Post by: 280plus on September 24, 2008, 02:48:33 PM
Post by: Firethorn on September 24, 2008, 02:54:19 PM
Post by: 280plus on September 24, 2008, 02:57:53 PM
Post by: Boomhauer on September 24, 2008, 02:59:59 PM
And while I was doing a google search for Rid-X to verify the name...this little tidbit turned up on a freerepublic.com thread.
Quote
However, a few years ago, I wanted to get rid of the flesh from a deer's head so that I would have a nice pretty skull for display. I put the head in a garbage can full of water and Rid-x. The flesh was completely gone (skin, hair, muscle, cartilage, everything) in just a couple of weeks. Rid-x did a much better job than maggots.
Read into that what you want.
Post by: 280plus on September 24, 2008, 03:20:15 PM
Post by: cassandra and sara's daddy on September 24, 2008, 03:28:09 PM
Post by: Grandpa Shooter on September 24, 2008, 04:05:59 PM
By the way, using a disposal in the kitchen, too much bleach in the laundry, or dumping any petroleum based products into the system will kill the action needed for decomposition. A lot of women's hair care products or makeup will slow it down. Switching to septic system approved paper products will help a lot. Yes, not all TP is created equal.
Post by: Hawkmoon on September 24, 2008, 04:29:05 PM
All you really need is about 2 cups of brewers yeast once a month, preferably when you will be gone for a couple of days. Flush it down the toilet, let it set, and you should be good to go.
By the way, using a disposal in the kitchen, too much bleach in the laundry, or dumping any petroleum based products into the system will kill the action needed for decomposition. A lot of women's hair care products or makeup will slow it down. Switching to septic system approved paper products will help a lot. Yes, not all TP is created equal.
By the way, using a disposal in the kitchen, too much bleach in the laundry, or dumping any petroleum based products into the system will kill the action needed for decomposition. A lot of women's hair care products or makeup will slow it down. Switching to septic system approved paper products will help a lot. Yes, not all TP is created equal.
^^^ What he said.
Use of artificial products like Rid-X is not encouraged. The problem is, if you follow their instructions and "dose" (or "shock") the system, you overload it with bacteria and enzymes. They gobble up ALL the available nutrients ... and then die of starvation. A septic tank naturally develops anaerobic bacteria and it is a self-propagating system. You should just pump it often enough to remove the solids before they start overflowing into the leaching field. How often the tank needs to be pumped is a function of tank size and how much "stuff" you send down the tubes.
Post by: K Frame on September 24, 2008, 04:56:35 PM
Nothing artificial about Rid-X.
The main ingredient in it is... yeast.
Post by: Firethorn on September 24, 2008, 05:24:40 PM
The main ingredient in it is... yeast.
Still runs into the problem that the yeast eats all the available food then dies, leaving a dead system.
Some more browsing says that using yeast is a bad idea - it can cause bubbles/flotsam that prevents solids from settling, allowing them to get into the leech field.
Same deal with most other products. They said that if you're having problems with the culture - something else is wrong with the septic system, like using bleach, disposer, wrong TP, etc... Or even more complicated problems.
It also says that you 'reseed' the system every time you take a dump.
Post by: 280plus on September 25, 2008, 01:16:14 AM
Post by: gregormeister on September 25, 2008, 02:25:40 AM
Post by: gregormeister on September 25, 2008, 02:26:58 AM
Post by: hso on September 25, 2008, 03:13:37 AM
Ours had to be pumped after 15 years. He said that all of the bleach and sanitizing cleaners, antibacterial soaps and post 1900 products we use in our modern lives has reduced the "health" of septic tanks to the point where you have to pump them every 2-5 years.
What did he suggest? Live culture buttermilk and yogurt. If you don't eat yogurt or drink buttermilk, just dump a cup every month down the drain. Oh, and switch to using vinegar to clean with instead of all the stuff in a can.
Post by: cassandra and sara's daddy on September 25, 2008, 11:36:26 AM
Post by: mike on September 28, 2008, 04:04:45 AM
Post by: The Annoyed Man on September 28, 2008, 04:18:20 AM
All you really need is about 2 cups of brewers yeast once a month, preferably when you will be gone for a couple of days. Flush it down the toilet, let it set, and you should be good to go.
By the way, using a disposal in the kitchen, too much bleach in the laundry, or dumping any petroleum based products into the system will kill the action needed for decomposition. A lot of women's hair care products or makeup will slow it down. Switching to septic system approved paper products will help a lot. Yes, not all TP is created equal.
By the way, using a disposal in the kitchen, too much bleach in the laundry, or dumping any petroleum based products into the system will kill the action needed for decomposition. A lot of women's hair care products or makeup will slow it down. Switching to septic system approved paper products will help a lot. Yes, not all TP is created equal.
GS is on the money here. Laundry water and any water that has chemicals in it should not go into your septic system. Use a dry well located away from your leach field and your well pump. Distance should be more than 25 feet if possible in areas with porous bed rock such as limestone. In more dense bedrock areas the distance can be shorter but I would not chance it.
In my system. Kitchen water, laundry water, shower water all goes to the dry well. But you do need to make sure you are putting enough water into the septic tank to prevent it drying out. So no low flush toilets. Or you can put the kitchen water down the septic as long as you make positively sure you don't put any chemicals other than detergent that is septic safe down the drain.
Jim
Post by: 280plus on September 28, 2008, 04:22:43 AM
"Where am I supposed to put the water after do my hair?"
Me, "Anywhere but the septic system."
Then I ran and hid of course.
Post by: The Annoyed Man on September 28, 2008, 04:30:44 AM
Jim
Post by: Larry Ashcraft on September 28, 2008, 08:57:27 AM
You don't really have to add bacteria to a properly maintained septic system. You do that automatically by "using" the system. If there aren't enough bacteria, its because you're killing them with bleach or anti-bacterial products or caustic drain cleaners or paint or any number of things that shouldn't go down the drain.
We run our laundry water out into a flower garden, which is illegal in this county, but we do it anyway. I treat our drains about once a month with a product called "Digest Plus", made by Quest Chemical Corporation out of Houston Texas. I buy it by the case from an industrial supply company. It is composed of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, and is designed to digest organic matter in your drains and take the odor out of garbage disposals. I use about one ounce in each drain in the house when we are not going to be using them for at least ten hours. When I leave for work is the best. It keeps the drains open and de-odorized with the added benefit of flushing bacteria down the drain.
Now, the reason wine-making is related: I learned a lot about yeast while making wine. This applies only to wine yeast, but I would think all strains are similar.
Yeast is a one-celled organism that digests sugars, from simple to complex. The byproducts are alcohol and carbon dioxide. Yeast won't digest anything but sugar and starch, so its utility in a septic system is pretty limited. Also, below about 60 degrees F, yeast goes dormant. Above about 80 degrees, and it dies. It certainly won't hurt a septic system, and may actually do a little good, but anaerobic bacteria is what does the real work in a septic system.
Post by: cfabe on September 28, 2008, 04:40:31 PM
Post by: K Frame on September 28, 2008, 05:12:08 PM
Virtually all strains of yeast absolutely thrive between 80 and 105 to 110 deg. F.
It's like a little yeast orgy.
Post by: Larry Ashcraft on September 28, 2008, 06:04:27 PM
Nothing. Nada. No fermentation until I added more yeast.
Again, I'm not an expert. Just personal observation.
Post by: K Frame on September 28, 2008, 06:51:24 PM
I should have thought about this a bit more, but yes, wine yeasts are different critters. I was thinking more along the lines of beer yeasts, which are generally heartier and which will ferment at higher temperatures.
Wine yeasts do have lower optimum temperatures, but unless you were well above 95 deg. F, you shouldn't have had a quick die off. I would be more suspect of a bad batch of yeast.
Post by: grampster on September 28, 2008, 07:00:19 PM
Post by: Jim147 on September 29, 2008, 06:05:36 AM
I don't use anything in my septic. I pumped it out once but that wasn't the problem.
Post by: Larry Ashcraft on September 29, 2008, 08:31:24 AM
I'm sure beer yeast is more robust, and bread yeast is probably more robust still.
But my point was, yeast has limited utility in a septic system because of what it consumes (sugar and starch), and the limited temperature range it lives in. Bacteria, which does the real work in the system, can function from just above freezing up to around 160 degrees F.
In the higher elevations here, septic tanks that are not working properly can freeze solid in the winter. Bacteria produces heat, and will keep the septic tank from freezing in sub-zero weather.
Post by: Nitrogen on September 29, 2008, 09:01:58 AM
I've probably learned more about a septic system than I ever cared to, just idly reading this thread waiting for some processing to finish.