The Pumper's Wife

    Today I will elaborate on the septic system drainfield and the best way to care for it.   In the diagram above, you can see all the components of a septic system.  There is a tank and a leachfield/drainfield.  When I talk to customers, many of them are confused as to what makes up a septic system.  I would say many think that all they have is a tank and that is it.  However, the bigger portion of the septic system (and also the most expensive part) is the leachfield/drainfield/lateral field.  This part of the septic system is where the final treatment takes place and where every last drop of wastewater is absorbed from your home.  It is important to know where your lateral field is located.  If this portion of your system becomes damaged or inhibited in any way, it will ruin the functionality of your septic system.   Below are two examples of what is being installed today for lateral fields. ...

As I have written several times in this blog, one the best things you can do for your septic system is pump it regularly.  And every time I discuss the subject of septic pumping, my brain always thinks about one of my favorite SNL skits with Hans and Frans....I'm sorry, I'm just that weird.  They wanted to PUMP.....YOU UP!  I want to PUMP...YOU OUT! Anyway... It is recommended that you pump your tank every 3-5 years based on activity levels in your home.  The more people you have living in your home the more solids you produce.  When we come pump the tank even though we take all the water with us, what we are actually after are all the solids that collect over time (your poo, toilet paper and garbage disposal items).  If too much of these build up they can seep out to your lateral field and plug it up. Here’s why…   The diagram above shows what an average septic tank contains on a daily basis.  You will see sewage or wastewater comes in from ...

 NOTE:  I have seen this story in several places -- not sure of the origins, but it's funny nonetheless!  Enjoy! As a guitarist, I play many gigs.  Recently, I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man.  He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper's cemetery in the back country.  As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost. I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight.  There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch. I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late.  I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place.  I didn't know what else to do, so I started to play. The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around.  I played out my heart an soul for this man with no family and friends.  I played like I've never played b...

Septic system 101 -- class is in session!  Over the past 10 years we have more and more people moving to locations where their homes require their own wastewater treatment system.  Though this isn't typically the first thing new homeowners like to think about (where does the poo go? probably isn't on your mind...) it is important to understand.  Living on septic isn't rocket science, but it is different than living in town on city sewer.     As I have stated before in previous posts/blogs/articles, so many people don’t really know how their wastewater systems work.  Because they don’t know how they work, they don’t understand simple “dos” and “don’ts” of a septic system.   I totally get it!  Until I got brought into this business I never pondered what happened every time I flushed.  I doubt you do either.  However, when it comes to your own on-site wastewater system (i.e. septic systems) if you don’t ponder ...

It’s that time of year when everyone is calling to either get their tank pumped or discuss issues with their septic systems.     An item that is a biggie with many systems is water usage.     Why?     Septic systems are designed to handle only so much water so, if you go over that amount, your systems will let you know….kinda like Christmas dinner makes the pants tighter?     Too much water will show up in standing water on laterals or sometimes back-ups in the house.     I can’t help you with your snug-fitting jeans (shouldn’t we just be able to eat what we want without consequences?), but I can assist with trying to figure out water usage issues!   First and foremost, your system is sized based on the number of bedrooms in your house.  It is assumed that there is at least one person per bedroom using approximately 100 gallons of water a day when sizing a system.  Obviously, there is no way to know exactly how m...

  If you’re building in the country, something you might not know is when build a new house you also have  to install a wastewater system – or a place for all your wastewater to go.     In town, there is plumbing and city sewers to take care of all that, but if you build in the country you have to provide your own sewer system!     The most popular types of wastewater systems are septic systems.   Septic systems work in conjunction with Mother Nature.  The largest part of a septic system is the drain field (also known as a lateral field or leach field).  The drain field is the portion of your septic system that uses the soil to absorb ALL of the water that comes out of your house.  Every time you flush, do a load of laundry, take a shower, run the dishwasher, wash your hands, etc., the water drains out of the house and eventually ends up in the soil right outside.   But there’s actually a little more involved with whe...

If you live in Nebraska (or the midwest in general...) you know the weather can change from day to day.  I have lived in both Kansas and Nebraska and the same saying goes, "Don't like the weather? Stick around, it will change!" If you're from Nebraska (or the midwest) you can appreciate this meme.  I think just a couple of weeks ago we experienced this week!  So how does weather effect your septic system? Well, there are a few ways.... One, when we have wet seasons -- and I mean excessively wet weather, your septic (especially if it is older...) can give you some problems.  Why?  As you probably know, the ground acts as a sponge to absorb EVERY LAST DROP of water that comes out of your house.  Your bath water, shower water, dishwasher water, washing machine water, etc -- all of it is absorbed by the ground.  If Mother Nature keeps the ground wet for long periods of time and there's no time for the ground to dry out, there's no where for YOUR water to g...