To feel panicked about this in a holiday cottage we have arrived at?!

[Ubghren]

Arrived at a holiday cottage this morning and there was a large sign saying septic tank so be careful with only flushing loo roll.

I know nothing about these apart from once reading that they can allow dirty water into the bath/shower facilities or into drinking water. Is this remotely possible due to a tank like this? I am so stressed and been worrying all day as have young dc.

Its absolutely fine, I used to live in a house with one and nothing like you describe happened

What? Who on earth told you that grey water can get into the drinking water from a septic tank? They have no link whatsoever.

Utterly batshit.

And you shouldn’t be flushing anything other than toilet paper no matter what the waste system is so it shouldn’t make any difference to your day to day living whilst on this holiday.

@Hoppinggreen ok thanks that is reassuring. Is it possible for that to happen though?!

@Hesonlyakidharry what I read was about it coming into the show and bath water, not into drinking water. I just assumed if it could come into bath water it could come into drinking water

They can get blocked up if people put things down the loo like tampons or those flushable wipes. But I bet you have used a loo which feeds into a tank when you’ve been in rural or remote beachside pubs, cafes, public loos and never known. Don’t worry and have a lovely time.

It's a completely separate system, or should be.

Something would have to go incredibly wrong for you to have it flow back into the shower water or the tap water.

Just use it as a regular toilet and only flush toilet roll and don't worry too much.

Many rural properties have septic tanks, there is no realistic risk of polluting your drinking water.

I grew up with a septic tank. If they are properly installed and emptied they don't contaminate anything. The only thing that you have to be careful with is not flushing anything other than toilet paper and using septic tank friendly cleaning products. You will be fine.

Not possible to happen. They are 2 totally separate things.

I have no idea, I just know that a lot of people have septic tanks quite safely and have never heard of any issues with them.

The only thing that can happen is if the tank is allowed to become overfilled and backs up, but it will come out through a drain somewhere outside rather than backing up through the toilet or shower drains. If there was some blockage or issue and it did back up, it comes back the way it went down; through the toilet or the sink/bath drain. It doesn’t go anywhere near the clean water pipes coming in.

Do you actually think that waste water pipes are linked in to your freshwater pipes? That’s frightening that you believe that.

Where did you read this?

We have a septic tank - you’ve nothing to worry about and it’s normal in the countryside

It's fine, OP, honestly. Totally normal in rural areas where there is no mains sewerage system. Relax and enjoy your break.

There will be a list of things not to flush, but it is common sense really as they are things you shouldn't flush anywhere, e.g. wipes, oil, etc.

Always lived remotely and have 40 years experience of septic tanks. Contamination isn't possible. Where did you get such batshit misinformation? Stop worrying.

No. They are completely separate pipes. No link at all.

I am currently staying at my Mum’s house which has a septic tank. She has lived here for nearly thirty years and has never experienced problems like that.

We have a septic tank and what you read is completely batshit. Water coming in for Baths/shower/drinking water is a completely separate system. Just don't stick wipes and anything other than toilet roll down the toilet

Right, so you didn’t read anything saying that it could get into bath water or shower water or drinking water or even the toilet cisterns. You read that it can backup and come through the toilet bowl and through the drain in your bath. That is what happens in any system if the pipes are sufficiently blocked or backed up.

It literally comes back the way it went down. Which is no where near your taps or shower head or clean water pipes.

The only way it is going to back up is if it has been left to get too full. It is vanishingly unlikely. If it is too full and this happened during your stay, it will come out of a drain outside or back up through your toilet. But again, this really doesn’t ever happen.

It is absolutely never going to get into your drinking water because sewage pipes are not linked into the freshwater mains or the freshwater pipes coming into the house.

If you try to flush a nappy down any system (including mains sewage at home) there is a risk of blocking it meaning sewage water cannot run away. Nothing to do with a septic tank and everything to do with being stupid enough to put things down the toilet that will block pipes.

Just don't pour bucketloads of bleach down the drain (the tank will have bacteria in it that digest everything) and don't pour oil/anything that won't break down into it. It's essentially like a very small waste treatment plant in your garden - but it being small means it needs to be treated delicately.

Septic tanks are for used water going out, and have zero to do with clean water coming in!

I suppose there’s a chance if it wasn’t emptied for years then waste could come back up the drainpipes (no different to if a manhole got clogged in the street) but unless you’ve picked an abandoned cottage to stay in you’ll be absolutely fine.

OP, it really is absolutely no different to your own waste water system at home which is plumber into the main sewage network. You flush the toilet and it goes to the sewage pipes. Can you imagine anyway for those pipes to be linked to your drinking water? No. Because they’re not.
With a septic tank, it’s the exact same. You flush and it goes down your sewage pipe and into your septic tank. There is absolutely no link to the freshwater pipes entering your house. Two totally separate systems. I cannot believe you actually think they use the same pipes for waste water and fresh water, because that’s the only way this could happen and you seem to think that it could actually happen 🫤

@AlertCat does that mean it could potentially come into the bath or shower water? 🤦‍♀️ even if unlikely?

@Hesonlyakidharry i had read that it could come back into bath or shower water