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Save money by pumping septic tank only when needed

I have a 1,500 gallon septic tank in my home and we have just two people in the house.  I did a quick check on the web to see how often should I get my tank pumped.  This guide says that I should do it each 9.1 years.  But I had a doubt in my mind so I got it pumped yesterday after 3 years.

The guys from Wind River are saying that I should get it cleaned every year.  To me that sounds very fishy.  I think they just want $200 from me each year.  They seem to mislead you the way the oil change people say that every 3,000 miles you get an oil change.  I have spoken to automotive engineers and they say that it is good to maintain good oil level and definitely change oil about twice a year but there is no rule that you should do it every 3,000 miles.

So I posted this dilemma as a question in Yahoo Answers.  This is what I wrote:

“I have a 1500 gallon septic tank with no garbage disposal and two individuals in the household. I tried to use the Univ. of Minnesota guidelines and it says that every 9 years I should pump it. If I account for the fact that I work from home (though I am very careful about dumping too much toilet paper or food waste), maybe it can be 7-8 years, but the pumping company calls me each year to hire them. Has anyone gone for 7-8 years without pumping?”

I got two responses.  One person says, “We have had up to 6 people living in the house for several years and in 20 years have not had it pumped and still no problems! We don’t waste money on yeast or septic “cleaners”; either.”

Another says, “If you are careful about what you send to the tank, you may never need to pump it. Use items like bleach sparingly and try not to add too much cooking oil into the drains. I have had systems over 11 years and never pumped or had problems.”