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I use regular bakers yeast in mine also any unfinished beer is good also. My septic tank is 9 yrs old and has never been pumped-1500 gallon. This is a single person usage. Also no female feminine products should be flushed. No grey water goes into my system either.
“if you visit Tico’s home, you should respect their wishes.” Isn’t that interesting, advocating respecting tiolet customs but insisting one must not follow bussiness customs such as ansewering the phone and locking up yourself. My we have selective cultural assimilation patterns don’t we? Could it be that telling someone you cannot tend to the most basic bussiness chores or they are violating the law could be designed to disuade more gringos from working here? Just a thought: but, toilet paper oragami is perfectly acceptable so not to offend the host. Seems the dicatomy is a bit ethnocentric.
Maravilla that is on target, it is about the small pipes and for the life of me I cannot understand why I see houses built with overkill foundation and small plumbing pipes?? Kawhat?
Toilet efficiency is almost always related to pipe size and arrangement. I lived in a place for 30 years that had the worst plumbing on the planet EXCEPT they had put the toilet on a 4″ pipe with few bends. Even though the drain went slightly uphill for a distance and we had kids in the house that flushed who knows what down the toilet it never, ever, clogged.
Now I live with a friend in a new cheap American “modular” home with cheap (factory engineered) plumbing. Both toilets clog on a regular basis without abuse. I’ve seen tests on toilets and its NOT the toilet. . its the pipes.
Low water use toilets exacerbate plumbing problems. They are great for saving water on public water systems but if you have your own water system (well, stream, spring) then saving water may not be a priority. A higher volume of water flow keeps pipes clean and can be better for a properly designed septic system.
Little things done by the plumber like chamfering the inside edge of plastic pipe to make a smooth edge can make a big difference. Most plumbers don’t do it.
In Costa Rica a LOT of the plumbing is far below “standards”. Undersized pipes, cheap pipes, irregular septic systems, no vents. . . (don’t forget seismic activity that cracks and misaligns pipes). In rural areas it is not unusual to see grey water flowing into roadside ditches.
In a proper septic system Ridex can be a great cure. But it can also cause problems in some improperly designed systems.
Terrific feedback ‘Guru’ – thank you very much.
We have some tremendous people on this forum… Thank you.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLOveCostaRica.com2bncr, I expect you think you are funny, but you are probably as we say ‘funny peculiar’ when you posted “My we have selective cultural assimilation patterns don’t we? Could it be that telling someone you cannot tend to the most basic bussiness chores or they are violating the law could be designed to disuade more gringos from working here? Just a thought: but, toilet paper oragami is perfectly acceptable so not to offend the host. Seems the dicatomy is a bit ethnocentric”.
At least I can spell…You know you have made the point when someone’s only option is to pick apart your spelling! Ha! You got the drift without spell check. David, exactly what part of the post didn’t make sense. Adapt to folding toilet paper to toss in the wastebasket or adapt to the nuances of doing business here. Do you need a government manual to figure it out? Or maybe Google origami…
Hi Folks. I’m still living on the Texas Coast, but plan on moving to CR next year. What I haven’t heard in this discussion is anything about older toilets. I’m on a septic system and have had a lot of trouble with my older toilets backing up. I had the septic system flushed and cleaned and it was still happening. A plumber doing the work said that by listening to the sound of my toilet he could tell that it had a lot of lime and mineral buildup on the inner parts and I needed a new one. I took his advice and purchased two new American Standard Cadet toilets and installed them. I chose them because they had the highest flushing pressure rating. It totally solved the problem. They will flush almost anything and they were one of the lowest priced toilets in the store.
Glad I could help.
Another thing non-technical folks don’t think about is the fact that the works in the toilet tank and the toilet itself are two different things. Cheap, modern plastic control mechanisms in toilets are usually the problem, not the heavy permanent ceramic tank and bowl.
Many years ago I went to replace the “works” in a toilet that had worked perfectly for 30 years and then finally wore out. At the plumbing supply the counterman handed me a nice box with plastic works with a picture of the OLD style brass works all green with corrosion that proclaimed how much better it was than the old brass works! I asked the counterman how long the plastic works lasted. “Oh, a couple years”. he replied. But THIS one has lasted 30 years I countered. Do you have the original? He grumbled and came back with an old dusty box and stated it would cost twice as much. Hmmmmmm twice the cost for 15 times the service! AND, I REALLY HATE working on toilets. . .
You don’t always have a choice. So, it helps to know this. Modern plastic works are VERY sensitive to grit or debris in the water. Very fine mica or other minerals that you cannot see in a glass of water can clog the valves OR get caught in the sliding plastic parts. A whole house water filter can prevent these problems and is much easier to replace than the toilet works. While the filters cost more you may change them yourself rather than calling a plumber to fix the toilet. These also prevent similar problems in washing machine valves and hose filters. I prefer AquaPure filters from AMF Cuno.
Another problem is the bleach or chemical “fresheners” that hang in the toilet tank. Never use these! In normal daily use they generally do not hurt the parts in the toilet BUT if the toilet is not used daily the chemical concentration builds up to where it can do damage. In a guest toilet or if you live in a house part time the chemicals will reach a point where they attack the rubber parts, particularly the “flap valve” that dumps water. These become rough and will leak so that the toilet appears to be “running” constantly.
Its these stupid little things that make “modern life” the pain it can be.
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