Many thanks to all those who have so kindly offered their thoughts on
how frequently to clean a septic tank (my posting below: "Septic Tank:
how often to clean").

I should say that I posted the question partly because the previous
owner admitted that he and his wife were, forgive me for mentioning it,
"very anal"! And since we've been here we have discovered this
admission to probably have been true. On the day we moved in, even,
they were cleaning and scrubbing every hidden corner until an hour
before our delivery truck arrived! When we viewed the house we noted
that their "detergent cupboard" was, let's say, unusually well stocked!

Like some people who have replied to my posting, we have come from the
side of a Welsh "mountain" (Welsh mountain = hill). There we had a
massive concrete septic tank embedded in the ground but it was also
somewhat at the top of a "cliff" so that it soaked away into land & a
stream about 30 feet below. Quite a "pull". On moving I asked the
owner about frequency of cleaning the tank and he said, "Don't touch it,
till you smell it, and you won't smell it till it starts bubbling
through the sides of the lid!" He was such a know-all I believed him
and we never got the thing cleaned. When we were selling the place our
buyer wanted to know about the septic tank and I took off the lid and
showed him the contents and repeated what I had been told! Thankfully,
the "cake" on top of the contents was well below the lid! Also
thankfully, I could see that "clear" liquid was departing through the
outlet pipe. What I did not know was how thick the layer of "clear"
liquid was! Or, in other words, how high the sludge level was! For all
I knew it could have been very close to outlet pipe. On moving into
this new property with a similar though smaller concrete septic tank
embedded in the ground, I did a bit of research and learnt that waiting
for the contents to start bubbling up round the lid was utterly foolish
and so got back to my buyer and corrected the information I had given
him and advised him strongly to have the tank cleaned as soon as
possible.

Anyway . . .

In addition to carefully reading all replies to my post I have also done
some research. It appears that, yes, tanks can be of different sizes &
involve more than one chamber but essentially they all operate on the
same principle. This principle is as follows:

1. All your waste flows into the tank via an opening fairly high up the
side of the tank.
2. The "heavy stuff" falls to the bottom.
3. The outlet pipe is roughly the same height as the inlet pipe and
usually on the other side of the tank. Only the "light stuff", i.e.
"clear" liquid should ever flow out of the tank through this pipe and
into the soakaway / gravel conduits / "herringbone" or what-have-you.
4. A good level of bacteria in the tank works on the "heavy stuff" at
the bottom of the tank and assists in continually reducing it.
5. However, sooner or later the level of the "heavy stuff", i.e. the
"sludge" at the bottom of all tanks, WILL build up sufficiently to reach
the outlet pipe UNLESS you intervene and reduce the sludge level, i.e.
have most of it sucked out.
6. If the sludge DOES get as high as the outlet pipe and starts to exit
the tank via this pipe it will move off into the soakaway land. No
problem will manifest itself for some time. Eventually however the land
will become clogged with the sludge and your only option then will be to
build a new septic tank on a separate and clean piece of land.
Expensive and possibly difficult if not impossible because of the
geographical requirements.

So, from all of this, it seems pretty clear to me that one needs to
devise a way of checking on one's sludge level!

Does anyone do that? I'm thinking of making a "sludge-detector" by
taking a long pole and fixing a fairly large flat "plate" (piece of
board) to the end of it. If I were to then slowly lower this down
through the top level of "clear" liquid I ought to be able to feel when
I hit the sludge level. If it is a good way below the outlet pipe, then
all is well. If not, then a clean is in order.

What do you think?

Yes, I know I should just make the "detector" and go test it . . . but
who wants to go outside in this awful weather and start poking around in
"heavy stuff" if it might be a complete waste of time?

Eddy.

P.S. By the way, when I said a commercial cleaner round these parts
charges £120 I meant £120 inclusive of VAT. They're all roughly the
same price round here and, no, the council here in this county doesn't
offer a septic tank service.

"Eddy Bentley" wrote in message
...
Many thanks to all those who have so kindly offered their thoughts on
how frequently to clean a septic tank (my posting below: "Septic Tank:
how often to clean").

I should say that I posted the question partly because the previous
owner admitted that he and his wife were, forgive me for mentioning it,
"very anal"! And since we've been here we have discovered this
admission to probably have been true. On the day we moved in, even,
they were cleaning and scrubbing every hidden corner until an hour
before our delivery truck arrived! When we viewed the house we noted
that their "detergent cupboard" was, let's say, unusually well stocked!

Like some people who have replied to my posting, we have come from the
side of a Welsh "mountain" (Welsh mountain = hill). There we had a
massive concrete septic tank embedded in the ground but it was also
somewhat at the top of a "cliff" so that it soaked away into land & a
stream about 30 feet below. Quite a "pull". On moving I asked the
owner about frequency of cleaning the tank and he said, "Don't touch it,
till you smell it, and you won't smell it till it starts bubbling
through the sides of the lid!" He was such a know-all I believed him
and we never got the thing cleaned. When we were selling the place our
buyer wanted to know about the septic tank and I took off the lid and
showed him the contents and repeated what I had been told! Thankfully,
the "cake" on top of the contents was well below the lid! Also
thankfully, I could see that "clear" liquid was departing through the
outlet pipe. What I did not know was how thick the layer of "clear"
liquid was! Or, in other words, how high the sludge level was! For all
I knew it could have been very close to outlet pipe. On moving into
this new property with a similar though smaller concrete septic tank
embedded in the ground, I did a bit of research and learnt that waiting
for the contents to start bubbling up round the lid was utterly foolish
and so got back to my buyer and corrected the information I had given
him and advised him strongly to have the tank cleaned as soon as
possible.

Anyway . . .

In addition to carefully reading all replies to my post I have also done
some research. It appears that, yes, tanks can be of different sizes &
involve more than one chamber but essentially they all operate on the
same principle. This principle is as follows:

1. All your waste flows into the tank via an opening fairly high up the
side of the tank.
2. The "heavy stuff" falls to the bottom.
3. The outlet pipe is roughly the same height as the inlet pipe and
usually on the other side of the tank. Only the "light stuff", i.e.
"clear" liquid should ever flow out of the tank through this pipe and
into the soakaway / gravel conduits / "herringbone" or what-have-you.
4. A good level of bacteria in the tank works on the "heavy stuff" at
the bottom of the tank and assists in continually reducing it.
5. However, sooner or later the level of the "heavy stuff", i.e. the
"sludge" at the bottom of all tanks, WILL build up sufficiently to reach
the outlet pipe UNLESS you intervene and reduce the sludge level, i.e.
have most of it sucked out.
6. If the sludge DOES get as high as the outlet pipe and starts to exit
the tank via this pipe it will move off into the soakaway land. No
problem will manifest itself for some time. Eventually however the land
will become clogged with the sludge and your only option then will be to
build a new septic tank on a separate and clean piece of land.
Expensive and possibly difficult if not impossible because of the
geographical requirements.

So, from all of this, it seems pretty clear to me that one needs to
devise a way of checking on one's sludge level!

Does anyone do that? I'm thinking of making a "sludge-detector" by
taking a long pole and fixing a fairly large flat "plate" (piece of
board) to the end of it. If I were to then slowly lower this down
through the top level of "clear" liquid I ought to be able to feel when
I hit the sludge level. If it is a good way below the outlet pipe, then
all is well. If not, then a clean is in order.

What do you think?

Yes, I know I should just make the "detector" and go test it . . . but
who wants to go outside in this awful weather and start poking around in
"heavy stuff" if it might be a complete waste of time?

Eddy.

P.S. By the way, when I said a commercial cleaner round these parts
charges £120 I meant £120 inclusive of VAT. They're all roughly the
same price round here and, no, the council here in this county doesn't
offer a septic tank service.


Well done Eddy.

Wonderful posting with a lot of research

Best wishes

Mike
P.S. I think you Sludge Level with a bit of board would work to a certain
degree, but not tooooooooooooooooo accurate because I feel that the board
would indeed 'sink' into the solid/sludge, but with practice I would expect
you to be able to 'feel' when it started to go into it.



--
www.rnshipmates.co.uk for ALL Royal Navy Association matters
www.rneba.org.uk. The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association to find your ex-Greenie mess mates.
www.iowtours.com for all ex-Service Reunions. More being added regularly
"Navy Days" Portsmouth 25th - 27th July 2008. RN Shipmates will be there.

On 5 Dec, 14:12, "'Mike'" wrote:
"Eddy Bentley" wrote in message

...



Many thanks to all those who have so kindly offered their thoughts on
how frequently to clean a septic tank (my posting below: "Septic Tank:
how often to clean").

I should say that I posted the question partly because the previous
owner admitted that he and his wife were, forgive me for mentioning it,
"very anal"! And since we've been here we have discovered this
admission to probably have been true. On the day we moved in, even,
they were cleaning and scrubbing every hidden corner until an hour
before our delivery truck arrived! When we viewed the house we noted
that their "detergent cupboard" was, let's say, unusually well stocked!

Like some people who have replied to my posting, we have come from the
side of a Welsh "mountain" (Welsh mountain = hill). There we had a
massive concrete septic tank embedded in the ground but it was also
somewhat at the top of a "cliff" so that it soaked away into land & a
stream about 30 feet below. Quite a "pull". On moving I asked the
owner about frequency of cleaning the tank and he said, "Don't touch it,
till you smell it, and you won't smell it till it starts bubbling
through the sides of the lid!" He was such a know-all I believed him
and we never got the thing cleaned. When we were selling the place our
buyer wanted to know about the septic tank and I took off the lid and
showed him the contents and repeated what I had been told! Thankfully,
the "cake" on top of the contents was well below the lid! Also
thankfully, I could see that "clear" liquid was departing through the
outlet pipe. What I did not know was how thick the layer of "clear"
liquid was! Or, in other words, how high the sludge level was! For all
I knew it could have been very close to outlet pipe. On moving into
this new property with a similar though smaller concrete septic tank
embedded in the ground, I did a bit of research and learnt that waiting
for the contents to start bubbling up round the lid was utterly foolish
and so got back to my buyer and corrected the information I had given
him and advised him strongly to have the tank cleaned as soon as
possible.

Anyway . . .

In addition to carefully reading all replies to my post I have also done
some research. It appears that, yes, tanks can be of different sizes &
involve more than one chamber but essentially they all operate on the
same principle. This principle is as follows:

1. All your waste flows into the tank via an opening fairly high up the
side of the tank.
2. The "heavy stuff" falls to the bottom.
3. The outlet pipe is roughly the same height as the inlet pipe and
usually on the other side of the tank. Only the "light stuff", i.e.
"clear" liquid should ever flow out of the tank through this pipe and
into the soakaway / gravel conduits / "herringbone" or what-have-you.
4. A good level of bacteria in the tank works on the "heavy stuff" at
the bottom of the tank and assists in continually reducing it.
5. However, sooner or later the level of the "heavy stuff", i.e. the
"sludge" at the bottom of all tanks, WILL build up sufficiently to reach
the outlet pipe UNLESS you intervene and reduce the sludge level, i.e.
have most of it sucked out.
6. If the sludge DOES get as high as the outlet pipe and starts to exit
the tank via this pipe it will move off into the soakaway land. No
problem will manifest itself for some time. Eventually however the land
will become clogged with the sludge and your only option then will be to
build a new septic tank on a separate and clean piece of land.
Expensive and possibly difficult if not impossible because of the
geographical requirements.

So, from all of this, it seems pretty clear to me that one needs to
devise a way of checking on one's sludge level!

Does anyone do that? I'm thinking of making a "sludge-detector" by
taking a long pole and fixing a fairly large flat "plate" (piece of
board) to the end of it. If I were to then slowly lower this down
through the top level of "clear" liquid I ought to be able to feel when
I hit the sludge level. If it is a good way below the outlet pipe, then
all is well. If not, then a clean is in order.

What do you think?

Yes, I know I should just make the "detector" and go test it . . . but
who wants to go outside in this awful weather and start poking around in
"heavy stuff" if it might be a complete waste of time?

Eddy.

P.S. By the way, when I said a commercial cleaner round these parts
charges £120 I meant £120 inclusive of VAT. They're all roughly the
same price round here and, no, the council here in this county doesn't
offer a septic tank service.

Well done Eddy.

Wonderful posting with a lot of research

Best wishes

Mike
P.S. I think you Sludge Level with a bit of board would work to a certain
degree, but not tooooooooooooooooo accurate because I feel that the board
would indeed 'sink' into the solid/sludge, but with practice I would expect
you to be able to 'feel' when it started to go into it.

--www.rnshipmates.co.ukfor ALL Royal Navy Association matterswww.rneba.org..uk. The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association to find your ex-Greenie mess mates.www.iowtours.comfor all ex-Service Reunions. More being added regularly
"Navy Days" Portsmouth 25th - 27th July 2008. RN Shipmates will be there.


In the days of my youth we lived in the country outside Hastings, and
every 2 or 3 years we would dig a good trench 2 ft deep and the width
of the veg patch, the "Sludge" from the septic tank would then be
brought out by the bucket full and tipped into said trench, This was
then covered with the soil and the crop of runner beans we grew was
first class.
David Hill
Abacus Nurseries

'Mike' wrote:
P.S. I think you Sludge Level with a bit of board would work to a certain
degree, but not tooooooooooooooooo accurate because I feel that the board
would indeed 'sink' into the solid/sludge, but with practice I would expect
you to be able to 'feel' when it started to go into it.

Yes, getting the hang of when one had penetrated to top of the sludge
would indeed probably take practice. Hmmm, an art I never contemplated
I would wish to become proficient at! :-)

Eddy.

Dave Hill wrote:
In the days of my youth we lived in the country outside Hastings, and
every 2 or 3 years we would dig a good trench 2 ft deep and the width
of the veg patch, the "Sludge" from the septic tank would then be
brought out by the bucket full and tipped into said trench, This was
then covered with the soil and the crop of runner beans we grew was
first class.

But would I be right in think, David, it was a job you weren't
particularly keen on? :-)

When we lived in West Wales we had a stream divided up into six ponds
and six waterfalls. All very beautiful but during the rains of autumn,
winter, and spring the stream brought down silt, gravel, and twigs from
the hill further up and so every summer one of my jobs was to pump out
all the water from each pond and then get in there and fork out the
sludge which by then had long been decomposing (full of autumn leaves).
The stink was horrendous. The contents of a septic tank must be worse?
I'll leave the extraction to the jolly young chap who apparently does
all the houses in this area.

Eddy.

"Eddy Bentley" wrote in message
...
Many thanks to all those who have so kindly offered their thoughts on
how frequently to clean a septic tank (my posting below: "Septic Tank:
how often to clean").

I should say that I posted the question partly because the previous
owner admitted that he and his wife were, forgive me for mentioning it,
"very anal"! And since we've been here we have discovered this
admission to probably have been true. On the day we moved in, even,
they were cleaning and scrubbing every hidden corner until an hour
before our delivery truck arrived! When we viewed the house we noted
that their "detergent cupboard" was, let's say, unusually well stocked!

Like some people who have replied to my posting, we have come from the
side of a Welsh "mountain" (Welsh mountain = hill). There we had a
massive concrete septic tank embedded in the ground but it was also
somewhat at the top of a "cliff" so that it soaked away into land & a
stream about 30 feet below. Quite a "pull". On moving I asked the
owner about frequency of cleaning the tank and he said, "Don't touch it,
till you smell it, and you won't smell it till it starts bubbling
through the sides of the lid!" He was such a know-all I believed him
and we never got the thing cleaned. When we were selling the place our
buyer wanted to know about the septic tank and I took off the lid and
showed him the contents and repeated what I had been told! Thankfully,
the "cake" on top of the contents was well below the lid! Also
thankfully, I could see that "clear" liquid was departing through the
outlet pipe. What I did not know was how thick the layer of "clear"
liquid was! Or, in other words, how high the sludge level was! For all
I knew it could have been very close to outlet pipe. On moving into
this new property with a similar though smaller concrete septic tank
embedded in the ground, I did a bit of research and learnt that waiting
for the contents to start bubbling up round the lid was utterly foolish
and so got back to my buyer and corrected the information I had given
him and advised him strongly to have the tank cleaned as soon as
possible.

Anyway . . .

In addition to carefully reading all replies to my post I have also done
some research. It appears that, yes, tanks can be of different sizes &
involve more than one chamber but essentially they all operate on the
same principle. This principle is as follows:

1. All your waste flows into the tank via an opening fairly high up the
side of the tank.
2. The "heavy stuff" falls to the bottom.
3. The outlet pipe is roughly the same height as the inlet pipe and
usually on the other side of the tank. Only the "light stuff", i.e.
"clear" liquid should ever flow out of the tank through this pipe and
into the soakaway / gravel conduits / "herringbone" or what-have-you.
4. A good level of bacteria in the tank works on the "heavy stuff" at
the bottom of the tank and assists in continually reducing it.
5. However, sooner or later the level of the "heavy stuff", i.e. the
"sludge" at the bottom of all tanks, WILL build up sufficiently to reach
the outlet pipe UNLESS you intervene and reduce the sludge level, i.e.
have most of it sucked out.
6. If the sludge DOES get as high as the outlet pipe and starts to exit
the tank via this pipe it will move off into the soakaway land. No
problem will manifest itself for some time. Eventually however the land
will become clogged with the sludge and your only option then will be to
build a new septic tank on a separate and clean piece of land.
Expensive and possibly difficult if not impossible because of the
geographical requirements.

So, from all of this, it seems pretty clear to me that one needs to
devise a way of checking on one's sludge level!

Does anyone do that? I'm thinking of making a "sludge-detector" by
taking a long pole and fixing a fairly large flat "plate" (piece of
board) to the end of it. If I were to then slowly lower this down
through the top level of "clear" liquid I ought to be able to feel when
I hit the sludge level. If it is a good way below the outlet pipe, then
all is well. If not, then a clean is in order.

What do you think?

Yes, I know I should just make the "detector" and go test it . . . but
who wants to go outside in this awful weather and start poking around in
"heavy stuff" if it might be a complete waste of time?

Eddy.

P.S. By the way, when I said a commercial cleaner round these parts
charges £120 I meant £120 inclusive of VAT. They're all roughly the
same price round here and, no, the council here in this county doesn't
offer a septic tank service.



The guy who empties mine charges 90 with no VAT. His story is that he has
a competitor who charges 120 including VAT. He claims that the difference
is that the competitor rods one of the drains making the job VATable.

Graham Harrison wrote:
The guy who empties mine charges 90 with no VAT. His story is that he has
a competitor who charges 120 including VAT. He claims that the difference
is that the competitor rods one of the drains making the job VATable.

90 with no VAT. Great. But I guess you're not where I am, Shropshire?

Eddy.

Chris Hogg wrote:
The sludge in my tank is much too soft to offer resistance to a board
as you describe, especially as it will be trying to float if it's
wood. In the past I've gently lowered a long bamboo into the tank
until it touches bottom. Then _slowly_ withdraw it. The bottom end of
the bamboo comes out black along its length where the sludge sticks,
to the depth of the sludge. If you pull out the bamboo too quickly,
the sludge can wash off. Wash hands after use!

Thanks, Chris. And the rougher the bamboo the better, so the sludge
sticks to it? No need for the board business, then. (I often go into
overkill.)

Eddy.

On Dec 6, 9:56 am, Eddy Bentley
wrote:
Chris Hogg wrote:
The sludge in mytankis much too soft to offer resistance to a board
as you describe, especially as it will be trying to float if it's
wood. In the past I've gently lowered a long bamboo into thetank
until it touches bottom. Then _slowly_ withdraw it. The bottom end of
the bamboo comes out black along its length where the sludge sticks,
to the depth of the sludge. If you pull out the bamboo too quickly,
the sludge can wash off. Wash hands after use!

Thanks, Chris. And the rougher the bamboo the better, so the sludge
sticks to it? No need for the board business, then. (I often go into
overkill.)

Eddy.

PerryOne
I'm not to sure how this works, this is my first blog!
Hope it provides some useful information.

My experience of living with our septic tank is:
With two of us using it. It never seems to fill up
I measure it every month and it remains static.

Septic tanks work by anaerobic process of de -composition turning our
toilet into methane gas. Our toilet is 70% water so the solids are
very little and after process they more or less disappear.(see below)

The system works by separation, the oils and light things like grease
float to the top, under this is a layer of water based liquids with a
suspension of tiny solids that gradually fall to the bottom, to de-
compose, at the bottom the compact sludge.

The key thing here is the quantity of oil that you pour down the
kitchen sink, over time the build up of oil in the top of the tank
will result in neat oil flowing into the drain field and spoiling it.
All oils should be collected and placed in the dustbin.
Things like frying pans and other oily/greasy kitchen things should be
wiped dry with paper towels prior to washing and the towels dropped in
the waste bin.

Restaurants, hotels and similar who do a lot of cooking find it
helpful to fit a grease/oil trap between the sink and tank.

Interesting enough the septic tank was invented by a Frenchman John
Louis Maura's who in the 1860's build a brick pond. On opening it
after 12 years he was surprised to find it almost empty. John patented
his invention on the 2/9/1881.

If you look on the net you will find that there are many people in the
USA would have not emptied their septic tanks for over 30 years and
yes like mine fitted in 1985 they a still OK and going strong and
trouble free, free flowing clear liquid and a nice crust on the top.
In some States you are required to empty your tank every 3 to five
years.
In the UK the recommended period is every year, this is trotted out
regardless of the size of tank and drain field or the number of people
using it. Or indeed if it is used or not!

Experience suggests that the longer the time the suspended solids have
to settle and the larger the volume of free water/liquid the better
the tank works. One could say that the timing of the days events and
the order of process will have an effect. At the same time while the
licensed tank emptying people would like to make lots of money
emptying your tank every three months or so, in practice waiting until
you have a minimum of 30cms of clear water/liquid on the top of the
sludge seems to work. However, keep in mind the build up of oil/grease
if your housekeeping is not up to standard.

It is a good idea to manufacture a pole with a plastic bottle on the
end that can be passed down inside the tank to ascertain the remaining
space on top of the sludge.

The secret of longevity is : Control the things you put into the tank.

Keep in mind that the process requires and generates its own heat,
avoid letting cold rainwater get into the tank, expect the process to
slow in the cold of winter and to flourish in the warmth of summer.
It is good practice to limit the amount and volume of cold water
entering the tank, as large volumes of water will wash the suspended
solids through the system into the drain field and stop it from
working.

It will also come to a halt when it is not used for a time and then
start up again when brought back into use.

Do not put salt into the tank it is an antiseptic and salt will slow
the process and in time kill your drain field.
Do not put cooking oil, food or scraps off the table, or from food
preparation down the sink as part of washing up.
Do not put paper hankies, sanitary towels condoms, cat litter or
anything else down the toilet.
Do not put bleach or formaldehyde or any other chemicals or oils or
paint into the tank.
Think about the things you put into the tank and avoid anything that
could possibly block the drain field

Just use it to process your toilet waste and it will go on for years.

Kindly note: The above blog is the result of experience and includes
information gathered from the web over a number of years. I found it
very difficult to find information of a specific nature in the UK. The
manufacturers of septic tanks seem shy on quoting/providing
information. Other than the most simple illustrations. There seems to
be a move towards promoting tanks with high running costs, whereas you
can see that from the very first concept in 1860 the simple tank does
the job and once installed has little or no further cost.

"PerryOne" wrote in message
...
On Dec 6, 9:56 am, Eddy Bentley
wrote:
Chris Hogg wrote:
The sludge in mytankis much too soft to offer resistance to a board
as you describe, especially as it will be trying to float if it's
wood. In the past I've gently lowered a long bamboo into thetank
until it touches bottom. Then _slowly_ withdraw it. The bottom end of
the bamboo comes out black along its length where the sludge sticks,
to the depth of the sludge. If you pull out the bamboo too quickly,
the sludge can wash off. Wash hands after use!

Thanks, Chris. And the rougher the bamboo the better, so the sludge
sticks to it? No need for the board business, then. (I often go into
overkill.)

Eddy.

PerryOne
I'm not to sure how this works, this is my first blog!
Hope it provides some useful information.

My experience of living with our septic tank is:
With two of us using it. It never seems to fill up
I measure it every month and it remains static.

Septic tanks work by anaerobic process of de -composition turning our
toilet into methane gas. Our toilet is 70% water so the solids are
very little and after process they more or less disappear.(see below)

The system works by separation, the oils and light things like grease
float to the top, under this is a layer of water based liquids with a
suspension of tiny solids that gradually fall to the bottom, to de-
compose, at the bottom the compact sludge.

The key thing here is the quantity of oil that you pour down the
kitchen sink, over time the build up of oil in the top of the tank
will result in neat oil flowing into the drain field and spoiling it.
All oils should be collected and placed in the dustbin.
Things like frying pans and other oily/greasy kitchen things should be
wiped dry with paper towels prior to washing and the towels

are best placed in your compost bin where the paper and oils can be broken
down by natural processes.

rob

"PerryOne" wrote in message
...


....

The key thing here is the quantity of oil that you pour down the
kitchen sink, over time the build up of oil in the top of the tank
will result in neat oil flowing into the drain field and spoiling it.
All oils should be collected and placed in the dustbin.
Things like frying pans and other oily/greasy kitchen things should be
wiped dry with paper towels prior to washing and the towels dropped in
the waste bin.



Why on Earth would anyone want to put fat or oil down the drain?

Mary

On Sat, 08 Dec 2007 23:51:55 +0100, Martin wrote:

Why on Earth would anyone want to put fat or oil down the drain?

because they do.

Out of ignorance. Does anyone keep a bowl or dripping in the fridge any
more? The fat was liquid when I poured it down...

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Dave. pam is missing e-mail

"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message
ll.net...
On Sat, 08 Dec 2007 23:51:55 +0100, Martin wrote:

Why on Earth would anyone want to put fat or oil down the drain?

because they do.

Out of ignorance. Does anyone keep a bowl or dripping in the fridge any
more?

I do, but we rarely fry food. I have a fridge specially for sheep fat.

The fat was liquid when I poured it down...

Come on, Dave, you know more about physics than to do such a silly thing :-)

Caravanners are always complaining about blockages caused by fat but they
carry on putting it down their wastes. Mad.

Mary

On Sun, 9 Dec 2007 11:48:24 -0000, Mary Fisher wrote:

The fat was liquid when I poured it down...

Come on, Dave, you know more about physics than to do such a silly thing
:-)

I do, you do, but I expect a significant number of the population don't.

Hence the reference to dripping in the fridge. If you have never seen what
happens to the "juices" from a roast once they go cold you won't have made
the connection, even then I expect people will think the hot water will
wash it away, whcih to some extent it will but not completely...

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message
ll.net...
On Sun, 9 Dec 2007 11:48:24 -0000, Mary Fisher wrote:

The fat was liquid when I poured it down...

Come on, Dave, you know more about physics than to do such a silly thing
:-)

I do, you do, but I expect a significant number of the population don't.

Hence the reference to dripping in the fridge. If you have never seen what
happens to the "juices" from a roast once they go cold you won't have made
the connection, even then I expect people will think the hot water will
wash it away, whcih to some extent it will but not completely...

The watery juice from a roast is delicious gravy. The fat content is
delicious but not gravy. If left unattended the solid particles will grow
hair.

Baldies - don't get excited :-)

Mary

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail