Main drains here

[Karennina]

We have recently had (and also in past) bad problems with blocked / problem toilets on our complex and long story short we have found out the complex is not connected to the main drains sewerage,  any home owners / members know how we go about finding out how many tanks/ cess pits we have on our site as we feel it’s time to get connected but are unsure of how many tanks are in grounds...
Also has anyone done this recently if so any idea of the cost please, many thanks...

[Ian]

I think others might know more about this - but we first bought at Lemon 3 near the otogar.

We thought we were connected to the mains but then found out we weren’t (I think it was a vent pipe coming out of the ground near the front of the property that finally confirmed it).

Anyway, shortly after there was a scheme by the council to connect to the mains at a reasonable price in our area and I thought we would but a neighbour in the block assured us that a properly installed tank would not need emptying which surprised me but we never had any problems with smells and never connected to the mains or emptied it in the 7 years we were there.

If all else fails - speak with Cenk - I believe he is a qualified structural engineer - so knows more than most and I am sure he would be able to advise on the best way forward.

[mercury]

We had a septic tank which we only realised needed emptying after an influx of cockroaches.. The belidye were encouraging everyone to get connected to mains sewage.
The Turkish families across the road were charged about 200 lira but on our block off 8 they wanted 700 lira each apartment..We also had to pay for the paths digging up and filling in seperatley by someone else..This was 8 years ago so don't know if it's all changed now.  At the time they were laying a new road up to the apartments so they were rushing us to get it done.. We didn't bother.  Also at the time the Belidiye tried to add extra on to our council.tax to put towards the new road..The Turkish weren't asked to pay so we all objected again and they knocked it off our bill

[Karennina]

Thank you both so much Ian and Anne for posting both very interesting info from you both...
I think at this stage we need to get the septic tank/ cess pit pumped out and speak to someone from the water board, I seriously can’t believe the picture I have seen today of my neighbours bathroom to what they arrived to after something has backed up in their toilet not a nice sight...

[Steve A]

We had a tank for 12 years,emptied twice ,no problems with it.We got caught out on the extra council tax for the roads and stupidly paid,our Turkish neighbors didn’t.
Again we were approached for mains drainage but refused to pay so never got it.

[Karennina]

Thank you Steve for info
I think we’ve decided for now we are going to find out how much it costs to get the tank emptied maybe every few years and make sure it gets done!

[Steve A]

I can’t remember the cost of emptying and cleaning the tank but it wasn’t pricey.A few things to remember is that household cleaners and bleaches affect the bacteria within the tank thereby creating smells.If you use natural cleaning products it does not affect it .Our neighbours used to get use something for the toilets and kitchen ,can’t remember what it was,but done the job.White vinegar diluted into a spray cleans most things,neat down the loo.Bicarb and lemon juice in a paste cleans off the limescale.If you have vents in your bathroom or toilet floor pop a toilet block on top.
Boiling water down all sinks and drains regularly keeps them unblocked.
Remember if you haven’t used the villa/apt for a while ,turn your taps and showers on hot ,full power for about 15mins to prevent any nasties like legionella.
Likewise run the AC on full and regularly hoover and wash the filters.

[KKOB]

A couple of dead chickens thrown into the pit every 6 months or so gives the bacteria something to 'chew' on.

[TOSH TOSH]

Thank you for the good info Steve A 

[Karennina]

Thank u Steve really handy info. The other problem we are having is some folk are not adhering to using bathroom bins for paper hence it’s causing a blockage b4 stuff is reaching the tank
We know this for sure as sadly my next door neighbour arrived to find their bathroom floor even the shower cubicle was just covered in paper and worse it was so bad they had to pay a professional cleaner.