Posts Tagged ‘Septic tank’

Another Septic Tank Problem

Sunday, March 15th, 2009

This last week we had another septic tank problem at the Naugas. Maybe it was due to all the rain. It sure made things difficult.

As soon as we noticed the drains backing up and the septic tank smell, we went out to investigate. I looked into the cleanout ahead of the septic tank and saw that the sewage level was rising, so we knew the leachfield was not working right. I looked on the septic tank pumpout website to get some advice on how to fix the drainage problem.

In the meantime, we had the guests to worry about. I called American Septic Tank to get their septic tank pumper truck out, and rented porta-potties on the web to keep the guests satisfied.

Within a couple of hours the septic tank was pumped, so we did not need the portable toilets after all.

We were helped by the water conservation measures that we did after the last septic stopup, when we put in lo-flow showerheads, aerators and high efficiency toilets. These meant that out guests put less water down the drain, so the leach field didn’t actually get waterlogged.

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The Big Septic Tank Disaster

Saturday, July 19th, 2008

Recently I was reminded of the septic tank problem we had about a year ago. It was a mess!

We had not been taking care of our septic system, just assuming that it would keep working forever. Unfortunately, we now know that is not true. We know it very well.

We had a full house, all rooms rented, when one of the staff reported a bad septic smell outside. We found a wet area where there never was one before, and it did not take long to realize that this was not a new mountain spring!

To solve the immediate problem, we called the biggest local porta-potty company and asked them to bring 5 on their fancy “executive” portable toilets…right away! These porta-potties are on a trailer, they have lights and even have sinks or lavatories with hot water. It took a few hours to get them delivered and parked, and we ran extension cords out to power them up.

Then we called the biggest local septic tank pumping company, American Septic Tank, and asked them to come pump the septic tank. They sent out two septic pumping trucks, the kind with filters so they do not add septic stench to the odor, and they got to work pumping the septic tank down. When they had this done the seep in the yard dried up and the bad smell went away.

It was quite an adventure for the staff, but we all worked together to get it done and keep the guests (fairly) happy.

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Septic Tank Problems at the Naugas

Friday, June 20th, 2008

The Naugas is an all-around nice resort, except it would be nicer if it had no plumbing problems. Being located in the country, it has a septic tank instead of city sewers. At first I wondered, “What’s a septic tank?” I went surfing and found a site with all kinds of basic information about septic tanks.

Septic systems are used by houses and resorts in the suburbs and rural areas for onsite wastewater disposal. They are usually buried close to the building and have a leach field that disposes of the effluent by letting it seep into the ground. Some septic systems are conventional (anaerobic) and others are aerobic. Some have leach fields (leech fields) and others use mound systems. Septic tanks work fine until they quit working, and then fixing or replacing them can be very expensive. Some people are able to fix their septic systems, a do-it-yourself septic tank repair approach.

Most people are not. A pumper truck is hired to suck out the liquid, and then there are various enzymes and chemicals you can add to get them working again.

In our case, we have our tank pumped out by American Septic Tank company. We found them on the web, and they come out the next day (or sooner if needed).

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