Washcloth went down the hopper

[donmoore1904]

I'll spare the reason, but a 100% cotton washcloth was flushed down our toilet today. We have a septic system, with a 3 yr old concrete tank. I specify that because we had a 52 yr old metal tank with disintegrated baffles prior. Tank leads into a few original perforated pipes. I guess that is the field. We sent a pressure washer down those pipes when the tank was replaced due to clogged field, and the holes were somewhat matted with black material. We exposed a long length of pipe and cleared the holes. Since then the field has worked fine for our needs.

I am wondering the potential for the washcloth causing a problem. How likely is it that it can get past the baffle? Will it disintegrate? Thanks in advance for any advice. Don

 

[Cass]

If it doesn't clog the toilet every thing should be O.K.

At 3 years old you should think about pumping the tank. Not because of the cloth but to extend the life of the leech field.

I always recommend that people pump every 2-3 years

 

[Sponsor]

 

[donmoore1904]

Thanks for the quick response. Actually, that is what surprised me. Another family member told me they had intentionally put it there (what a silly, silly thing to do for people with 40+ years experience having a septic tank!) and I should remove it or leave it until they returned. I forgot and flushed. Looking an hour later, I realized what I had done, and... whoosh! it was long gone and the head flushes fine. Looks cleaner now, too Yeah, first thing I was thinking was I could get the tank cleaned out now rather than later. Thanks again.

 

[Verdeboy]

Isn't it a silly thing to put a washcloth in a toilet even if you didn't have a septic tank.

 

[donmoore1904]

Well, my point is that with a septic tank you are always careful about certain things - for example, you don't send excess fat from cooking down the pipes. If you had city sewer, you could pretty much flush anything you wanted without fear for sending it into your own ground or blocking your septic system. With this training it is hard to believe someone would park something like a washcloth where it can easily end up going down the drain. I DO see your point - who would do this in the first place?

 

[Plumber1]

Don't even worry about that darned thing....