Pros and Cons of Well/Septic System

[geos]

There's some great info on septic systems at Mother Earth News including how not to get bamboozled into overspending on a system by the code Nazis. http://www.motherearthnews.com/searc...?search=septic

[25560]

You can use a garbage disposal just fine with a septic system. You just need to exclude any food that floats (vegetables mainly) from going into the septic system and use it for compost (vegetables, not meats) or toss it in the garbage. Nothing that isn't food, human waste or liquid should go down the drain.

You need to be aware that the garbage put down the disposal needs to be flushed thru the pipes. This is normally done by the dishwasher or sink usage. Use the GD first, then the DW. But if you do things like collect water from the sink for plants and avoid the dishwasher, the disposal will gum up the pipes. The same principal is used in bathrooms to flush toilet waste down the the pipes. Shower/tub drains generally flow into the stack used by the toilet and when you shower it washes the waste down the pipe. Knowing this, you can avoid issues that might occur from using only the toilet and showering in a different bathroom. Low flow toilets also contribute to problems with pipes caking up with waste due to the lower water volume. Plumbing is designed to be flushed thru, especially in older houses. If you have a house with more bathrooms than you use, you should periodically use the other rooms to make sure the water traps are full and plumbing remains in good working order.

Another thing to watch for if your septic field is in or near a wooded area or even single trees is that you don't put any sort of root or vegetation killer or other chemicals down the drains. (bleach and soaps are fine).

Septic pumping cycles are directly related to the number of people in the house. A large house will have a larger tank. If a single couple lives in a 4BR/5BR house they will likely never have to have the tank pumped, or perhaps every few years. If 10 people live in a 2BR, it needs pumping 2 or more times a year.

Water quality is controlled in a number of ways, primarily thru a standard salt recharged water softener that removes iron and calcium. The water is hard in the HW/Barrington area. There are other systems for other specific issues. If you have orange stains, you can clean them by adding iron out powder to the toilet tanks, or scrubbing sinks, etc with it. White calcium buildup can be cleaned with bleach or vinegar. For drinking water, charcoal filters are commonly used and do an excellent job. Hot water and humidifier systems should be fed with soft water to prevent scaling. Humidifier filters can scale up in a week with hard water, or 6mo-1yr with soft.

Water softener maintenance is very simple and I wouldn't pay a service to do it. Just go to Sams Club and buy morton salt blocks. Open the brine tank, drop in two salt blocks once a month. Done. The savings on just the salt at Sams pays for the membership.