Cesspit hasn't been emptied in 18years

NewLibra

Hi,

we have found a house we love but it has a cesspit. The cesspit isn't a dealbreaker but when we asked the owner for a cost breakdown on emptying/repairing/maintenance he says he can't remember ever emptying it and it hasn't needed repairing or maintaining but he will have it emptied before they go.
My issue is that he has lived there for 18years. Now he obviously hasn't had a problem with it but everything I have read on the internet says that cesspits would need emptying much more regularly than this and I'm worried there maybe a leak (there are some beautiful TPO trees sitting on top of it!)

Does anyone know anything about cesspits that thinks that not emptying it for 18 years is a normal thing to do? am I right to be worried that there maybe a leak which is why it hasn't needed emptying for 18 years?

TIA.

ruggedtoast

You need to get in there yourself. Have a poke around.

eddddy

Are you sure it's a cesspit and not a septic tank?

If a septic tank is working properly (and you're careful about what you flush away etc), it won't need emptying/desludging very often.

A relative owned a house for 15 years and never had the septic tank emptied/desludged - even when they sold it.

See: https://www.southernwater.co.uk/septic-tanks-and-cesspits

greenbee

Depends on the type of cesspit. If it is porous (so the liquid drains) and composting the solids well it may work better if it isn't emptied - emptying will remove all the bacteria that are helping to manage the volume of waste down. My parents emptied theirs the first year after they moved into their last home, and discovered that a. it was huge and b. there was hardly anything in there. It didn't need emptying again in the 40 years they lived there...

If it is a sealed system, then it may be rather full.

slopemaster

Lots of older cesspits had the base deliberately broken so as to never need emptying

NewLibra

We are not sure of anything as all we have is what the owner told us and he has used the word cesspit several times rather than septic tank. He has also said it's enormous (it used to belong to an old Edwardian mansion), the waste solutions company said that if it's over 4000 gallons then he may not have needed it emptied but it's going to be a pain in the neck when he does with 18yrs of crap solidified!

I have talked to a drainage company and they said they would be quite happy to do a survey on it and make sure it's in good nick but it would definitely have to be emptied first and the owner doesn't seem to be in any hurry to do this even if he does keep stating he will do it before he moves.

Thank you for all your replies. Still not sure what to do!

ognum

I have a septic tank on a home I own, we have had it for over ten years and as stated it has never been emptied, nor does it need emptying it has a capped seal on the top that you can look into the first chamber.

It is made of several chambers and is designed for the fluids to seep away and the solids compact and decay by natural breakdown. We never use bleach or other anti bacterial cleaning products in the toilets as this effects the breakdown of solids.

You also need to insure that only the toilet waste flows into it and not other water from showers or kitchen sinks.

It works well in an area where there is no mains drains.

Hoploz

ognum wrote: »

You also need to insure that only the toilet waste flows into it and not other water from showers or kitchen sinks.

It works well in an area where there is no mains drains.

May I ask what you do with the water from the showers and kitchen sink then?

G_M

ruggedtoast wrote: »

You need to get in there yourself. Have a poke around.

:rotfl:

A cess pit never emptied? It's a septic tank....

DaftyDuck

G_M wrote: »

:rotfl:

A cess pit never emptied? It's a septic tank....

No 5hit, Sherlock.

Mind you, whatever it is, with any luck he'll empty it, and you can stop worrying for the next eighteen years!

paddy's_mum

Ours was built in 1968 to service the house built by a local builder for his own occupation.

It's only been emptied once in all that time and even then, it turned out that it was an old floorcloth (accidentally flushed down the loo) that was causing back-up - the tank itself did not need emptying.

All our dirty water goes into it, including sink, showers, washing machine etc. However, like ognum, we never use bleach or bacterial products.

I suspect the house seller is being entirely truthful and that this is a case of it ain't broke so don't fix it.