4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Cate in NZ]

Yum, I know I just choose the most interesting topics for a new thread!!! . But as those who know me will be well aware I'm getting a tiny bit fed up living in rented accomodation and I'm spending heaps of my free time house hunting in the vague hopes that I can find the perfect new home for me and my family. Perfect new home no 1 had a serious damp problem and after much heartache and stuff we've given up on it. Very nearly perfect house no 2 has a septic tank. (There is a very nearly perfect house no 3 & 4...... sp please be honest with your answers, I may then move on ).

So, septic tanks...are they grief? Is there much work, emptying or smell associated with them? Is the septic tank really a reason to hesitate over putting in an offer on an otherwise gorgeous house with an acre of land, wooden floors and a lake view? I'd be grateful for any opinions please because I'm truly getting very confused on this whole house hunting issue

[jackiepoppies]

Hi Kate,

 

Septic tanks......no problem at all. Check with the vendor when it was installed, find out capacity and how often they had it emptied, for what size family and how much it costs.

There is no smell.

We have a 'fosse septique' for which we put an activator down the loo every week, but ours also has a 'soakaway' which means the liquid content just soaks away through a filtration system That means we don't have to have it emptied very often. (about every 5 years or so, again depending on size of household)

Please don't let a septic tank put you off You might even find your water rates will be cheaper because the council will not be responsible for disposing of it

 

Hope this helps

 

Jackiex

[Karen & co.]

My friend has one and has no problems, my sister had one had to have it removed for an extension, and is waiting to have another one Obviously don't put sanitary products down the loo, but she has an area in the garden where it is, and it's just lawned over the top and a company to empty it every so often.

 

Karen x

[miffy]

Hi, I agree with Jackie. Check how the system is run by the current owners and how much it costs etc. Our water rates here are much cheaper as we have a septic tank, with a soak away. It was emptied just before we moved in in Sept last year and we have had no problems, nor have we had it emptied.

You do need to take care about what you use product wise, ie biodegradable and NO biological soap pwder to allow the system to work properly. If you dont it will need emptying more often as the waste will not break down naturally.

We also had a drain survey done, to ensure the was no damage inside the ststem either collapse or tree roots which could end up costing a fortune to repair.

Hope thi helps, good luck with your house hunting

[clootie]

All good advice. We have one too but it's Victorian and we do sometimes have a problem from time to time as these tanks weren't built to cope with modern living !! Having said that, as long as we empty it regularly approx once a year, it's usually okay. Ours unfortunately is close to the house but regulations now stipulate that the modern tanks must be a certain distance from the house. It's not pleasant when it's being emptied (as it's close to the house) but it literally takes ten minutes and costs me £80 !! Check all the paperwork re installation and google the company who installed it. Sounds like a lovely home Kate.

[MadMitch]

We have one too, again with a soak away. It's no problem at all. Just use eco washing stuff etc.

We had it emptied when we moved in last year as the people who we bought the house off hadn't had it done for 4 years.

The local farmer does ours and only charges £30.

[Christian]

We have one too, shared between the 8 houses in the village. It is emptied once a year (a massive tank) and it costs about £80 a year per house. We have had no smells or any problems at all with it.

 

It really depends if it is just a tank that stores the waste or a tank that filters the waste. With a filter tank, I think you have to be more careful with what goes down the sink/toilet.

 

A friend in Portugal has a filter tank and she uses cheap thin toilet paper and vinegar in place of bleach as this doesn't destroy the bacteria in the tank.

 

I was a little dubious at first when we bought the house, as we have no gas, only oil, and a private water supply, but it is fine.

 

Good luck with the house hunting.

[Blackrocksrock]

we built our house new and it has a septic tank as have all the houses not in a town or village with a sewerage system They should not if working properly ever require emptying - We did get it emptied once before we would have started to pay for it to be emptied but not done for years and no smell.

 

Again use less bleach and these type of products if you can and it will work better - in the old days they threw in a dead sheep and the bacteria in that as it fermented started the tanks to work and they never required emptying but of course they did not have our bleaches and washing powders.

 

We also have a private water supply and a filter system just put in for UV/PH and a pre particle filter to filter out all the muck! (i.e bits of heather and sand which come down the pipes!)

[Lesley]

We have a Bio-Digester and a soak-away.

 

We have had a few problems when the soak-away blocked after last year's floods. We had to have the tank emptied three times in as many months - but the next - big - flood moved the blockage and it has been fine ever since.

 

The only thing which has bothered me is not being able to rinse out paint rollers - I felt more guilty throwing them away than I did rinsing paint down the drains

[chickenanne]

We've a septic tank, and it's no problem at all. You get used to using less chemicals (cleaners, bleach etc) really quickly and other than that, no difference. You don't even need to be around when it gets emptied....

Just make sure is included in survey /searches etc, which it should be anyway.

[Milly]

We have had a septic tank for 15 years now with no problems at all. There is sometimes a smell when, say, the washing machine or bath water empties out all at once. But it goes within a few minutes when everything settles again. And you never smell anything in the house, only right beside the tank.

 

We have it emptied every year to 18 months, as much to be on the safe side rather than because we have had problems. The price has gone up in recent years due to environmental charges (but I would rather the contents were being disposed of responsibly).

 

As the others say, get it checked out if you can - but unless it has been abused and the soak away is blocked, you shouldn't have any problems. It's often the only option in the countryside.

 

Milly