Calis Beach and Fethiye Turkey Discussion Forum
Other Local Resorts & Areas => Uzumlu Discussion Forum => Topic started by: Blissy on February 05, 2013, 07:13:25 AM
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Anyone an expert in septic tanks? Our loos and drains are starting to whiff somewhat. What are the best cleaning products to use and where can they be purchased? How can we get rid of the stink? Our builder said it was OK to flush loo paper as long as it's not cushioned. He also said the tank would never have to be emptied - from the smell I'm not too sure now. We are currently using normal washing powder, liquid and dishwasher tablets but I'm thinking this may be the wrong thing to be doing. Please help anyone - muchly appreciated.
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We have had a Septic Tank for 30 years (U.K.). Septic Tanks do need to be emptied, we have a contract to have ours emptied about every 2-3 years. There is a soak away under the tank for liquids to soak into the ground, but solids will build up even when the tank is being treated correctly. If you don't get it emptied it can overflow. In the U.K. Septic Tanks must be emptied by licensed people only.
I use all the normal cleaning products but nothing too strong and am careful so don't use bleach excessively. Septic Tanks work by bacteria eating everything, so if you kill the bacteria you are stopping the waste being taken care of. I remember when we got our tank the guy told us to get a big piece of meat and throw it in to start the process off.
I would advise that if your toilets and sinks are smelling, get your tank emptied A.S.A.P. As an overflow will be very unpleasant and unhealthy.
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Yikes! We've only been here for nearly 3 months and prior to moving we came out and stayed about 3 times just for very short periods. The house is about 18 months old and the septic tank is cemented in on our path. There's only the 2 of us. It can't be full and about to overflow - surely? What do you think?
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Open it and look in see how full it is. It depends how big it is and how much cleaning products have been put in it, too many cleaning products and it will not work properly.
Ask Engin at Fethiye Property Services, he will know someone who can look it for you, and do not believe your builder that a septic tank never needs to be emptied. :o
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Great, thanks for the info - I'll get my hubby on the case with Engin. I have to be honest and say not much cleaning products have gone down but I guess the combination of washing powder etc and the size of the tank may be a contributory factor. Thanks again - will note how we get on for future reference to others. Hope not a huge problem though.
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Problem is with septic tanks that if the shower/bath/sinks dont have U-bends in them you will always get smells coming out of the tank. On most there is an exhaust pipe too that should reach to the roof and vent the pong too. We sometimes get a pong coming up too if the u-bends dry out or are not used in a while ie bathrooms not in use etc. But when we got our place i installed new bathrooms and kitchen etc and made sure the lot had proper u-bends installed too. Been here 8 years plus and never had anything emptied - yet - as to do ours we would probably have to remove the downstairs loo to get at the tank. Nothing goes down ours apart from natural 'stuff' no loo roll etc etc. We also get given some sort of poison every year by the belediye for bugs and mossies to chuck down the loo drains too.
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I have never heard of a Septic Tank not being emptied and neither has my son and he is a Plumber. I have also seen an overflow tank...luckily not near a house but on land behind it.
This is a good website for information. The only bit that we have done that they advise not to, is open the lid and look. However, our tank is at the back of Farm Building in our field, so it's not in a spot that has no breeze.
http://www.wte-ltd.co.uk/care.html
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Septic tanks in Turkey are very different to those of UK, they are soak aways, however not all are, some in Ovacik, Hisaronu need to be empties as they are built on solid rock, newer properties are built to link to the sewer system, like some properties now in Fethiye Calis etc.. our villa was built 2003, we purchased from new and I asked the builder about the tank, and he explained they system to me, and we have not had it emptied and lived in it permanently for nearly 6 years. The only thing we have to do is put bends in pipes and a few other plumby bits.
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Yep agree there Loz, we have been here over 8 years now in a small turkish community and i have never ever seen anyone have their tanks emptied.
Hisaranu is different kettle of fish though - you dont want to be there in summer when they start overflowing and they have to come and empty them out - lol
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I think I might put my lunch back in the fridge for now
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Not sure about some of these comments , could say I'm a little septical ! ;)
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All feels like a load of **** to me
...I love the spellchecker
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Toilet pans should not smell as there is a water break between the toilet and the soak away.
You said that the drains smell, do you mean the floor drains in the bathroom, if so these require regular topping up with water to maintain a water break, and should not smell if this is done. Shower traps and sink traps also require regular topping up with water to maintain the water break. Most traps used in Turkey do not have vacuum breaks, depending on the installation the water can be sucked out of the traps when a toilet is flushed or bath emptied. Its a good idea on a daily basis to put water down all unused traps, check to see which ones are dry is a good idea.
As for the soak away, it should never require emptying if it is not abused. It looks after itself, as said previously, using any chemical is a very bad idea as this stops the waste breaking down naturally. Putting toilet paper and other no degradeable products down the toilet is a bad idea also, as this can block the natural draining of the tank, and also form a crust on the top which again stops the tank looking after itself. If other drains are smelling, ie storm water drains, that means that they are connected to the tank, this again is not a good idea as the tank may not be capable of handing the extra demand. swimming pools should not be connected to the tank unless the tank has been designed to cater for it. The foul vent pipe should extend above the roof ridge to allow all vented foul air to disperse.
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I'm loving it !
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I call these Granny Bonnets, (http://1stdirectory.co.uk/_assets/images_uploaded/BrewerMetalcraftImage1.gif) For years we have been meaning to have these fitted to the top of the down pipe. We find that the smell is more noticeable at certain times of the year when the air pressure is low.
"Where theres muck theres brass" ;D
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Just waiting for the sh--t to hit the granny bonnet!!!! ;) well it does look like a fan :) :) :)
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I thought they were for the top of outlets for extraxt systems loz not waste pipes?
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they are for chimneys and can be used for pipes too, sucking the air from internal plumbing expelling air.
I asked for this to be fitted the first year we were there, Gordon said that he would do it, it is a little like the shelf that I have waited to be fitted in the last 3 years, and still waiting, yet his niece wanted her bathroom and kitchen tiled and it was done in the month! Typical of the clown!!!
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A septic tank is a septic tank no matter what country it is in. The only difference with tanks in hot countries is the bacteria works quickly so you don't have to empty them as often as in colder countries.
The system is simple. A large tank collects waste matter from a household under the tank is a soak away (Hamilton this is not the tank). It soaks away all liquid matter. The rest is sludge and no matter how careful you are the sludge does not disappear by itself. The Tank has to be emptied, it cannot be left and never emptied.
Also the rules about Septic Tanks in the U.K. are very strict and no way would they be sited under a house or not be accessible. I would be horrified to find I had to remove a toilet to empty a tank or even access it. It makes me wonder are the builders in Turkey pulling the wool over buyers eyes by telling them they never have to empty their tanks? How long is a house guaranteed by a builder in Turkey??
I have seen my Scottish neighbour (luckily 1 mile away) with an overflow tank which also came up into the house, it was terrible.
Take a look at this website. How to care for septic tanks for dummies and read the last paragraph.
This is an American site which deals with Septic Tanks in hot climates.
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-care-for-your-septic-system.html
So, if anyone in Turkey feels really happy and comfortable with a tank that never needs to be emptied, so be it and good luck.
I would hate to be there when the s$@t it's the fan or should that be pan.
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Jaqui with respect you are missing the point, the tank do not have bottoms or have half bottoms (go along to many a building site to see them fitted) they are very deep into the ground and very large, I did not believe the builder when he explained and he drove me to the sites to see them in situ or being fitted. It is a very strange way and not something encountered before, but there it is.
We had the patio laid and I still insisted on a trap door, much to their amusement, it has now been 10 years and not a problem.
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Sorry I meant soak away not Tank. I did presume that we are talking about a soak away, and not a tank. I have owned an old property in the UK that had a soak away and was never a problem. Design, sizing and installation are important, of course, if all these are adhered to and the soak away is not abused, there is little to no maintenance required. This of course may not be the case in this particular installation. Only trying to be helpful!
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It worries me Loz, when you say they don't have bottoms as that means sewage is going straight into the ground, again this would not be allowed in the U.K.
However, if there was a tank that did not need emptying that was legal in the U.K. we would have had one fitted 30 years ago. Also, the poster with one under his house with access only if the toilet is removed makes me wonder is there a huge tank for a number of people??
We have spoken to council people in Calis who looking into our tank and said it did not need emptying yet, but we will get it emptied as soon as we spend more time out there.
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You are not talking about a property in the UK, this is a property in Turkey, building regs are very very different to those of the UK and the quality is less to European standards.
No bottoms, that is why they are called soak aways, do not to compare UK and Turkey plumbing, totally different.
Why do you think everything is so fertile and grows so well in the area? you surely didn't think that the Turks go out and buy fertiliser.
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I think we will have to get u bends then as I don't think I can stand the pong indefinitely! Hopefully it will be sorted then. I don't fancy getting the cement dug up and having a look - that would put me off lunch permanently! I'll let you know how we get on - thanks for info.
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Good luck Blissy please let us know how you get on.. Having told my plumber son he is now really intrigued as well as being totally shocked, in fact he does not believe what I have told him. I have promised him to have a word with Engin when we are over to get the full story.. want to get to the bottom of this ;D :o ;)
Loz, they are called soak aways here too, because they soak away the liquid. :)
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Marvellous.
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It worries me Loz, when you say they don't have bottoms as that means sewage is going straight into the ground, again this would not be allowed in the U.K.
However, if there was a tank that did not need emptying that was legal in the U.K. we would have had one fitted 30 years ago. Also, the poster with one under his house with access only if the toilet is removed makes me wonder is there a huge tank for a number of people??
We have spoken to council people in Calis who looking into our tank and said it did not need emptying yet, but we will get it emptied as soon as we spend more time out there.
what? You never heard of muck spreading? How do you think farmers produce veg? We eat food which is fertilised by waste everyday!
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5+ years here with a septic tank. We flush toilet paper. We use soap powder in washing machine and dishwasher tablets in the dishwasher (disheasher tabs emulsify any fats). We are careful to use very little bleach and I am very careful not to allow grease to get into the tank, - a big no-no (wipe grease out of things before putting into dishwasher). We have never had the tank pumped out and rarely get smells. IF it happens its usually when a large amount of water is introduced to the tank in one go combined with the traps in the floors having no water in them, I just put water in them and its all sweetness once I open a window ;) VERY happy.
We know our tank has a bottom but has holes somewhere in the side for fluid to drain away. Idea being that there should be an element of biological action and settlement of sediment (hence the need to avoid harsh chemicals and grease getting into the tank).
Looked up info on septic tanks before we moved here and there are so many different types and opinions. Whatever we are doing, it all seems to be working fine (despite friends warning of dire consequences of flushing paper down the loo). BTW it seems (from what I gleaned from the net) better to not pump out tanks too often because it might interfere with the biologicals......
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It worries me Loz, when you say they don't have bottoms as that means sewage is going straight into the ground, again this would not be allowed in the U.K.
However, if there was a tank that did not need emptying that was legal in the U.K. we would have had one fitted 30 years ago. Also, the poster with one under his house with access only if the toilet is removed makes me wonder is there a huge tank for a number of people??
We have spoken to council people in Calis who looking into our tank and said it did not need emptying yet, but we will get it emptied as soon as we spend more time out there.
what? You never heard of muck spreading? How do you think farmers produce veg? We eat food which is fertilised by waste everyday!
I believe, in the UK, the effluent used for muck spreading is the sediment from the settlement tanks. So it isn't raw, it has broken down a bit from biological activity. I think same happens in our septic tanks, if they are working well. Its the sediment that has to be occasionally pumped out because inevitably some of it can't break down any further, so it builds up. The fluid that leaks away isn't supposed to be too noxious, because of the biologicals, but I wouldn't like to try it, LOL!!
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A belated follow up on this...we've since redone the shower rooms and found find that the plumbing was not very good at all so that's all been changed. All rectified now and with topping up the traps as and whento have solved the problem. Great news for us then ;D. Thanks for all the comments and advice.