Anyone have well water and private septic?

[BusynMember]

Hope I have the terminology right, especially about the septic.

Hubby and I are house hunting and there are some nice very reasonably priced little homes out of town (unincorporated areas) that use well water and private septic. My husband is iffy about a well (says it can go dry) or a septic tank ( his friend had to replace one and it was pricey.) Do you think he has good points or is he just panicking?

To get city accomodations we have to buy in one of the cities. I would rather live further out, but this will be a joint decision.

Any feedback? Thanks !

 

[Tanya M]

I have well and septic. We have been in our house for 15 years. The house is 30 years old.
We have our septic pumped every 3 to 4 years and we flush a ridX every month. As long as you keep up on the septic it shouldn't have any problems. I would ask to see records of when the septic was last serviced. You can call the company and ask them if they still have the report as to what condition it's in.

We have had to replace our well pump and pressure tank. The pressure tank was $800 the well pump was I think around $1000. It's not something that will have to be replaced often. Ours were at the 20 year mark. I know people who have never had to replace them.
As for the well, we live in N. IL and the water tables around here are pretty good. You should be able to find out from the county clerks office how deep the well is on property you are looking at.

One of the cons of having well water is when the power goes out you will only have a limited amount of water because the well pump is electric. One of these day we are going to buy a generator so that won't be an issue.

 

[BusynMember]

Thank you very much

 

[susiestar]

Years ago we had a well with a pressure tank that went bad. I replaced it in a couple of hours with very little fuss. The biggest problem was actually moving the tank around because I am not that big. Hubby had to do that part. It is a simple plumbing job. Trust me, if I can do this, it is a SIMPLE job! Well water was just as reliable as city water, in my experience. Maybe even a little more reliable. Except for power outages. We just kept some jugs of water around in case of a power outage. Now we are in the city and our water is turned off at least once a month so management at our apartment complex can do something or other. It ALWAYS takes 2-3 hours more than they think it will!

The big thing with a septic tank is taking care of it. The RidX really does make a difference.

 

[BusynMember]

Thank you! That makes it sound more hopeful

 

[so ready to live]

We've always lived out-with well and septic. No troubles, you might have them inspected as part of your home inspection or separately prior to purchase if you're concerned. I like the independence of not "being hooked up" !

 

[GoingNorth]

I had municipal water but a septic tank up North. Make sure your tank is inspected and the well tested before you commit to move in. Make any repairs/rectification the seller's responsibility.

With my septic tank, I had to be careful of what sort of toilet paper I put down. (no cushy stuff even if it said septic safe), NO WIPES OF ANY KIND, and no tampons. I also fed it Rid-X monthly, had it pumped out every 4-5 years.

I also had a capped
bore on my property, and with the frequency of city water outages, looked into bringing the bore back online. Unfortately, testing showed contamination that while the city plant could handle it, wasn't do-able for a household situation. Pity as water rates were outrageous even without paying sewer. 1 person. 3 quick showers a week. Dishes daily for one person, plus washing pet dishes daily, plus wash twice weekly for one person. 120 dollars a month!

 

[BusynMember]

Thank you, GN.

All in all, I don't know if it's worth it....

We are limited as to where we will move as we want to stay close to Sonic and Jumper. We don't want to be more than 1/2 hour away. Probably means we will stay in Wood County, which you know. The nicer areas are unincorporated....we shall see.