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Our house does not have a laundry wash tub. And there is no room to put one in. So, all the water goes directly from the washer to the septic. On my previous house, I used a plain lint trap to stop it. But, cannot on this house.
Any ideas?
Thanks
Ken H.
I actually let the washing machine water head right out to the septic tank. I use biodegradable detergents to try to keep the tank enzymes balanced. We pump it out every two or three years and no problems yet.
I'd like to hear about any methods that would work for keeping the lint (etc.) out of the tank. I suppose I could rig up something to filter them out, but I don't really worry about washing machine lint that much. Wonder if I should?
Lint is no good for the septic system. It will take time to accumulate, but its not good.
Ken H.
The lint isn't a problem in the septic tank, it's the leach field you need to worry about. Our tank has an outlet filter screen to keep lint and other solids out of the field. We're supposed to pull the filter and hose it off once a year. Can't say I'm looking forward to that task, but it should beat a replacement field. Not sure if a screen could be retrofitted into an existing system or not [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
Yes. Very true. I used the wrong words in my post. The tile/leech field is where the problem comes up. The lint will eventually start to plug the 'holes' where the 'water' goes out.
Thanks
Ken H.
Ah, this makes sense. Does it matter how often you have the tank pumped? We do ours every two or three years, even though the last time it was done they said it didn't really need it.
(Which makes me wonder - does pumping it out too often create a problem? I know that we want the little bacteria to stay happy [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]...)
Ken
You might want to look at an inline filter like the SEP PRO. Here is the site septic protector . When I move to the country I plan to add both a filter to the washing machine and an effluent filter to the septic tank.
Randy
I think you really need to block foreign objects coming from the washer. I do agree that biodegradable detergents are best for this kind of set up. Not only to balance the enzyme level of the septic tank but also to help protect our environment.
I didn't know any of this. I don't think we have any sort of a lint trap set up on the washer machine or the rinse water. That is pretty interesting and I'm going to have to take a look into it. I swear our septic needs to be pumped already again!
Man made fabrics shed non-biodegradable lint into your septic system where it forms a felt like barrier in your leach field rendering it useless. Natural fabrics are not quite so bad as they can bio-degrade some in the tank and downstream.
Pumping the tank and or using GREEN detergents does absolutely nothing to prevent this problem.
You can buy lint filters for washing machines. You can make one if you are DIY handy. A filter for the washing machine is much much MUCH more fun to clean than one on the output of your septic tank.
Pat
I've read you can just use pantyhose. Stretch it over the end of the washer outflow pipe, use a zip-tie to secure it, and then put the outflow pipe back into the pipe leading to the septic.
I actually let the washing machine water head right out to the septic tank. I use biodegradable detergents to try to keep the tank enzymes balanced. We pump it out every two or three years and no problems yet.
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