchen?
That to me is where those plate scrapings go...not just dump a plate with food remnants on it in a machine and expect it to grind, remove and then clean and sanitize the plate...yuck!
My family also each has a napkin at their plate they use for fingers and mouth to be wiped during a meal and at meal end...
We use that soiled napkin to then finish wiping into our kitchen garbage can the remnants of food, along with any sauce or oily residue..
Our home burns paper products.
There are some things that belong in a garbage can and to me scraps off a plate belong not in a dishwasher nor down a food disposal my septic system is subjected to dissolving additional to what it was intended for...septic to me = a system to take care of human body waste products.
I can see those particles continuing to circulate and then smaller bits and pieces baked on the plates when they not all grind up and or blockage of the drainage pipe occur as is bound to happen in time.

AC...this is a older home you bought and with that the system is not new and of the most recent industry standards is it?

Our home was built new for us....a "lemon" of a sump pump I will call it, caused grief..but it was covered by manufacturer warranty...
I know when we had a issue of that bad pump for pumping off liquids the specialist company came in and told us no grease ever down the drain or in the dishwasher. 
No food scraps. 
If we used a garbage disposal to stop and be careful of what "chemicals" were used in our home since all water goes through the septic and leaching field one way or another.
We were also warned off of liquid fabric softener as they are petroleum based and that will clog the leach field to be junk...
The advice was priceless though to us and never forgotten.

Every system is subject to special considerations for optimum use and longevity...make sure what you do now is going to agree with your septic at the other house...
If we had to do a new septic and leach field if we clogged it....were told about $10,000+ for a comparable system. 
Not cheap a mistake to make...
Do your homework before continuing your present practices is all I warn of...please be careful.


_Oh *YES* walkin & bsms...100 times *yes**!!*
Be protective of your septic system far more than you are currently I agree with...._
🐴...


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## ksbowman (Oct 30, 2018)

I agree with @horselovinguy our dishwasher is just that a dishwasher not a garbage disposer . All dishes are scraped off in a garbage can, then washed off with a handheld soap scrubber, rinsed then placed in the dishwasher.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

ESPECIALLY if it's a new dishwasher. They all say that you don't have to scrape or rinse or pre-wash before you put them in the dishwasher. HUMMMMPH! I had on old Amana at the Stillwater house and it was done. 30+ years and it was tired. So, I splurged and bought a brand new Bosch, quietest on the market, super efficient, yada yada yada. That thing never cleaned as well as the old one on it's last leg. Not only that, no dry cycle, you had to prop it open and air dry. The nicest thing I could say about it was that it's quiet. I used it to sanitize but the dishes I put in it were already hand washed with soap and rinsed. The new house has a reasonably new Kenmore and it's nice and quiet and it's a lot better at cleaning and will dry the dishes. Once it decides to give up the ghost, I think we'll just hand wash and use the dishwasher as a drying rack.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

I was told this about septics... If it has not gone through your mouth it does not go into the septic tank. i rarely use mine some stuff does get down in it, so I do run it to keep it cleared.


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## MeditativeRider (Feb 5, 2019)

@horselovinguy and @ksbowman We scrape our plates, I thought that would be obvious, into the scraps for bokashi but we don't rinse them clean before putting them in the dishwasher. I assumed AC was talking about the tiny little bits that you can't get off with scraping. Anyway, an entire part of one of my undergrad university physical chemistry courses was about how the chemicals in cleaners actually work better if they have something to bind to. So when you rinse your plates, you are removing what the cleaners need to bind to, so your plates actually don't end up getting as clean because the cleaning chemicals can't function properly. It was the most interesting course, we also made chocolate mousse (and got to eat it in class) to learn about different types of mixtures, and learnt about all the chemicals that are in cleaners that are not really needed (e.g., foaming agents) but are there because customers expect that cleaners have bubbles.

@Dreamcatcher Arabians We have a Bosch dishwasher and its amazing for both cleaning and drying. Everything comes out sparkly clean and perfectly dry and they go in with no pre-rinsing. But as above, the whole pre-rinsing and washing may be reducing the effectiveness of your dishwasher not increasing it.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

MeditativeRider said:


> We scrape our plates. Chemicals that are in cleaners that are not really needed (e.g., foaming agents) but are there because customers expect that cleaners have bubbles.
> But as above, the whole pre-rinsing and washing may be reducing the effectiveness of your dishwasher not increasing it.


Bubbles and foaming agents...oh yes, for consumers to see the product is working. So if a little is good, a lot must be better 
Actually so much "bubble" in clothes_ keeps them dirty_ when your bubbling product can't rinse clean of the fabrics...
I don't expect my dishwasher cleansing product to bind to the garbage left behind so one can be lazy...that's what it is all about...making products that allow and convince people its OK ...truth.
Yes, that is how I feel and if that offends some I'm sorry but it is what it is.

I don't expect my dishwasher to grind and dispose of food, period.
I don't expect my septic system to work and function correctly for my lifetime if I abuse it either...ever wonder why homes that still have cesspools not septic systems are working, viable units of waste disposal and removal of human waste?
I would call that using, not abusing of a system...
_I had a home up north that was built in the 1940's...had a original to the home hand dug and hand-placed concrete block cesspool that still worked beautifully...why, because all the homeowners of that home paid attention to what was dumped down a drain...any drain in the house eventually goes to the cesspool.
Same is true of septic systems...all drains lead to one location.._

I don't "pre-wash" my plates to then put in the dishwasher.
I expect my dishwasher to remove and clean small amounts of say spaghetti sauce or gravy smidgens from a plate, but not to remove and dispose of leftover spaghetti and meat-sauce nor mashed potato clumps...that is what my napkin wiping off does.
There is a line crossed over when I think some think a machine today is expected to do and cleansing products are expected to do when ....a bit is one thing, to take a plate straight from the table and put it in the dishwasher laden with leftover food, not one plate but a entire families worth of plates, bowls and cooking items.. Or to take said plate and scrape the waste into the sink...grind and where did that mess just arrive in. 

Same with the clothes washer....if you spill on your clothes do you soak or pre-treat the area so a stain is not set and not come out?
My clothes have no stains in them. 
It _isn't _because I don't spill and splash things during preparation or actually sitting to eat a meal._ {now that's funny!}_
But I have a realistic attitude of what cleaning products can do and truly accomplish getting my clothes clean and spot free.
A little assistance on my end sure makes it easier to not now have a stained blouse that needs thrown away instead of stain lifted/removed and now can wear another day.
It is the same thing to me...a bit of effort from me give a better return, and a realistic look at how my machine was able to do the job correctly and thoroughly...
With that bit of extra from me, it also took a stress off my support system that allows me to use those time saving appliances...
The day the dishwasher fails, the septic backs up and the washing machine quits from all the extra it was demanded to do is going to cost you a enormous outlay financially, the septic being the most costly and possibly the hardest cause you often can't put a new system in the same area cause the ground is contaminated with _none_ leaching factors like grease and oils that don't easily dispel....now for many you got a heck of a situation and added $$$$$$$$ when you need to dig out all the soil surrounding that contaminated leach field for fresh leaching capability..

This isn't pointing fingers at any of us but to me it fits how so much of our daily existence is today...
As simple and easy as possible....
Everything is rip open a bag, dump in a pot and heat....meal served. Served on often disposable plates...
The prep and cleanup is gone in much of our lives....
Yea, very rare my family sees a rip and dump meal come their direction.
I shop for needed items, then prepare, cook often with someone else assisting.
My son does the table and helps serve the meal to the table...we sit and eat as a family talking with each other... Cellphone/computer have no place at my table ever....and I hate the TV on in the other room we can see...this is family time!
After we eat everyone grabs their plate and glass, scrape off and either stack in the sink with water on it to soak or put it in the machine...
I wash the pots cause I am anal they are clean and no lingering meal is left behind_ {yuck}_ and place them to dry...
Since I was washing pots, someone wiping countertop and table down now that the need to run hot water is gone...the dishwasher is turned on.
Takes us about 5 minutes working together and the kitchen is clean and tidy.
And now the rest of my day is spent doing other things hopefully more rewarding than housework, laundry or dishes...like riding the horses in evening or if cool a nice fire in the firepit to unwind by.. 😁
🐴... _jmo..._


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## BethR (Feb 17, 2021)

The gentleman who installed our septic system, a consummate professional with a stellar reputation, strongly advised us against a garbage disposal. The point being that you don’t want to put more waste than necessary into your septic tank.
We’ve had ours for forty years and it’s only been pumped twice.
I keep a bucket in the garage for veggie and other non- protein scraps; when it’s full, I tote it back to the compost pile. (Anyone who has the space should have one of these.). We regularly flip it with the Massey-Ferguson and use it to refresh our garden beds; neighbors come and get it too.
I don’t have a dishwasher. Honestly, I never saw the point in washing dishes in the sink and THEN “sanitizing” them in a dishwasher, as some people I know do. Dish soap IS sanitizing.
Well, I haven’t killed any dinner guests at any rate.


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## ksbowman (Oct 30, 2018)

@horselovinguy , Amen!


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

Danneq said:


> A garbage disposal is a unit in the sink with blades that chop food waste up.
> 
> My ma always said never to use them because it's not good for the pipes, according to plumbers she's spoken to. Pipes are meant to carry water, not vegetables. (I do not know if she is correct.) She's on public water. We have a septic system and the company was very firm about what could go into it. Water, human waste, toilet paper, and as little soap as possible.
> 
> I've composted my whole life. No meat, it attracts pests. But everything else. A healthy compost heap doesn't smell.


I’ve been in the US for some time now but still get confused with a lot of the terminology- I’m from the UK where we call them waste disposal units 

My understanding of the word garbage would liken it to trash - all household waste rather than just food waste.

Ive never had any problems with food waste going into the septic system via a disposal unit - the main problem with them is when things like teaspoons and nail brushes fall in.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

BethR said:


> Dish soap IS sanitizing.


Dish soap may be sanitizing, but you'd better be sure everything else they come into contact with (sink, faucet, sponge, scrubbers) is, too, or ... ick.


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## Danneq (Sep 18, 2020)

jaydee said:


> I’ve been in the US for some time now but still get confused with a lot of the terminology- I’m from the UK where we call them waste disposal units
> 
> My understanding of the word garbage would liken it to trash - all household waste rather than just food waste.


Yeah, idk why we call them that, it's a bit weird. Food waste disposal unit would make more sense.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

bsms said:


> Greywater systems are illegal in the areas I've lived.


I have always wondered why, in the areas that could benefit most from them, grey water for watering gardens and such is illegal.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

MeditativeRider said:


> @Dreamcatcher Arabians We have a Bosch dishwasher and its amazing for both cleaning and drying. Everything comes out sparkly clean and perfectly dry and they go in with no pre-rinsing. But as above, the whole pre-rinsing and washing may be reducing the effectiveness of your dishwasher not increasing it.


No that wasn't the problem. I was really excited when I got the new diswasher, quiet, efficient, and no more hand rinse/washing. Or so they said. I found that if there was any grease on a plate, it was spread to the entire load. Any little bits of food left on the plates, stayed there and in fact, turned a nice bright color so I couldn't miss that they were there. Some of my dishes would come out feeling so gross, you'd swear you feed a family of 4 on what was left on the back. YUCK. $1200 and it pretty much turned into a fancy drying rack. The only time I ran it was if someone was sick and I wanted to make sure everything got sanitized and I'd run it on that cycle. Too say that I was gravely disappointed in that dishwasher would be the understatement of the century. I hated it.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

horselovinguy said:


> Bubbles and foaming agents...oh yes, for consumers to see the product is working. So if a little is good, a lot must be better
> Actually so much "bubble" in clothes_ keeps them dirty_ when your bubbling product can't rinse clean of the fabrics...
> I don't expect my dishwasher cleansing product to bind to the garbage left behind so you can be lazy...that's what it is all about...making products that allow and convince people its OK ...truth.
> Yes, that is how I feel and if that offends some I'm sorry but it is what it is.
> ...


PREACH IT, HLG!

An OKC TV station has a cooking segment on their 4-5 pm segment and though I rarely watched it and even less now, I would always end up saying, "They need to change the name of this thing. She does not cook. She makes nothing from scratch, NOTHING. It's all in a bag, a jar, a box or frozen. All she does is combine pre-prepared items and stir them around and call it dinner.". To me, that is not cooking, it's heating up. Requires no skill or creativity. 

I plan my meals, go to the store, buy the ingredients and fix my meals at home. I have a 7 burner dual fuel stove with 2 ovens and I do a LOT of meal prep and cooking. Going out to eat on a regular basis and buying pre-made items and take out food is just too expensive, doesn't taste as good and is not good for you. 

My friends were all jealous of my move because I have to have the plumber in to hook up the gas for my stove, so I can't cook on it. They were all sighing and saying things like, "OOOH lucky you, eat out every night. No cooking, no dishes.". LOL! No. I've been using the Instant Pot, Microwave (an abomination except for just defrosting or heating up), and the BBQ grill. Hopefully I'll be able to get the gas in, in a couple of weeks. They're doing a lot of building around me and everyone is backed up. 

No TV or phones at our table either and if the telephone rings, it just rings. Dinner time is our time. Afterwards we clean up, put the dishes in the dishwasher, clean the counters and sweep and mop floors. Takes about 30 mins if we're moving slow. Then we relax with a book. Very rare to see the TV on here unless we're having severe weather. 

I have one of those new agitatorless washing machines for my clothes. If you don't want to wear your clothes once and then throw them away, you better do your pre-wash stain removal and make sure it's ready to go before you wash. I also use a combination of 20 Mule Team Borax and Baking Soda periodically as a soak for my laundry. It helps to release all the dirt and left over soaps and stuff from the fabrics and makes them come out clean again. All these HE detergents are not all they're cracked up to be and need help.

We had to have the septic emptied right after we moved in. I had asked if they had emptied the septic when they did the inspection and was told no, it was a 'walk around inspection' only. How do you inspect what you can't find? No one knew where it was. I guess he didn't step in yuck, so it must be working ok, right? Well, it needed emptying, no idea how long it had been but it was necessary. I don't expect we'll need to do it again anytime soon. It's just 2 of us, so not that much going on. I gritted my teeth over that one, that should not have been our bill to pay but ..... there you go.


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## RMH (Jul 26, 2016)

We bought a farm with a rental house and never gave the septic system a thought until it quit working then we had to find it. Basically a septic system is a big tank where the solids settle out and are decomposed by microorganisms. The excess water flows out at the top of the tank into the soil through perforated pipes into sand or stone called drain fields. All living organisms produce waste and eventually the tank will fill up. When this happens the sludge with flow out into the drain fields and plug them requiring the installation of new drain fields in another area. Have your septic system pumped regularly to avoid this expensive repair.


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## puff (Jan 18, 2021)

Have had septic tanks for the past 50+ years. The one at the "new" house ;is 23 years old and has never needed to pumped out. Agree with not putting greasy drippings down it - will clog it up. About every 4 months I put 3 packets of yeast down the drain to keep the good bacteria growing.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

If you are in CA, Insist the septic tank be pumped before you take possession of the house. Make sure you have a receipt. I also think it is not legal for them to sell the house without pumping the tank. Be sure to have the tank inspected also. Just because it gets pumped does not mean it works correctly.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

It's not in CA but we did have it pumped as a condition of sale. Pumped and inspected.


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## lb27312 (Aug 25, 2018)

I've always been told no garbage disposal(food grinder upper whatever it's called) with a septic.... that could have been from a long time ago but I think it went with the thought that grease would go down with the food put down. I have septic now and no garbage disposal and really haven't missed it. At first I did though! Oh boy! lol then realized try to have less waste and compost is my garden's friend. 

Most not meat food goes into the manure compost pile, compostable paper towels and paper plates do as well. Chickens, dog and cat get meat scrap which I don't usually have very much of.

Good on you to get it pumped and inspected in the sale!


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## carshon (Apr 7, 2015)

You need to find out what type of septic system you have. These do differ based on the area of the country you live in. What I have in IL is not what my sister had in MN and so on. I have always been told that no garbage disposal - the solids do not get eaten by bacteria or microbes fast enough to break them down and it plugs up the septic tank over time. The bacteria etc mostly come from the human waste that goes into the tank. Tanks should be pumped out every 5 years in our area - many don't but that is the recommended time frame.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

stevenson said:


> Be sure to have the tank inspected also.


I did that in Tehachapi. Unfortunately, the "inspector" admitted, when sued in small claims court, that he didn't do the inspection because "What were the odds?" The small claims judge must have been his brother in law, because he ruled it didn't matter that the inspector signed the inspection without ever going to the property. Same guy was sued by 4 others that day and all 5 of us lost. The following month, the guy's business closed. But I was out $6,000 for a new leach field!

So much for justice.... 🤬 

BTW - the last guy who pumped our tank here said our system ought to last 100 years. Said whoever built it went way OVER specs! He also said if we were careful about what went in, we could go 30 years without pumping. But what kills the system is if some of the sludge rises high enough to exit into the leach field, clogging the leach lines. This is our current setup:














They can pump it out directly, no looking and no digging. It doesn't cost much and I consider it cheap insurance.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

Arizona law requires the system be pumped and inspected prior to sale. The seller pays for it. That is a recent change to AZ law.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

bsms said:


> I did that in Tehachapi. Unfortunately, the "inspector" admitted, when sued in small claims court, that he didn't do the inspection because "What were the odds?" The small claims judge must have been his brother in law, because he ruled it didn't matter that the inspector signed the inspection without ever going to the property. Same guy was sued by 4 others that day and all 5 of us lost. The following month, the guy's business closed. But I was out $6,000 for a new leach field!
> 
> So much for justice.... 🤬
> 
> ...


I wish I had that. We have to dig it up to get it pumped. extended leach fields are needed in clay dirt . Do you still reside in Tehachapi. I look at times for places up there, just to get out of the heat. I have looked online in other states, but I do not like it humid and I do not care for snow for months on end. A little snow fine, lots of snow forget it. Plus I do not want to deal with a bunch of venomous snakes. Rattlers are bad enough. There are thieves in every profession now. Seems like the judge was crooked also . If you had a receipt and the guy said he did not do the job he should be liable.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

I left Tehachapi nearly 20 years ago. I was in the military. Tehachapi gets some snow but it usually melts off in a couple of days. I liked Tehachapi but I could never go back to living in California. There are a number of nice counties in California, but the politics of the state are such that I never want to live there again. If we move, central Utah is likely - but family issues means we'll stay in southern Arizona for at least a couple more years.

I like Arizona's law about septic inspections. I believe they have to file a report with the state as well as the seller/buyer, and it has a lot of mandatory stuff they have to do and report. If I had to do it over again, I'd have filed a complaint against the inspectors license as a contractor. But it (and my money) are long gone now. If I didn't believe in God I would still believe in Karma...so I'll let that crook deal with either one.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

bsms said:


> I left Tehachapi nearly 20 years ago. I was in the military. Tehachapi gets some snow but it usually melts off in a couple of days. I liked Tehachapi but I could never go back to living in California. There are a number of nice counties in California, but the politics of the state are such that I never want to live there again. If we move, central Utah is likely - but family issues means we'll stay in southern Arizona for at least a couple more years.
> 
> I like Arizona's law about septic inspections. I believe they have to file a report with the state as well as the seller/buyer, and it has a lot of mandatory stuff they have to do and report. If I had to do it over again, I'd have filed a complaint against the inspectors license as a contractor. But it (and my money) are long gone now. If I didn't believe in God I would still believe in Karma...so I'll let that crook deal with either one.


oh yeah the snow up there used to last longer than it does now. I remember being able to go up to the park and play in the snow . They still get a little snow.


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## lsdrider (Jun 27, 2012)

My parents septic had never been pumped from the time it was built until I sold it in the estate 49 years later. 
They had a garbage disposer.

I've had my place for 24 years and had mine pumped last summer for the first time. Should have waited another 10 years, lol. 
I too have a garbage disposer.


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