Save 1/2 gal of water on each flush

[meackerman]

We haven't had our 2 pumped out in 15 or so years.

if everything is working right you shouldn't need to.  eventually the inflow side of the tank can develop enough sludge to noticeably decrease the tank's volume.

[Robert Adams]

In Wisconsin mandatory inspection or pumping every 3 years. I consider this normal maintenance. No different than an oil change in you truck. I do my best to keep grease out of my septic. I have been told this is the worst thing for them. Not sure if this is right or not. Why are toilets like I have seen in some other countries not available or at least uncommon here. 2 different water flush amounts depending on the transaction. I have a friend who moved here from Australia. He has told me that due to extreme water shortages the rule as he was growing up,and I quote."yellow is mellow and brown is down". Minor transactions not being flushed would definitly drive the females in my family nuts. Possibly only followed at gunpoint and not even sure then.

      Dual flush toilets are more the norm here than single now. 

      When we were in Greece everything used massive amounts of water. The toilets (new toilets) used twice or more water than US ones and the showers were wonderful. The showers have great water volume and pressure it was so nice taking a shower in a real shower instead of a mister on the wall spitting at you.  Water must be very cheap there even on the islands where they have to desalinate. 

      We have had dual flush toilets in our house for 10 years. I don't see the need to bypass the bowl fill. It serves a purpose and here the more water that goes down the drain means more water that is treated and returned to the lake. So the more water that goes down the drain the cleaner the lake gets and the lake is nasty.

[Cooler]

all depends on how often you pump your septic system.    You can abuse a septic system pretty badly if you pump it often enough.

I am one person in a 3 bedroom home.  I pump it every 7 or 8 years.  They tell you to do it every 2 or 3 years, but that is for a family of four.  I could probably go to 8 or 10 years, but I worry it will overflow in the winter and I would be in a lot of trouble.

[daddo]

Many years ago our two small tanks were in trouble and the lateral line was filling some. I installed an aerator system and it's been working fine since.
We went from pumping every year to pumping every 5 years whether it needs it or not.

[EightFingers]

What’s an aerator system?

[fredhargis]

Using an oil-less oil air pump to move air through the septic tank and blow through an air sparge. The increased O2 breaks down the solids more efficiently. These systems can get very sophisticated (and expensive), some of them around us don't have to have leach fields or sand filters.