Your Septic System: Worst Mistakes

I knew a horse trainer who bought a house close to his barns. He had trouble with the septic system from day one. Multiple plumbers came out, starting their inspections inside at the toilets and working back out of the house, looking for the problem. It took a while but one finally convinced him how big his problem was. This plumber finally said "We're gonna have to pull the lid off the tank." They did, no small feat in itself. Under the lid, the tank was full, CHOCK FULL, of condoms. Used rubbers, top to bottom, side to side, god knows how many gallons! Turns out, the horse trainer bought what used to be the local "House of Ill Repute"! Just in case anyone needed to hear that...

Jerry Scarborough is a master of his trade. Very smart man who knows his business. Thank you for teaching us all about septic tanks.

I would say the tank was somewhat cleaned. The only way to do a thorough cleaning is to remove the main lid to the septic tank. Around 24" round. Many companies pump through the cleanout because they're too lazy to dig the lid open. If you don't pump from the lid you're basically just pumping out water and not getting the solids out. Make sure your septic company does a complete job

I love this guy, straight to the point, total no-nonsense evidence-founded advice. Interviews like this with experienced people are the gold for YouTube. Thanks Sachs Realty for bringing this content.

I watched this on a whim. Amazing. I learned so freaking much. And the way the gentleman explained it was somewhat hilarious.

We have those stainless steel filter baskets in our kitchen sink drain and they basically serve as a garbage disposal. I highly recommend them.

Buying a house, this information is priceless! Thank you.

I've been blessed. Have a concrete 1000 gallon tank, and a 1100 linear foot septic drain field. Hadn't had the tank pumped out since it was installed in 1999. Had it pumped out first time this year. It took them only 10 minutes to pump it clean as I was flushing both toilets. I asked them how bad was the it. They said was easy. Never had baby wipes, grease from kitchen, paper towel, etc. ever flushed down into system. Take care of what goes into your septic system and itll last a good long time.

Absolutely one of the best instructional videos I’ve seen on YouTube. Credit to that inspector.

Jerry did an inspection for me on a house I bought in Maryland. He told me and my wife the rules…. 1. Don’t flush anything down the drain that you haven’t eaten first. 2. Don’t use powdered laundry detergent. 3. Don’t pour grease down the drain. 4. Only use single ply toilet paper. We never had a problem with our septic system or our drain fields.

I wish that I had my septic system inspected before I bought my house. I've never owned a house before, much less a septic system. I didn't know any better.

Septic system maintenance is very key! Learning what you can and cannot flush is key to keep one working for life. When I was into building heavy i worked with an old timer who installed all the septic and he was a wealth of knowledge. He said a properly maintained system should never need pumped. He recommended Robic cleaners once a year and more often if you use a lot of soaps and caustic cleaners. He said use Organic cleaners where possible and anti-bacterial soaps kill the natural bacteria in the tank so Robic is needed more often. He also said adding things like Milk products or beers will help add bacteria. Most people never maintenance a septic system and just use it until it fails. Several years ago we bought a house and found out later on that the leach field had been removed and had just a tank. Before we used it I had treated it heavy with Robic double the amounts required and hit it every 6 months. House sat over winter so we added Robic before closing the property before winter. 2 years later the tank was full and gound was wet and called the local sewer pumper. He had been at the property many times before and said prior times the tank was full and very sludgy. When he pumped this time the tank was very clean and no solids and no sludge. He was very surprised and asked what i did to the system. Robic and hit it hard. He said keep doing it that it worked very well and it was the cleaned he's seen it. No solids, no grease of any kind. He said drain field not working. Hired in a guy to dig it up and thats when we found there wasnt one....small 250 gallon septic. New drain field and no issue. Future will be a new septic tank per code. Been 7 years now and anuall inspection its still clear and in good shape. Robic still twice a year. No worse deterioration on tank since take over.

Thank you for making this video. We are in the process of buying a home. We had a septic tank inspection. It said the tank did not need to be drained, not much detail other than that. It passed. I didn't know you couldn't use a garbage disposal. The home comes with one, it's a shame. Angel from The Bay

That septic guy really knows his stuff

Been a multiple home owner over a few decades and never once experienced septic system problems of any kind, might be a result of my being the builder of those homes and the installer of all the systems involved 😂

Thanks for the video. I am amazed that it is a realestate channel answering my questions about how all this works.

Has construction details on paper then brings you to the actual build. Even the tip on making a probe and locating the fields. The attention to detail is amazing. And the Lord's message at the end, well let's say that's the only YouTube "ad" I sat through and enjoyed. Thank you for all the information.

i do water damage restoration - about 30 yrs- problems with a septic usually happen during winter. get your septic serviced before winter

Thanks for the video, I have one of these and I so miss public sewer!

Mine is 68 years old, put in by my grandpa when he built the house and it is still running just fine, never been pumped out or cleaned a day in its life