Regular maintenance, when and how to pump the tank and the big question... additives. 

We live in an area that has slowly  developed over the last 30 years (we built our house 3 years ago).  Everybody seems to have a different idea when we should have the tank pumped, some say we should have it pumped every 5 years, others 10 years.  My husband says we never have to do it because he uses an additive.  I have some tell us to add yeast and cabbage.  My father says we should put in hamburger.  An older man I work with says we should never pump the tank because we will remove all the bacteria and the system will fail.   

The strange thing is, some of the newer septics in this area have failed while some of the older ones are still working. 

My questions are:

1. When and why should we have the tank pumped?

2. Do additives really help?

3. Why have some of these systems failed while others work? 

Thank you in advance and thank you for the best site I have found on septic tanks.  Marie F. 

The reason you want to pump your tank is because the solids will build up faster than they can breakdown.  Eventually they will build up to the point of where they get forced out to the drainfield and cause a failure.  But when you pump a tank you don't just pump it, you have it inspected as well:   

A good pumping/inspection will be:

The contractor will look over the drainfield to look for tire tracks or signs of heavy foot traffic.
They will then dig-up and expose the manhole cover and look at the contents of the tank. They will be looking for bad items like kotex, tampex, wet-wipes, condoms, etc, that will not break down in the system. They will also look for low bacterial activity indicating an over-use of chemicals.
They will then pump the tank while looking for a large amount of water draining back from the drainfield which can indicate a slow or failing drainfield.
They will then check to make sure the in-let and out-let baffles are in place and of the proper size.
At this point they should give you an assessment of the system and suggest any changes in your usage patterns, i.e. keep the kids off the drainfield with their 4 wheelers, stop flushing the kotex, tampex, wet-wipes, condoms down the drain and cut back on your chemical usage. Also at this time they could suggest a few other things like:

If they see potential problems, they could jet (clean) the lines in the drainfield.
An effluent filter could/should be installed that will take the place of the exit baffle.
If the tank is more than 2 feet deep, they could install riser bring the lid closer to the surface for easier access next time.
This is what a proper pumping/inspection is, however not many contractors go into this detail. To contractors, time is money so many simply stick the hose down the pipe, suck it out, grab the check and head out of town. This is why you want to ask the contractor (up front on the phone) if they will do these things. You may pay a little extra for this service, but it is well worth it because if it catches something in the beginning before it becomes a major problem, it could save you thousands of dollars down the road. On the other hand, if your exit baffle falls off and you don't catch it, solids will plug your drainfield and you won't find out until the sewage is pooling in your yard and/or backing up into your house. Now you may be paying for a whole new drainfield and the damage to your yard that goes with it.

And something else you should understand, once you have the riser and effluent filter installed, these are a one time cost so you don't have to pay for this again and it makes the pumping/inspection process easy and simple in the future.

The tank should be pumped/inspected every 1 to 3 years...1-2 people in the house=every 3 years, 3-5 people in the house=every 2 years, 6+ people=every year. It will usually cost from $75 to $200 to have the tank pumped/inspected (however in some parts of the northwest it can run up to $300). Now lets say it costs you $150 and you are having it done every 3 years, that is $50 per year of sewage treatment. If you are having it every 2 years it is $75. On the other hand you would pay the city $300 to $800+ for that same year of treatment. Thinking about it like that, pumping the tank is pretty cheap.

2-Most government agencies will tell you to never use additives and I agree with them to a point.  One problem is, there has never been a lot of studies done on the effects additives have on a septic system (although I have heard one University has done some research and they found negative effects from some types, but I have never seen the data).  However I have heard from a lot of people their system was working fine until they started using these additives and then had problems. 

I personally think where the problems come in is, people start to believe what it says on the box, "END COSTLY PUMPOUTS" and because they are using this miracle drug, they never have to think about what they put down the drain or worry about pumping their system again...WRONG! You still need watch what you put down the drain as far as items that will not breakdown like polyester, nylon, etc.

Does this mean there is not a place for these additives? No, they can actually be of some benefit…UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS, like if someone in the house is undergoing chemo or long-term antibiotics. The use of these drugs MAY reduce the "good" bacterial colonies in the system and MAY need a boost, particularly if you have an aerobic system. But it is usually best to speak to a local septic professional that is familiar with your system.

3-Why do some systems seem to fail when others don't?  Septic systems are a lot like people.  Chances are good if you smoke, drink to excess, eat a high fat diet and don't exercise you will have major health problems by the time you hit 50.  And if you look at the statistics, this is true.

But then you see a guy that drinks a fifth of bourbon, smokes 3 packs of Lucky Strikes, hits the greasy spoon every day and has been doing this since the beginning of time...but he is 92 years old.  It defies logic. 

The same thing holds true for septic systems...some people do everything wrong and never seem to have a problem.  But if you look at the numbers, the chances of you avoiding a problem with YOUR system go down considerably when you treat your system right.