septic fun

We've got some great news. We had a local company come check the septic system out, just to make sure everything was kosher. I believe it was Peterson's Septic Cleaning. He came to check things out and manually broke up a crust we had in the tank. When I asked how much we owed him he said, "Just make sure you call me when your tank gets full".

The good news is our septic is fine. It is unlikely that any flooding was from that. This man's father actually installed our septic system and knew the man who built our house. He said he used to play basketball up in the hayloft of the barn when he was a boy. Jerome told him that the basketball hoop is still there :)

The even better news is that if we have to get the septic pumped this company takes the contents and dumps them in the field. He then has to pour lye over it to balance the pH. It is sanitary, legal, and environmentally friendly. This makes me happy because nutrients are being put back into the soil and everything is allowed to biodegrade naturally.

We did learn something about septic systems. If you let a septic system sit a couple of months without being used it can form a hard crust on the top that needs to be broken up. This crust can block flow into the system. If you hear gurgling in your pipes after flushing or using drains it means your septic tank is getting full.