Mmpottery on sat 6 dec 97
Since I asked about the towel thing I remembered I am wondering what all
this clay dirt does to the septic tank. Does anybody know??? Will it someday
be a huge tank of slip?(HAHA). But I'm serious. I wonder if it will mess the
system up.
Thanks
JODO96 on sun 7 dec 97
I have a septic system that also has to be pumped up hill. In our studio we
try to trap as much clay as possible using common sense and simple straining
rubber drain plug. Plus we pour down the drain vinegar occasionally on the
theory it may break up the clay. I'm real sure any of these approaches work,
so I'll also be interested in any replies you get to your posting.
Mike Wright on mon 8 dec 97
I don't know this for sure, but having lived with septic tanks
for years, I am very, very careful to keep as much clay out
of the septic as possible. This means a trap on the drain,
washing mucky tools in a dishpan & throwing the water out
the door, etc. My eddicated guess is that they clay will
sooner or later plug your laterals, settle in your holding
tank, etc. etc. Our new & improved(?) septic makes use
of sand and gravel filters, rather than laterals, and these
can be cleaned more easily, but still, I don't want to deal
with them getting full of clay. Anyway, I am convinced that
it doesn't hurt anything to try and keep the clay out.
Mike Wright
Povery Ridge Pottery
Ackworth, Iowa
(where our neighbors still all have outhouses and don't need
to worry about this kind of stuff...)
At 04:56 PM 12/6/97 EST, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Since I asked about the towel thing I remembered I am wondering what all
>this clay dirt does to the septic tank. Does anybody know??? Will it someday
>be a huge tank of slip?(HAHA). But I'm serious. I wonder if it will mess the
>system up.
> Thanks
>
>
kinoko@junction.net on mon 8 dec 97
Dear Jodo(?), Although we have never had difficulty withdrains,quite
possibly it is because we have always constructed a setting sump beneath our
sink,to catch all clay and glaze dross. D.M.
*****************************************
*****************************************
** Don and Isao Morrill **
** Falkland, B.C. **
** kinoko@junction.net **
*****************************************
*****************************************
Jeremy M. Hellman on mon 8 dec 97
Hello all-
We have a septic system at our house in Colordo and because we don't want
to have to pay to have the tank pumped out sooner than "necessary" we are
quite careful about what goes into the tank. Clay is a definite "NO" in
everyone's book. It is likely to just sit there at the bottom of the
septic tank, decreasing the volume where the septic tank can "do its
thing".
This is assuming that the clay you dump down the drain actually gets to
the tank. It could get stuck in your traps-- those sections of plumping
pipe which have a curve.
In either case, you decrease the volume in which water passes. Not good,
especially when you can avoid dumping clay down the drain in the first
place. Eventually you can end up with pipes clogged with "rock hard"
clay sludge.
Bill Aycock has mentioned the danger to the septic system leach field if
too much clay permeates the field. In the worst case scenario, you'd have
to move your entire septic system. Sounds expensive to me!
Others have discussed how most clothes washers are not designed to handle
gritty particles of any sort, particularly clay. So you want to avoid
sending clay through the washer if you want to keep your clothes washer
alive as long as possible.
In areas with a municipal sewer system, you still don't want to dump clay
down the drain because you may still clog your indoor pipes, or the pipes
that lead from the house/studio/buldings to the municipal pipes. All the
above are the responsibility of the home/studio/building owner. I'd
rather spend my money on things I can enjoy!
Anyway, this is my layperson's understanding of why you should avoid
putting any clay into your drain.
Bonnie Hellman
>Subject: CLAY & SEPTIC TANKS
>Sent: 12/6/97 5:56 PM
>Received: 12/6/97 5:01 PM
>From: Mmpottery, Mmpottery@aol.com
>Reply-To: Ceramic Arts Discussion List, CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
>To: Multiple recipients of list CLAYART, CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
>
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Since I asked about the towel thing I remembered I am wondering what
>all
>this clay dirt does to the septic tank. Does anybody know??? Will it someday
>be a huge tank of slip?(HAHA). But I'm serious. I wonder if it will mess the
>system up.
> Thanks
"Outside a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside a dog, it's too
dark to read" Groucho Marx
" " Harpo Marx
"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like an avocado" Att. to GM
Michael McDowell on mon 8 dec 97
------------------
Michelle,
Yes indeed you can plug up your septic tank with clay. Even potters who are
on sewer service should be cautious of how much they are washing down their
drains since clay =26 glaze materials can settle in their drain pipes or =
slow
moving sewer lines =26 cause major maintenance problems. I was first taught
this lesson during a brief apprenticeship with Willard Spence in Taos, NM.
Though Willard had a sink in his studio, he taught me only to use the tap
as a source of clean water, never to wash anything down the drain. It was
pretty awkward for me at first, being so used to rinsing off at the tap,
like most Americans. After a while I became quite used to using a five
gallon bucket full of water as my clean up sink. You would do well to do
the same.
After a while there will be quite an accumulation of settled material in
the bottom of the bucket and that can be disposed of as suits you. My
current practice is to pour the clear water off into a second sink bucket,
then pour the sludge into yet another bucket that I let stand =26 accumulate
sludge till it's full then let that dry so I can dispose of it as =22solid
waste=22. Since I avoid toxic materials in my glazes I am comfortable
disposing of the dried sludge as non-hazardous waste along with the rest of
my non-recyclable household garbage. If you will learn to follow similar
practice, there is the advantage that you will no longer feel the need for
plumbing in a space for it to be considered suitable for clay work. It's
been over 20 years since I've had even piped in water in my work space.
I've managed to scrounge some nice sturdy 5 gallon plastic bottles with
screw tops that were used to ship bulk soy sauce to our local food co-op.
Five or six of these filled up in the house takes care of my studio water
needs for quite some time. Before I found these I simply used one gallon
milk containers, but it takes a lot of them, and they develop leaks.
happy potting,
Michael McDowell
Whatcom County, WA USA
Ric Swenson on mon 8 dec 97
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>I have a septic system that also has to be pumped up hill. In our studio we
>try to trap as much clay as possible using common sense and simple straining
>rubber drain plug. Plus we pour down the drain vinegar occasionally on the
>theory it may break up the clay. I'm real sure any of these approaches work,
>so I'll also be interested in any replies you get to your posting.
Hi CLAYARTERS....
Once again I offer a free copy of sink trap article from CM of years ago.
Just send me a S.A.S.E. to address below. or send me you fax number...
(sorry can't e-mail it.)
Also below, you will find the contact info. for a place that makes and
sells sink traps. They are made of Dr. and DDS offices (to trap plaster
from their sinks) but work for a potter' clay and plaster, etc, too.
(about $50.00)
OLSON LABS
P.O Box 171
Port Washington, Wisconsin 53074
414 284-9755 or fax at 4141 284- 7448
Happy potting !
Ric Swenson
***********************************************************
FROM : Ric Swenson, Bennington College, Route 67 - A
Bennington, Vermont 05201 - 6001 U.S.A.
( 802 ) 440 - 4621 or fax ( 802 ) 440 - 4582
email: rswenson@bennington.edu
"Opinions expressed are mine..... usual disclaimers apply."
************************************************************
" Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like an avacado ".
Mike Wright on tue 9 dec 97
As a follow-up to my post on this topic, I was talking last night
to a friend who's a plumber. I asked him about clay in the septic
tank and his response was pretty clear: "You gotta keep that ****
out of your system as much as possible". He then went on with
a laundry list of problems that could develop. So, again, keep
the clay out!
Mike Wright
Poverty Ridge Pottery
Ackworth, Iowa
KarateHiro on wed 10 dec 97
Sceptic tanks are a good pre-holiday subject to talk about. Here's what I can
give you.
>Michelle,
>
>Yes indeed you can plug up your septic tank with clay.
>>
>he taught me only to use the tap
>as a source of clean water, never to wash anything down the drain. It was
>pretty awkward for me at first, being so used to rinsing off at the tap,
>>
> I became quite used to using a five
>gallon bucket full of water as my clean up sink.
>>
>happy potting,
>
>Michael McDowell
>Whatcom County, WA USA
>
Low tech, but quite effective. The best advice I saw so far. On this crap on
clay trap.
The sceptic systems we have are also low tech,actually, despite what the
professional may try to convince you to the contrary. Whatever, they will do
the job admirably. The sink traps for clay, as advocated by many, are in
between, tech-wise, but it sure works. The bucket solution tops the list,
however.
I have reached this conslusion after completing a partial overhaul of our
sceptic system quite recently.
The so-called professionals on the sceptic system would demand arms and legs to
update your system, claiming that yours is too old. Don't be fooled. Anything
as dirty and smelly as the large-scale honey bucket deserves a professional
care at a substantial cost. And the system needs no updating, since the basic
technology is rather old, and you can only do so much to make it newer. It is
just slightly newer than the clay trap systems, actually....
By my own reckoning, to repair our system, it cost a third of what the
professional claimed I would need. At that cost, it gave us a far better
system. I bought two pumps, brand new made in Minnesota (one as a stand-by for
emergencies) and installed two bright green lamps and two red ones to monitor
the system. All this spending spree after a lot of soul searching research,
phone calls, reading up, etc.
I also asked a professional to come and clean up the two holding tanks,
connected laterally. There were so much stones and bits of cement debris, which
took a lot of persuasion to be pumped up. The acidity of the liquid would make
the cement walls of the tank corrode. They literally disintegrate the moment
you touch or rub on them.
If you still think that the sceptic system can be upgraded, just imagine what
the astronaughts used in the space to dispose of their problems. How hi-tech
can you get?
So, don't waste your time or money. Just do not flush out the clay into the
system.
By the way, I had to go down into the tanks using a tall alminum ladder. If you
are overweight, no chance. Also, the gas accumulated in the tank like propane
hovering on the ground is "deadly". I remember about half a year ago, the
earnestwhile soul like Mel in Minnesota warned that fibres used to strengthen
claybodies were really "deadly to the sceptic system". Some soft-hearted ladies
protested against this gender slander. Honest, take precaution if you must get
down into the tanks.
I did. I also installed all the hardware including the electrical system. And I
am still alive, since I took proper precautions.
The system works fine. it's a beauty to see the green lights come on. I wonder
when the reds would come on. May take a while. Meantime, I can brag about my
technical prowess by spitting out foul smelling experience to innocent
listeners. What a satisfaction!
Well, I still do not know if I saved any money. The technical problems I
encountered were very basic. Just a primitive know-how. Dangerous, maybe. That
was it.
Hiro Matsusaki
Hiro Matsusaki
"Where things can be in homeostasis, in a state of balance, most of the time,
but not always>:-)." A haven for the budget traveler.
marvin s flowerman on fri 12 dec 97
To all the folks who have commented on clay in a sink trap, septic tank
etc. a brief comment:
We can all learn from the standard procedures used by jewelers and
processors of precious metals. NOTHING goes into the sinks except
relatively clean water. Workers wash their hands in a special barrel;
"sweeps", that is anything like filings or floor sweepings are placed in
a "sweeps" barrel and periodically hauled away by a "refiner" who,
through a furnace process, burns out the dirt, reclaims and separates the
metals and pays the value back to the jeweler.
Translate that to a ceramics studio and that means, as one of the earlier
participants noted, keeping a large bucket of essentially clean water
close to dthe work spot (wheel or whatever) in which hands, tools, scrap,
reclaim etc. are placed/ washed, sponged off, or whatever is appropriate
for removing clay from tools, hands, and pieces in work. As material
accumulates in such a bucket, the material can be lifted out by hand,
placed on a plaster bat to dry out to a working consistancy, and the
bucket placed back in use. Really quite simple, no real cost, almost no
clay wasted, and NOTHING going down the sink drain. Just to be sure
however, and to guard against accidents a small flexible sieve can be
fitted into the top of the drain to catch any small particles of a
deteriorating sponge, an accidental spill etc.
This all works well; through years of activity, no clogged drains, no
septic tank problems, and the clay goes a long way!
Just trying to be helpful using the jeweler's practice as a reference.
Marvin Flowerman (marvpots@aol.com)
Tim Stowell on sat 13 dec 97
As a slight corrillary to the technique of keeping a bucket handy to wash
clay off. You should also have a bucket to rinse off any glaze,
underglaze or any other colorants.
These should not be washed down any drain, city or country. But, we all
knew that anyway didn't we.
Tim
Tim Stowell Gerard Stowell Pottery
Stacey Gerard 290 River Street
tstwll@juno.com Troy, NY 12180
(518)272-0983
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