I have been pumping my 50 yr. old 1K septic tank about every 3 years, or so since new.

The last time I had it pumped there was some white crust stuff on the sewage top.
I suspect this is caused by frequent washings, and detergents.

I'm not having any issues and am trying to prolong the system.

Are there any products, such as RIDX,etc. that would help to break down the sludge to extend the life of my system?

Thanks

 

I put a cup of Ridx down the toilet once a month. Pump out the tank every 2 years. Also check out your system to see if there is a grease trap. It should be just after the tank and before the D-box. Clean that at the same time they pump the tank. Replace the stone in the grease trap with new washed stone. Septic system was replaced 30 years ago and has worked great ever since.

 

Following my grandfather's example, I try to dump a packet of yeast into the septic system every month [unlike my grandfather I forget as often as I remember ] My septic system is 24 yrs old, works great and has never been pumped. I don't advocate not having one pumped but I can't seem to find a pumper that is willing to negotiate my driveway

 

These products are a waste of money and may cause your system to fail sooner.. The septic tank is made for solids to go to the bottom and the scum layer to go to the top. The clear effluent in the middle goes out to the field.

Those product break down the solids in the septic tank and make it a big tank of soupy particles.. These partials get out to the field and clog the laterals faster.

Best thing you can do is pump every 3 years regardless.
Try to space apart large water use. Some shower at night, some in morning. Space the wash out...etc..

Best thing that should be done is get a filter in the outlet. Find out what you have..

Such as this.

Gravity Filters


Find out if your tank is one chamber or two, and know what type of field you have. If you can access the field by a D box or seepage pit port, these can be treated once a year with a peroxide product...



On a side note:

Oh my

Im sure the track hoe will get up there when you will need to replace the field..

 

Hopefully it won't come to that. There was an outfit that had an all wheel drive pumper truck that kept promising to come up here but he never did ..... then he died and the IRS auction off his business, guess I should have went to the auction The thing is, there is no doubt in my mind that a regular pumper truck can come up my road as I've had tri axle dump trucks, block trucks and a concrete truck up it before although one of the UPS drivers claims the road isn't passable I don't know why there are so many truck drivers that can't drive

 

Thanks everyone for your inputs. I guess I'll stick with adding Rid-X or something similar, and frequent pumping.

 

I've sold some places where people have built with little regard for how difficult it will be to service their private waste water disposal systems: places on islands, places built into cliffs, and some places built on inaccessible beaches where there is no road. They build these places by taking material across the water while the lakes are frozen, and septic systems or cesspools (now verboten) can be installed with light back hoes or dug. Fiberglas septic tanks are ideal for floating across the water even during the summer.

But when it comes to pumping, we don't yet have such a thing as a "septic tank pumping boat" that could go from lake to lake offering its service. After selling quite a few of these kinds of properties, including a few undeveloped parcels, I consulted with the State Engineer who has responsibility for permitting new installations, and new or altered leachfields in this part of Vermont.

We have something called the "best fit" solution to the pumping issue, when it comes time to solve such a problem, the recommendation (off the top of his head) is for the pumping service to focus just on the sludge layer, forget about pumping the effluent or drawing in any of the scum layer; but focus on only pumping out the bottom using a trash pump or a grinder pump to just draw up 150 to 200 gallons of the sludge and put it into 50 gallon drums (not so full that they won't float) and drag them by boat across the water to a launch where they might be loaded on a truck to be taken to an approved lined land fill or other appropriate sanitary disposal site . . . . like possibly dumping (for a fee) into some municipal waste treatment facility.

That sounds complicated, but no one has come up with a better legitimate alternative. I know that the bulk of the cesspool owners will typically just dig another pit and that will suffice for years on these seasonal camp type properties . . . . but I cannot endorse or recommend such a thing. I can only explain what I've seen done, and that there are consequences if you were to get caught doing something illegal.

Sometimes, you just have to hold it until you get home.

 

The white crust is from powder laundry detergent. Some are not as bad. Simple fix, change laundry detergents, perhaps go with a liquid.

 

Psst! Toilet paper and kitchen sink disposer usage make a large contribution to the sludge (non-decomposable remaining solid matter) eventually requiring pumping of a septic tank. Grease of all kinds: animal (e.g. fat), vegetable (e.g cooking oil) and mineral (e.g. heaven forbid, motor oil) make a large contribution to the scum layer eventually requiring pumping of a septic tank.

Which means, don't forget the scum no matter how complicated it is to haul away the septic tank contents via boat. When scum finds its way to the leach field, it too can reduce the porosity i.e. lead to failure.