Cesspool with own hands

The city's central sewer system is not available to all residents of the outback and the private sector. The only option for diversion of domestic sewage for them is the arrangement of a cesspool or a septic tank. At the same time, it is necessary to clearly visualize which wastes and how much will enter the pit, how to clean and dispose of them, and, based on this, choose the type of cesspool.

According to the cleaning principle, cesspools can be divided into several types:

• simple cesspool without sealed bottom;
• cesspool with a filtration bottom;
• single-chamber septic tank;
• hermetic cesspool.

Traditional cesspit

This is the easiest and cheapest way to build a drainage pit, which has been used for more than one century. The principle of the cesspool is simple: drains enter the tank, settle. At the bottom of the pit, a biologically active silt with a high content of anaerobic bacteria decomposing organic substances is soon formed. The water in the pit is clarified, seeps into the soil through perforation in the walls and the bottom, where it is further purified by the same bacteria. The construction of a traditional cesspool does not require special skills. Stages of its construction:

• Determine the location of the future cesspool. It should be located no closer than 30 meters from the water source, 5 meters to the boundary of the building and 1 meter from the boundaries of the plot;
• Dig a pit to the size of the future pit. The volume of the pit is not less than 1 m3 per each member of the family, only then you can be sure of its trouble-free operation;
• Lay the walls of brick or foam blocks, not forgetting the arrangement of drainage holes in them;
• The top of the pit is covered with concrete overlap with a hatch for inspection and cleaning;
• A sewage pipe laid in a trench below the freezing depth of the soil is led to the pit;
• All structures are covered with earth.

It is quite an acceptable option for a village house where the volume of waste does not exceed one cubic meter per day. However, for a residential private house with a water pipe, a shower and modern household appliances, this method does not work: the volumes of the drained liquid, even for a small family, will exceed the filtration capacity of the well and the bacteria living in the soil. There will be contamination of the soil and aquifer around the cesspool, the ecology will suffer. And the unpleasant smell will annoy the owners of such a pit almost constantly. In addition, the use of modern detergents and liquids in washing machines requires deeper cleaning than natural decomposition. For these purposes, you can use additional filtering. Also read about the construction of a cesspool of automobile tires.

On this one-chamber septic tank is finished. The laid layers will delay the drains, and the sewage treatment will be much more efficient. For geotextile laying, it is better not to use needle-punched material. Its structure is such that it quickly silts up and water hardly passes through it.

Filtration bottom device in the

cesspit The filter helps to improve the filtration conditions, which means it allows to increase the volumes of the drained liquid. This is a popular solution for owners of private houses, in which a conventional cesspool is installed, to modernize it. However, the device of a new pit can be carried out on the same principle. Stages of the filtration bottom:

• Pump drains from the cesspool, from the walls remove plaque, sediment. Or erect a new pit by the above method, but without perforating the walls;
• The walls of the pit are sealed: they cover cracks, holes, and then cover with bitumen;
• The bottom is leveled, tamped. Ideally, if the bottom of the pit is a sandy layer of soil. If not, then a sand cushion with a thickness of at least 30 cm should be poured on the bottom;
• Woven geotextile is laid on the sand, its edges must go to the walls of the pit;
• Pour a layer of crushed stone with a fraction of 50 mm, thickness - not less than 15 cm;
• Cover the rubble with a second layer of geotextile;
• The edges of the geotextile are fixed on the walls of the septic tank using bitumen mastic.

The filter will allow large volumes of liquid to be quickly absorbed into the soil, while the volumes of organic waste dissolved in it will not exceed the permissible levels, and soil bacteria can easily cope with them. Geotextile for the filter device is better to take a woven, rather than needle-punched - the latter quickly silts and loses its ability to quickly pass water.

Modern solution - single-chamber septic tank

The septic device is a more complicated task, but it is completely self-executing. The principle of the septic is as follows: in a sealed container, the sewage is gradually purified. In the first zone, immediately after effluent from the sewer pipe, fractionation occurs: heavy particles settle on the bottom, where they gradually decompose, and the lungs in the form of a foam float upward. In the middle layer the drains are partially clarified, they enter the second zone, from which the drainage pipe is removed. After the effluents are emitted from the tank, they enter the soil after-treatment or in the filtration field, which will need to be performed as an additional well with a filtration bottom.

One-chamber septic tank is not an ideal option for wastewater treatment, but the purification rate in it is undoubtedly higher than in a conventional settler.

Sealed storage tank

This device is suitable for use when natural filtration is not possible, for example, if there is a well with drinking water near the site, or the soil is unable to absorb large volumes of waste water. The peculiarity of such a pit and its significant drawback is the need for regular pumping out of its contents, for which it is necessary to call a sewer machine. Some owners of private homes buy fecal pumps and pump the contents of the cesspool out of the private area, but this method is dubious from the ecological point of view.

Sealed cesspool can be made of brick or concrete blocks, if you carefully seal its walls and bottom. Often, concrete rings, finished metal containers, and plastic sealed tanks are used to construct such a pit. In all cases it is necessary to provide:

• A sufficient volume of a pit at the rate of 150 liters per day for each member of the family, and in the presence of hot water supply - 180 liters;
• Sealed walls and bottom;
• Sufficient wall strength considering soil pressure on an empty tank and internal contents on a filled one;
• Convenient driveways to the pit for the passage of the sewer machine;
• The device of the hermetic hatch, not passing gases and smells.

The use of concrete rings and metal containers is associated with another problem - their installation requires the use of special equipment. A special option may be a special capacity - eurocube. It is made of durable plastic, reinforced with aluminum stiffeners and is equipped with a convenient sealed cover, that is, it is an inexpensive and modern solution to this problem.

The installation of tanks in the ground is as follows:

• Dig an excavation of sufficient size, taking into account the margin on each side of about 0.3 meters;
• The bottom is compacted, a pillow made of river sand and fine gravel is made - it will protect against deformation of the tank in case of soil swelling;
• Install the tank so that the hatch is above the soil level;
• Install sewer pipes;
• Make a sandy backfill on the sides of the tank, fill it with earth and rammer.

Calling the sewer machine must be done in a timely manner, without waiting for the tank to overflow. After pumping out the contents to reduce odor, the container can be disinfected with chlorine-containing agents. With the correct installation and good sealing, such a pit is practically odorless, does not freeze in the cold season and solves the problem of water disposal without causing any harm to the environment and the environment. It can be installed even with close ground water.

The cesspool made with all the features of its use, is no worse than the central sewerage system, and will make living in a private house more comfortable.

Example of creating a cesspit video