How Our Backyard Waste System Works
Let me tell you a cool story – but also provide evidence of the power of our microbiome and living a non-toxic lifestyle. We have our own septic tank system at our house in the countryside. This means that.. All the waste from the toilets in the house travel through pipes out to a septic tank in our backyard.
The process of separating the solids (poo and toilet paper) from the liquids is a natural cleaning procedure. It takes place over 4 separate sections inside the septic tank (connected by pipes).
In the first tank, the sludge wastes are allowed to settle to the bottom of the tank. As the bacteria in the fecal matter and urine begins to break everything down and increase in number. The water and liquid matter above is then flowed (using gravity) out to a second tank.
As the waste water enters the second tank, the purification system uses simple aeration (pumps air into the tank) to start to clean the water.
Air and Water: The Easy Way to Purify
How does simply flushing water with air help to clean it? Well it uses oxygenation which promotes the natural bacterial growth. That is present from your poop, and in lesser amounts from your urine. And the bacteria continues to process the fecal particulates and cleans the water.
This aeration-cleansing process takes place over three separate tanks. And as the water flows from the second, to the third, to the fourth. And by the time it hits the fifth tank it is clear. Clean water that can be pumped back out onto the land. And if that water then drains back down into the aquifer that supplies the water to your well. (And to your neighbors’ wells). That is just fine because it is clean water.
We had only lived in this house for two years. So it was time to have our first collection tank. The one that fills up with solid waste, pumped out and taken away. When they pump out your septic tank, they also check the entire system. And each of the holding tanks to see if everything is okay and performing well.
The interesting thing is.. When the man checked our 2nd wastewater aeration tank, he could not believe what he was seeing. He has been emptying septic tanks and overseeing septic systems for almost 30 years. And said he has never seen the second tank contain almost clear water!
He was trying to figure out how this could be because usually. The water doesn’t start to clear and become clean until the third or fourth tank.
Clean Living: How Simple Choices Make a Difference
So why is the fecal material coming from our household so much different from anyone else’s? Of course, there have been no studies done on this. But since bacteria are the key players in this equation. I would suggest it is because every member of our family takes Natren probiotics daily!
We also eat organic or pasture-raised food, and anything else that goes into our water/septic is all natural (no chemicals) – from laundry detergent to shampoo, to cleaning products, etc.
So if you ever needed proof that clean living and Natren probiotics increases and improves beneficial bacteria fecal counts – there you have it!
Very interesting!
Interesting, thanks for sharing. While I don’t have a septic system I have been using Natren since 2006 based on your recommendation! Always appreciate you tireless work and products which have helped me immensely with my journey (Crohns) since 2005. I honestly dont know what my life would have been like if I hadn’t found you.
Awww thanks Debbie! I’m so pleased you found your way here and were willing to lean in and take responsibility for your health – imagine how this whole covid debacle would have gone differently if the majority of people could have had your perspective… rather than ONLY having meds/hospital in their healthcare toolkit. Just keep being the change sister!
That is interesting indeed. We’ve had 4 septic systems since our married life – 2 in AB and 2 in PEI. When I was a kid, my dad (we also lived in the country) said that he was told that if a septic system is working properly, it never needs to have the tank pumped out. (Now there are obviously different systems, like RV type tanks that would, but I’m referring to a residential system.) When we sold our acreage in AB (built new) after living there for 10 years, I thought, as a kind gesture to the new owners, we would this one time have the tank pumped out (since people seemed to do it for some reason) and I was curious to see if it was full. When the service arrived to do this, the fellow said there was nothing much there (2 people) and it really did not need to be pumped out. That is the only time we ever did this. I guess those old timers were right.
Well I’d like to know what they’ve changed about septic systems that they now need to be pumped regularly! Or is this just a money grab?? What I learned, when I bought this ranch out near Vernon BC, is that if you don’t put toilet paper down your toilets, then you never need to have the septic pumped. A guy here (who used to live in Mexico where it’s normal not to put toilet paper into the sewage) has been doing this for 15 years and has never needed to have his tank pumped out. So we’re following that mandate here too. A few months after I bought the place, the septic started overflowing and we had the guy out to pump it out and it was chock full – this system was put in 15 years ago. The previous owners were not thoughtful like you 😉