Your Septic Tank

I don't know much about septic tanks. I only know that: (1) it's where all your human deposits go to; and (2) it should be cleaned every few years.

Two weeks ago the Maynilad crew knocked on our door and asked if we wanted to have our septic tank cleaned out. We felt we didn't have any authority over it so we said that we'll ask our landlady to coordinate with them. The Maynilad guy said, "Sige bahala kayo, kayo rin..." I felt it was a warning.

And it was a well placed warning because days after some human waste bubbled up the shower drain in our first floor bathroom. I wasn't able to see it since I was sick and Miguel cleaned it up. We thought that it was the small dead rat that brought it up. Also found out that the drain cover wasn't screwed. We brushed it off as a one time incident.

A week later it happened again. Cleaned it up and hoped that it wouldn't happen again. Two days later it occurred again thrice in one day, the last one shored up 2 inches of human waste. It was really disgusting and smelly so we called up our landlady several times that day. We also checked if the other tenants were experiencing the same problem. They weren't.

I heard of stories about septic tanks blowing up (trying to find some evidence about that on Google) and what was happening to our home worried me a lot. I kept bugging our landlady and good thing Maynilad showed up the day after she followed-up with them. It was only then that I realized that your septic tank can reveal your best kept secrets. And it ain't funny because Maynilad found a good amount of non-biodegradable stuff in our septic tank (shared with door B). To put it straight, Maynilad found a lot of condoms in the septic tank and this prevented the water waste from being drained out.

And that's just one of the horrifying stories about the past tenant who stayed in our current home. More about it here.

Lesson learned: Best kept secrets can never be kept. Be a good tenant.

*Maynilad is currently offering free clean-up of septic tanks to Caloocan, Manila and Paranaque residents. Just call 981-3401 or 981-3402 for more information.