Living in the country, sewer service is not available so we have a septic tank. It is an underground 1,000-gallon concrete container which holds household waste water. It is below the back deck and it was past time for it to be emptied. If the septic service had to look for the opening, there would be a substantial labor charge. Bill decided to save money by finding the hatchway himself.
He encountered a few problems. First, there were wasps which didn't take kindly to him invading their territory. He had his trusted squash racquet ready for battle.
The second problem was that we didn't know exactly where it was located. Digging multiple holes in hard, rocky soil, on a hot day was exhausting.
The solution was lounging on the couch in the living room - Dustin, to the rescue. He's young, strong and doesn't know the meaning of the word "tired."
He too had problems with the wasps but decided to fight using his savage backhand.
Finally, after a great deal of digging, the hidden door was discovered. It was time to rest, recoup and wait for the septic pumping service.
They arrived as scheduled and wasted no time getting to work.
We don't pour grease down our drain (it floats to the top and forms a layer of scum), we shower with bar soap, not liquid (liquid soap forms huge hard rocks), we don't flush anything down the toilet other than human waste. Nothing decomposes so everything discarded remains in the tank forever. We are slow at getting things done on our mile-long to-do list. It has been too long since it was pumped and was almost filled to the top. We had called just in time.
He started the powerful suction motor on his truck and it began pumping.
About half-way through he paused to rest and entertain us with some stories - like the family who hadn't pumped their septic tank for 50 years or the man who leaned over and dropped two cellphones from his pocket into the tank. He also shared tales about the unusual things he had found.
Scooter was left up on the deck so he could enjoy the smells and hear the stories.
 |
| "It stinks and that can't be true!" |
The tank began to empty and the lower level was compacted into a thick sludge. It forms when the solid materials sink to the bottom and the liquid flows into an overflow drainfield in the backyard. It needed to be stirred so it could be sucked through the tube.
It was time to close it up and drive to the local sewage treatment plant to empty the truck.
One more chore checked off of the mile-long to-do list.
Oh, gosh, have you ever heard of The Red Green Show? On it there is a guy called Winston Rothchild and he has a septic service...I seen this and automatically thought of him. And on the show a lot of time he has segments where he is making a commercials... check him out here or
ReplyDeletehere.
So funny! I will be watching this guy's show again.
DeleteThis was indeed an important task on your to-do-list. Good when it is done before summer heat.
ReplyDeleteBut why is that cover so deep in the soil?
Christel
We wondered the same thing. Our guess is that after the house was built they hauled in soil to raise the yard. The serviceman said we could buy an extender that fits over the top and marks the spot. Bill is thinking about buying one but hasn't done it yet. The hole is still just sitting there open. The weather has suddenly become very hot, up in the mid 90's so he doesn't want to be outside anymore than necessary.
DeleteOh that stink! I was horrified last pump out to see the man using the hose on our deck that I use to water my flower pots. UCK! I wanted to throw it out but Hubby to the rescue. He put it in a bucket of bleach water to clean it up for me.
ReplyDeleteIt is a really nasty, but necessary job. I appreciate people who are willing to do this type of work. The serviceman seemed to really enjoy what he did.
Delete