Tip: septic

Tip: Put a tarp over the septic tanks to reduce the amount of water that leaks into the tanks therefore causing the high liquid level alarm to go off.

Septic fun and games

Last Saturday when I got up to feed the chickens I heard a strange noise start. It was a whining irritating sound. I followed my ears and found that it was the alarm for the septic system.
Since I had not done my homework yet, I did not know what to do. I silenced the alarm and started making phone calls. Not one septic company in this area works on weekends. So I left a few voicemails and we waited until Monday.
Let me tell you the weekend was troublesome. We had hot/cold water and power, but not having the waste system working meant:

• no toilets
• no washing dishes/etc in the house
• no shower

We made due by using my camping toilets and the local woods. Dishes were washed outside. We setup the solar shower which worked so-so, I need to rig some way to hang it up higher.

Monday am at 7:15 I got a call from the local Roto-Rooter and they sent their tech. The problem turned out to be: the tie-wrap that held the alarm sensor broke and dropped the sensor into the liquid tank and that is why it was reporting the liquid level high.

I asked a lot of questions and learned that there is maintenance I need to do at least once a year, so it was a good learning experience. And for $150, it was not too expensive.