Help Stop the Flow of Bad Advice

Just when you think the word is getting out about proper septic system maintenance, you run into a horrifying answer to a homeowner question on the popular Yahoo! Answers Web site (http://answers.yahoo.com). If enough people read this bit of advice given by a so-called expert, it would set back by years the industry’s efforts to provide professional and environmentally responsible care for septic systems.

Posted on the Web site a few months ago was a question from an anonymous writer: “My septic tank is full. I don’t have any money to get the tank pumped. Any idea what I should do?’’ From among several answers, the asker rated the following response with five stars, noting it was the most valuable advice he received:

“I have an answer for you that not everyone will be receptive to, but if you are in a bad spot financially, it will work. This will only be doable if: 1. You live in the country, 2. Your neighbors live far away or are very nice, 3. You have a field or open ground near your tank.’’ This should give you an idea of where the advisor — who claimed to be a worker in the industry — is going as he tells the questioner to borrow or rent a gas-powered pump and uncover the septic tank lids.

“Pump the water side of the tank out onto the ground. You might want to run some freshwater out there with it, just to knock the smell down. This is basically what the septic tank does anyway through the leech line, only it does it underground.

“This isn’t the most sanitary solution, but it will buy you some time … There will be no long-term risk of contamination to the soil, as you are only putting dirty water onto the ground. In about a week or so, everything will be back to the way it was before you did this.’’

While other writers followed up with words of caution — urging the writer to call a professional to pump the tank and diagnose the problem properly — the damage of an ill-advised do-it-yourself solution was already done.

This exchange was disturbing on more than one level. My first question is, how many people working in this industry would offer this up as a viable solution?

I’ve talked to hundreds of pumping contractors at the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo International over the years, and I can’t imagine any of them telling a homeowner to literally take matters in his own hands like this. Real pumpers know this advice would be irresponsible, especially for someone “in a bad spot financially.’’ What about the disastrous costs should this homeowner contaminate his or a neighbor’s water supply? What if his actions cause sickness? What about potential fines should environmental authorities catch on to his actions?

And what about the writer who wanted so badly to believe he could get by on the cheap? Do all of you regularly encounter homeowners who hem and haw about the cost to maintain a vital link to proper sanitation? At the risk of fouling their nest, how many homeowners would try something like this to avoid a pump-out? Maybe I don’t want to hear your answers.

We need to be ever-vigilant to counter this sort of ignorance. It’s our professional responsibility to septic system users and the environment. The one bit of good news? I went back and checked, and Yahoo deleted the advice from its archives. Perhaps one of you raised a stink … the other kind.



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