# septic tank never pumped out



## joed (Mar 13, 2005)

Make the sale contingent on a septic inspection. 20 years is a long time to not pump but if she was living alone and was careful there could be no issues.


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## tony555 (Feb 28, 2015)

I will do that, there was 3 people living in the house I believe, it also appears to be a concrete tank, just going by the picture of the pipe coming out, not sure if that is a good way to tell though, might just have a concrete cap


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## Tom738 (Jun 1, 2010)

My mother has a place in Ontario with a septic that had not needed pumping from about 1980 to 1999 or 2000. A hydrologist I met (he deals with this stuff for a living, he should know) said that that was a problem and that it would definitely need pumping now--that they always need pumping after a few years. So we paid two guys to locate and dig up the tank. And it was basically empty, and we covered it up again. We haven't had any problems since. It had (for the most part) only had seasonal usage up to that point, but still--if you have a well-done septic system, it can last decades without needing to be pumped. Get it inspected, but don't assume it's bad because it's old.


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## Daniel Holzman (Mar 10, 2009)

This topic has been discussed numerous times on this forum over the past few years, you may want to do a search for threads. There are of course many different opinions on the subject, no surprise there. In my town, we have no public sewer and no public water, so care of septic systems is taken very seriously.

Our Board of Health recommends pumping every 2-5 years. However, I have read several scholarly articles (one from University of Oregon) that claim that there is no need to pump the tank on a specific schedule. They recommend that you check the tank for buildup of solids. When the solids at the bottom reach 10-15 percent of the depth of the liquid in the tank, you need to pump. Although somewhat unpleasant, it is certainly possible to check the depth of solids yourself.

You simply open the tank lid, insert a wooden stick that reaches to the bottom, and probe for when you feel solid material. I have done this several times for my system, I suggest you do this on a cold day, and make sure you have a partner nearby in case you feel the need to gag. Of course you can hire someone to do this. And you can ask the pumping company to tell you how much solids they pumped out if you hire them to do so.

The danger of solid buildup is not the tank, but the potential for bypass of solids to the septic field. The field is not intended to handle solid material, only liquid effluent that flows out of the tank via the baffle or weir. Long term bypass of solid material can cause your field to fail.


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## Ghostmaker (Mar 2, 2013)

I would have your local board of health check the septic system. Ohio EPA has changed a lot on septic's in the past few years so a test on what is coming out is a good thing.
I got a feeling this change was mandated by federal EPA.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Around here unless you pay cash and buy as is the tank would need to be pumped and inspected.
Pump out the tank and water comes rushing in from the leach field and there's other issues.
Ridx is useless.
Anyone that tells you after that long the tank is vitally empty is just wrong.
Just no way even a single person living there that long is not going to be dumping enough solids in there to not have a partly filled up tank.


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## tony555 (Feb 28, 2015)

just got off the phone with the realtor, she said a verbal offer was put in on the house by another party and that she promises nothing is wrong with the septic system LOL

anyway,, so if I want to get this system inspected,, I take it that,,,, its going to consist of having the tank drained out to see if the water runs back into the tank from the leach field, correct?

as I called 2 places, one said they need to empty the tank for around 200 and 20 for the inspection but they need to empty the tank to inspect it,

the other place wanted 150 to inspect it without draining.. 

so im a bit confused now


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## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

How can they inspect the inside of the tank without emptying it? It might be worth it to pay the extra $50.

$200 sounds reasonable for having it pumped. We paid about $320 last summer. 

If you can, get the leach field inspected before buying the house. We have to have ours replaced this spring and it's very expensive.


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## tony555 (Feb 28, 2015)

just wondering,,, how old is your field/?


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## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

It's about 40 years old. It probably would have lasted longer, but we think the roots from the walnut trees got into the pipes and clogged them. That's what the environmental health dept. guy thought too. If I recall correctly, he said that some drain fields only last around 20 years if the ground is mostly clay because it doesn't allow the pipes to drain as well.

When he did the inspection, he said the soil he pulled up with an auger was like beach sand.

We found out that our drain field was failing because there was a strong smell in the yard that we originally thought was coming from the septic tank.


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## jimn (Nov 13, 2010)

Personally I wouldn't touch a house with a septic system that had not been pumped for 40 years . There are just too many things that can be wrong. And sins pectin will like turn up rotted or missing baffles. If they have been missing for awhile then they may have let solids into the leaching field. An inspection can uncover some of theses things but not all. Mine gets pumped every 4 to five years and according to my company the liquid solid ratio after that time is about correct. 

Not sure why one wouldn't have it pumped. The cost for failure is north of 15k. I live on a street with sewers but my system functions perfectly (it's over 50 years old) but has been maintained regularly by at least me and one prior owner. So I did not hook up to the sewer. The cost to pump it every 4 to 5'years is less than the annual sewer use fee so I save almost a 1000.00 every 5 years.


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## AllanJ (Nov 24, 2007)

A drain field with a sand bed works better than one with an ordinary soil (with clay) bed. But even a sand bed field will clog and fail when large amounts of fine particulate matter (sludge) and/or grease (scum) from the septic tank manages to find their way to the field.

Many times, homes with correctly functioning septic systems do not need to be hooked up to public sewer but if any repair is needed then the repair may not be made and instead the home has to be hooked up to the sewer.


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## Davejss (May 14, 2012)

I, myself, would not buy a house with a septic tank that has never been pumped. If your leach feild fails you could be looking at tens of thousands to build a new system. I'd keep looking.


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## TOOL82 (Dec 7, 2012)

Tom738 said:


> My mother has a place in Ontario with a septic that had not needed pumping from about 1980 to 1999 or 2000. A hydrologist I met (he deals with this stuff for a living, he should know) said that that was a problem and that it would definitely need pumping now--that they always need pumping after a few years. So we paid two guys to locate and dig up the tank. And it was basically empty, and we covered it up again. We haven't had any problems since. It had (for the most part) only had seasonal usage up to that point, but still--if you have a well-done septic system, it can last decades without needing to be pumped. Get it inspected, but don't assume it's bad because it's old.


If your tank was basically empty then your tank has failed & leaking.
The tank should be full up to the bottom of the outlet pipe.


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

My 1000 gallon tank and 250 ft. of leach field is beginning its second year of the fourth decade. According to the green grass during the warmer mowing season about 50 ft. of the leach field was the maximum ever used when the 3 kids were still home and those modern day kids could take as many as 3 showers / day in hot weather. I don't suspect I'll be worrying much about pumping.

Now, if my HVAC system that's the same age fails, that's a different matter.


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