In the **** (literally)

I cannot believe what happened to me yesterday. I offered to help out a friend who like me rents out a holiday cottage here, but he lives in England and it is difficult to arrange to have the chimney swept, the boiler serviced, and all the other things that need doing regularly. ANd one of the most imp-ortant things is getting the septic tank emptied, which, I discovered, he had not had done since he bought the house four years ago! In the country here, no-one is on mains drainage and keeping the 'fosse' clean is a major part of yearly maintenance. All my visitors are told to put nothing down the toilet that shouldn't be there, but my friend had not realised the importance of this, and town dwellers do not think about it.

Anyway, the guys arrived yesterday afternoon to do it and I explained it was long overdue. They got to work and very soon their pipe blocked up and they had to dismantle it to clear it. This happened time after time and I cannot begin to describe some of the things they found in it, from old clothes to children's toys to other stuff too disgusting to talk about.

Then they hit a real problem, they could not clear the pipe and as they tried the whole thing blew back on us, spraying us with all the horrible effluent. I was about 5 yards away, but I got a soaking with it. The job finally got done, and I rushed home for a shower and then a long bath in perfumed oil. But I felt as if I was carrying the smell for the whole evening. It has taken another shower this morning to get rid of it.

Country living! I love it most of the time, but there are occasions when I long for the amenities of a city.

Oh my goodness Jenny!!. That would have seriously tipped me over the edge if that had happened to me I'd have had several baths and covered myself in the strongest body lotions i have

Why on earth do people put things down the toilet other that toilet tissue?!. More to the fact, how on earth do they get things such as clothing to flush down!!

Our state of Wisconsin has passed a law that all homes (like mine) have to have the septic tank pumped every 2 years. There was an initial inspection and we had a diagram of our property and had to indicate the place of the septic tank and the drain field. We are assessed a small fee every year ($15-$30) on our property taxes.

So I believe this spring we need ours pumped again.

About 5 years ago we had a blockage and called a company to pump it our. Then he suited up and went down into the septic tank, replaced a small pipe then he had to air jet the drain field pipes. We use a monthly product which we empty into one of the toilets to add bacteria for digestive purposes. We are really strict on what can be put down the toilet.

One couldn't pay me to do that job until I saw how much they charged!

I think your friend should buy you some nicely scented bath products! Did you keep your clothes or throw them away.

That sounds like an awful experience. Where I live, there is no maintenance required for upkeep on the septic system. However, there are only two folks here all the time and so what goes down the drain is minimal anyway. Our clothes are in the closet, not the toilet.

Oh my gosh, yucky, poor you. and as for the stuff found thats awful, I have caught my kids putting normal paper down the loo but since I ahve explained to them that toilet paper only down the toilet, never any problem, how on earth could they flush away clothes and kids toys, my toilet has troubleflusing when dh has been for a number 2 let alone a toy x

I undressed in the hall as soon as I got home and put my clothes straight into the washer on a high temp wash with lots of scented softener. They seem alright today - only jeans and a tshirt and underwear. We also are subject to inspection - my tank was inspected last year. But sometimes with absentee proprietors it slips through the net and things don't get done. Anyway, I am taking over the management of my friend's cottage (for which he will pay me a fee) so it won't happen again.

When we moved into our apartment our toilet stopped working almost immediately. The landlord had it snaked and I was so surprised with the stuff that come out of there - two sets of keys, a couple of McDonald's type toys, Q-tips and then the stuff that you don't want to hear about. Gross.

Oh God, OMG!!!! Oh geez, I would've puked my guts out right there and then.
Wow, I hope your friend sends you some super lovely expensive bath oils! You certainly deserve it after that.

OMG, what an experience!

I actually did some of that work my last summer in college, and when I discovered that I had to call a guy from a town about 30 miles away to have my tank in Arkansas done, I seriously considered buying a vacuum truck and going into the business. Yes, you will learn more about people than you ever wanted to know!

Originally Posted by pushylady

Oh God, OMG!!!! Oh geez, I would've puked my guts out right there and then.

Wow, I hope your friend sends you some super lovely expensive bath oils! You certainly deserve it after that.

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Oh! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh! What a revolting experience!

My parents don't have city water or sewage and they finally had their septic tank worked on last year. I wasn't too worried about what one might find (I never flushed anything that SHOULDN'T have been). Especially when I found out that the guy who was doing the work graduated high school with me. lol

Thank goodness my dad taught me early on what NOT to flush, lol.