How many loads of laundry can you do in a day before you overwhelm a septic system?

Question

We have nine people in our house...approximately 15 - 18 loads a week of laundry...

The house was built for an occupancy of eight people...how do you find out how big your tank is? We have had it pumped out once, and plan to do it again this year...

well, it's isn't wet right now...it is
-20Celsius though, does freezing make a difference too?

Answer 1

That is going to depend upon the size of your finger system, the type of ground, and how high the water table is for the ground surrounding your house. When the ground is dry you'll be able to run more, when it is wet you'll won't be able to run as many.

The finger system is what disperses the water into the ground that goes into your septic system. The larger the finger system is the more it can handle. But if the water table is high or the ground is wet, it won't really be able to seep the water out into the ground as well if the ground is already soaked.

The septic tank is what holds and breaks down the fecal matter. Normally it takes 10-12 years or so to fill one up. So cleaning it yearly seems a little overboard. Since you have a large family you might clean it out about once every 5 years. It will also kind of depend on the size of your septic tank. To help the septic tank flush some yeast powder down your toilet every so often. The yeast will help in the breakdown of the feces so you don't have to have your septic tank cleaned out as often. Some people run a clean out pipe that runs from their septic tank to the top of the ground and has a cap at ground level or slightly below ground level for mowing ease. That way the cap of the pipe just needs taken off and the suction pipe of the truck thrown into it instead of having to dig down to the septic tank and find the cap on the septic tank.

You also want to avoid planting trees or shrubs around your septic tank or finger system. The roots can get into the pipes and start clogging the pipes.

No one you really tell you for sure how many loads you can run. That's something you'll have to figure out on your own. If you have a good septic system, you should be able to run all of those loads of laundry without a problem.

Answer 2

It would depend on YOUR septic system:) How large the holding tank is, and how well the drain field actually drains~I feel for ya' though...that's alot of laundry!! It might help if you spread out doing it though...like 3 or 4 loads a day, and not 7 or 8 in a row:) And try not to do it while people are showering one after another, etc..so you don't "overwhelm" the system.
Good Luck!!!

Answer 3

It all depends on the size of your septic tank and the capacity of the bed to disperse the water after it is pumped out of the tank to the holding tank and spread thru the ground dispersal pipes that are on the rock bed. If you have a large tank, say holding 600/700 gallons, then it should be O.K. Make sure you use a septic degrader which helps in the breakdown of materials in the tank and have pump outs every three or four years. I use Sep=Tabs and or sour milk, the latter is great for controlling oders.

Answer 4

That would depend on the condition of your septic system.

If your system is old and on the brink of failure then probably not very many but if it is a newer system (less than 10 years old) you should be able to do laundry all day long without a problem.

My sister has 11 people in her house and she just had a new system done about 2 years ago and she hasn't had a problem.