Back in the first week of December, we realized that a particular problem had already reached the point where it needed to be solved. You see, we learned months ago that our cistern had a problem and we had to have it repaired right away. At that time, we learned that our septic tank had the same problem (makes sense considering that the same person built them both), but we were told it would probably be 3-5 years before we would have to worry about it.
Fast forward to December. It's the end of the school term. The kids are just finishing exams and getting ready to go home. One day, I'm on the verandah with a bunch of kids reading books, playing "I spy" and other random things to pass the time. A few kids noticed that little Edgar had taken off his pants and he was preparing to 'squat' somewhere. Now, Edgar wasn't quite two yet, so I didn't really expect anything more. He found a spot and squatted. It so happened that he squatted on the concrete platform of our septic tank.
This was actually convenient because the septic tank has a simple, steel lid that is relatively easy to open. Tyler got the squeegee that is used for outside cleaning and some water. He opened the lid to push the waste into the tank. Unfortunately, when he opened the lid, he got a surprise. The septic tank was full. Of course, Floyd and I couldn't just take his word for it. Surely his definition of 'full' was different than ours. I went to look. Then Floyd went to look. Sure enough, all of our definitions of full are the same.
We began looking into the problem because we have only been in the house for 9 months and we have only had plumbing and water for about 6 of those months. How could the tank be full? Our water engineer/plumber came to inspect. Sure enough, the walls of the tank were already allowing water through. We would have to fix the problem much sooner than expected.
Fast forward another 3 days and we find out there's another problem. The plumbing for the showers and sinks were supposed to be routed to the soak pit, but instead they went straight into the septic tank. No wonder it was full!
The only solution was to run new pipes to re-route the showers and sinks. They dug up the soak pit to manage this problem and, guess what?! It was too small. Like less than half the size it was supposed to be. So, that had to be re-done as well.
Fortunately, other than the financial cost of the labor and materials, there wasn't too much of a problem. We just couldn't shower, use our sinks, or flush any toilets for about 7 days. At least the walk to the latrine on the property isn't that far from the house. And, you can use a bucket of water to take a sponge bath. Fourteen and fifteen year old boys don't usually have body odor issues do they??? Ask any middle school teacher and they'll let you know the truth on that real quick!
But, really, I'm just being silly. We used the latrines and brushed our teeth on the verandah for a week. It wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. He started the repairs the day after everyone went home for the school break. Imagine if we had that problem with over 100 people on the property!
I'll count my blessings for sure!
Fast forward to December. It's the end of the school term. The kids are just finishing exams and getting ready to go home. One day, I'm on the verandah with a bunch of kids reading books, playing "I spy" and other random things to pass the time. A few kids noticed that little Edgar had taken off his pants and he was preparing to 'squat' somewhere. Now, Edgar wasn't quite two yet, so I didn't really expect anything more. He found a spot and squatted. It so happened that he squatted on the concrete platform of our septic tank.
This was actually convenient because the septic tank has a simple, steel lid that is relatively easy to open. Tyler got the squeegee that is used for outside cleaning and some water. He opened the lid to push the waste into the tank. Unfortunately, when he opened the lid, he got a surprise. The septic tank was full. Of course, Floyd and I couldn't just take his word for it. Surely his definition of 'full' was different than ours. I went to look. Then Floyd went to look. Sure enough, all of our definitions of full are the same.
We began looking into the problem because we have only been in the house for 9 months and we have only had plumbing and water for about 6 of those months. How could the tank be full? Our water engineer/plumber came to inspect. Sure enough, the walls of the tank were already allowing water through. We would have to fix the problem much sooner than expected.
Fast forward another 3 days and we find out there's another problem. The plumbing for the showers and sinks were supposed to be routed to the soak pit, but instead they went straight into the septic tank. No wonder it was full!
The only solution was to run new pipes to re-route the showers and sinks. They dug up the soak pit to manage this problem and, guess what?! It was too small. Like less than half the size it was supposed to be. So, that had to be re-done as well.
Fortunately, other than the financial cost of the labor and materials, there wasn't too much of a problem. We just couldn't shower, use our sinks, or flush any toilets for about 7 days. At least the walk to the latrine on the property isn't that far from the house. And, you can use a bucket of water to take a sponge bath. Fourteen and fifteen year old boys don't usually have body odor issues do they??? Ask any middle school teacher and they'll let you know the truth on that real quick!
But, really, I'm just being silly. We used the latrines and brushed our teeth on the verandah for a week. It wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. He started the repairs the day after everyone went home for the school break. Imagine if we had that problem with over 100 people on the property!
I'll count my blessings for sure!
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