A house I am considering has a septic tank as it is too far from the main sewer. I have never lived anywhere without mains drainage and am not really sure about how a septic tank works. Does all the water from the house get emptied into it? I know they need emptying every so often. how often? How is this done? does it cost much? The tanks I have seen pictures off dont look like they will hold much water. Any information would be gratefully received.  Thanks

A healthy septic tank with a good outflow will look after itself and will not need emptying that often. I've lived with one for the last 22 years, prior to that we had mains drainage, so, like you, we were a little apprehensive initially. We have ours emptied on an annual basis as we do not have a good outflow (under the driveway of the house and on a slope down to the road), however the septic tank man usually reports that all is well with the contents. :-)

I use non biological washing powder as I have been told that biological stuff kills off the good bugs which make the tank work properly and break down the contents. All the house water drains into the tank, but not rain drainage from the roof etc. We have only had one problem with the tank which necessitated a bit of rodding and a man with a high pressure hose.

Don't worry about a septic tank unduly, I tend to forget we have one, just very careful about what goes down the drains and the loo, especially sanitary products.

Thanks.  If the tank relies on bugs to make it work does using bleach etc affect it? At the moment I put my dog mess into the main drain and wash it away with water. Could it be put into the septic tank? or would I be better disposing of it another way? Does emptying it cost very much?

The liquids soak out of it, the solids stay in. Ours needs emptying once a year, with 3 people living in the house and always more people here at weekends as my kids come to visit. We started putting the dog waste into it but had to stop as it got full too quickly and needed emptying every few months!  We get a local farmer to empty it for about £100, professional firms charge more.

Disadvantage is when it is really windy the wind somehow blows up the toilet and pipes in the bathroom (the bath itself starts whining so you have to put the plug in it to be able to sleep at night for the noise) and the bathroom ends up STINKING. :( Could be because we are in a bungalow I suppose.

We don't have a smell problem in the house, but occasionally outside. Our emptying charge is roughly £100 too using a professional firm. Remember you will not be paying for sewage on your water rates.
It would be worth checking to see if there has been any problems with the septic tank in the past. If something has been reported then the council will be aware or hopefully the present owners will be honest enough to tell you. Ask them how often they empty the tank and also what kind they have. Ours is two large tanks, one holding the solid content and the other is the overflow of the liquids. There is also a double onion shaped tank which I believe is less efficient. Check bleach to see whether it is safe with septic tanks, many toilet cleaners are fine, but I always check. I only have one dog currently and put her waste into the dustbins which are permitted in this area so long as it's double wrapped. I collect in a poo bag then put it in an used dog food bag. When full or on collection day, the whole lot goes in the dustbin.

> We get a local farmer to empty it for about £100, professional firms charge more.

That's expensive - our local chap empties for £70.

> Disadvantage is when it is really windy the wind somehow blows up the toilet and pipes

We had this problem but changed the vent on the top of the pipe (on the tank) and it's much better now.

> If the tank relies on bugs to make it work does using bleach etc affect it?

We were told that it is OK to use anything that is designed to go down the waste pipe ie bleach, soap powder (any type) etc. Just don't pour other chemicals like white spirit, water that paint brushes have been cleaned in etc. We have never had a problem with our tank. It gets emptied once every two years- only two of us here most of the time. Our chap comes around with a tractor and a tank towed behind. He puts a large pipe into our tank and sucks out what's in there :) It's a bit noisy !

Check that you actually have a septic tank not a cesspool (a cesspool doesn't drain off the liquid so needs emptying often) - septic tanks are more common.

That's expensive - our local chap empties for £70.

I assume it is the inconvenience. We're out of the way, and the tank cannot be accessed through our garden so they have to ask next door to open up their fencing, move horses etc, in order to get to the field behind us. It is definitely about half price to what firms around here have quoted.

I was absolutely petrified the first time we brought a house with a sceptic tank. I worried that it would fill up and overflow and that I would be surrounded by a sea of sewage. I was constantly checking it, and had it emptied after 6 months, much to the amusement of the neighbours and the waste company, I needn't have worried, and now 10 years later, it feels like it's the norm. I do put our dog waste in it, so it works out a lot cheaper, and is more hygienic than having a large Commercial Poo Bin hanging around, stinking the place out and attracting flies. Or bagging up the Poo for the Dustmen to take...Gross I know, but that's what the Council recommend you do.... I get it emptied at a cost of £70, which is £10 more than normal as it does contain dog waste.

As Daisy said - check that it is a septic tank not a cess pit - many people get muddled up with the name.  We have lived with a cess pit for 30 years - but our new house has a mini sewerage works - it is a large tank that has a motor - works like the septic tank where the bacteria break down the nasties and the clean water leaves along numerous drainage channels and soaks away.  They do cost a few thousand but ours only needs desludging every 3 years.  So even if you have a cess pit that causes problems you can replace it with something like the biodigester.   Once again care has to be taken what goes down into it - but a little bleach now and then doesn't cause problems.   It depends on the drainage from the house whether it all goes into it - our sink now goes into a soak away because we had to have a grease trap fitted due to blocked drains. Septic tanks are usually only fitted if there is enough land around the property for a soak away on that land - otherwise it could very well be a cess pit.