Does your septic tank smell?

Hi all


I am very new to the topic of septic tanks - I know nothing - but a friend of mine has one (new one professionally installed) and it stinks! Simple question really: Is this normal?


Regards


Geoff

When we were thinking of moving here, we looked at a house where the waste water did actually discharge into the river! But it is more likely, in an ancient installation, for there to be some kind of fosse septique and maybe the outflow from that could empty into the river. But this is France - anything is possible!
When looking for the possible route of your sewage system, it is useful to remember that installers will want to use a minimum of materials and do the least possible amount of work, so you could start by looking to see if there is an exit pipe in the closest bank of the river.
A useful product is fluroscene drain tracing dye, normally used for finding leaks. This can be tipped down the drain and after a short while, it will show up at the eventual exit.

Great idea, will ask at Marie to see if they have a plan!

I know its not connected to the mains as my neighbours only got connected about 2 years ago. Our commune mains do not go near the house so I have to apply to the next door commune which is in hand. However, it doesn't solve my immediate problem of locating the tank, if there is one! Surely it won't run straight into the nearby river??? Its a very old house ....

If there is mains drainage in your local area, then you are almost certainly connected to that already. Are there access covers in the road? That might give you a clue. But the Mairie must know.....

I'm slightly concerned that we may not have one!

It has certainly never been emptied in the 10 years my husband has had the house and I've been here 5 years. We only live here 6 months a year so it never been a problem but my drains are making bad noises at the moment so I think its about time I found out where our sewage goes before I ask to get connected to the mains!! Thanks for your suggestions!

Interesting question.
The French like to bury theirs under a shallow layer of soil.

I would start off by asking the neighbors if they have any ideas.

If you want to try it yourself, here are some clues -
The installation is likely to be in an area where there is sufficient open ground to accommodate the tank and the drain field - possibly half the floor area of the house, but this may vary depending on the porosity of the subsoil.
It will be as close as conveniently possible to the point where the pipe exits the house, where normally there will be a vent pipe on the house wall. The installer will have tried to avoid unnecessarily long pipe runs.
You may notice a difference in soil level over a particular area that might indicate that the drain field is beneath. The tank will be somewhere between that and the house.
There should be easy access for the emptying vehicle.
In drought conditions, the grass above the tank may turn yellow because it cannot get water from the subsoil.
Having made a guess at where the tank might be, start probing the ground with a metal rod at about 40cm intervals, following a pattern. It is unlikely to be much more than 20cm below the surface.

Alternatively, ask your local man to come and empty it for you. If you don't know where it is, chances are that is well overdue. You won't be the first customer who doesn't know where his tank is, and it is a fair bet that he will go straight to it.

Having found it, make sure you mark its position. And the position of the inspection covers at either end of your drain field, if you ever find those........!

I can't find our septic tank .... any ideas?

Norwegian Blue?

That's between me and Old Nick! Not Mr Orde you realise.

No, it most certainly isn't. You may occasionally get a slight whiff in hot weather, but that should be it>

David,
Which night war it yer ave ter tip yer auld woman in?

Now what you really have to do. The first night of the new moon ee gets a vole . Don't kill ee but wrap a nettle round 'is throat and put ee into the fosse. The second night get ee a mole and wrap round his throat a bramble and put ee in the fosse. The third night get ee a black dog and wrap a vine about his gorge. And so it goes on. By the time you've got to virgins at the last quarter you'll be so tired you won't notice the stink.

There may be a certain charm in some of these country remedies, but bacteria can double in number every few hours, So once the process starts, it will happen very quickly - with or without the dead parrot..........!

When we moved in a few months ago ours would smell but a neighbour told us to put in a dead mouse as and when our cats caught them…seems to working a treat and now zero smell and less mice. The bacteria obviously like them. Make sure they get flushed down properly though otherwise you may get a shock if you look down when visiting the WC. :slight_smile:

Funny, a neighbour of mine does exactly the same with any obsolete chickens he has. It obviously works. Ugggh!

Rob’s point would appear to be pretty accurate. Neighbours had their fosse emptied and cleaned and the smell a few days later was rather unpleasant.

So another neighbour appeared with a recently road-killed pheasant and chucked it in. Within days the smell was gone.

Said neighbour recommends any largish recently deceased wildlife / vermin simply to speed up the natural process.

We're on a communal system now, but in the house before this one we had a septic tank. Although I did some digging around to connect another pipe to it I never found a vent. It didn't smeel bad either. When we bought the house it hadn't been used for a couple of years so we put in the Eparcyl. That probhably worked well.

You say that your friend's septic tank is a new one (professionally installed) , but did they fill it all the way with water to begin with, or are they slowly filling it by flushing the toilet? A new tank ( or an old one after emptying ) needs to be filled before you can get it to function properly.

A second reason for that would be to prevent it from coming out of the ground when the soil around it gets saturated with rain, and the tank wants to float on top, but that is another matter.

So make sure the tank is full, and use Eparcyl to get it started.

(Just remembered : The old folk say you should throw in a dead chicken to get things going. I've known someone who put in a "Duc"chicken from Auchan, and was surprised that it didn't seem to work. My guess is that it needs to be a chicken with all the entrails in it, so you get a properly working colony of bacteria in place, with some chicken to digest before they have a go at the feast you're throwing at them )

Cheers, Rob

Carolyn,

That is very interesting. We have been hearing for a long time that we shouldn't be taking antibiotics unless it is absolutely necessary, because bacteria evolve to become resistant. But we also know that antibiotics also kill "good" bacteria, which explains why people often get stomach upsets after taking them. Some medical experts are now blaming antibiotics for the recent dramatic increase in obesity. It seems that almost all medicines have undesirable side-effects.
I now wonder if giving antibiotics to cattle could account for the unpleasantness of some of the stuff our local farmers spread on their fields.........

I use Tarax, which only needs using every 6 months.