Comments on: Safe Summer protected 260 homes ; Sao Vicente helps elderly ; Domestic Violence under attack

By: Robert Gardner

Robert Gardner — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:33:06 +0000

Betty,

Interested to see all the replies. Would love to assist but as I work in Qatar would be difficult.

The comment regards toilet paper is not correct althougn the one about chemicals is.

The principle of a septic tank is that the floating effluent forms a skin on top of the water under which the bacteria disposes of the effluent such that only water flows out. It is norml to throw a piece of pork into a new septic tank to get it “started”. For this reson the inlet and outlets should have a vertical tee piece such that the incoming flow is distributed below the surface skin. The same applies to the outlet as this will stop any “solidss” from entering the pipe.

For me the blame lies with the builder as the septic tank should be “fit for the purpose intended”. If you let me have an e mail will send a drawing on which I can add notes in Portuguese.

Regards,

Robert

(antonietagardner@hotmail.com)

By: Der

Der — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:38:55 +0000

At last I now know what most interests blog readers!

Sceptic tanks will now have a weekly feature, that’s as long as we don’t offend Sven of course

By: wendy

wendy — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:01:18 +0000

Sorry to read that the mormons are sending BYU missionaries to Madeira, I had hoped the island could survive without the door to door religious salespersons but it seems that is not to be.
Maybe if someone were to let uncle Bertie know they are secretly communists he could head them off at the airport!!

By: Debs

Debs — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:41:13 +0000

Interesting regarding water bills with a pool. We have friends up the hill from us who have a pool and, as stated by Tobi, the amount per litre increases with the amount of water you use. When they fill their pool, the monthly pay is something like 250 Euros a month! As Jon says, if we need a plumber, we will call on you Ellen!

By: Jon

Jon — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:34:37 +0000

Interesting subject…….our water bills vary from 2 to 12 euro a month depending on number of guests (max 4 plus us 2) and garden watering……unless of course we have the builders in building a wall etc and using our water for cement mixing ……

Toilet habits….well, this is an interesting subject (?!?). Depending on which European country our guests are from then our toilet roll useage varies! CONSIDERABLY! No names, no pack drill but sometimes we experience a potential blockage situation ……. defused by repeated loo flushing (full non eco cycle)!

Our house is a little older but we do have water traps inside each of our wet rooms.

Living the dream – mostly!

Ellen, are you a plumber? Should be! Nice one.
Tobi, cheers mate, galoshes ready!

By: karen

karen — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:33:20 +0000

The lady who looks after our house in the Calheta area when we are not there waters our garden with tap water as we are not there often enough to use the levada. We have a big garden and our water bills are never more than 5 euros a month. If it’s a recent new build presumably you have a guarantee.

By: ellen

ellen — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:52:09 +0000

It would be the extension that did it – has nothing to do with how much toilet paper you use, as long as one is not actually clogging the pipes with it.

The system to prevent smells is totally different here than any other European or North American country I know of. In the latter, smells are controlled by traps and vents on the pipes as they leave the sink/toilet etc.

Here they do not vent the plumbing (no plumbing pipes on the roof). Instead they feed the pipes into an box filled with water (somewhere outside your house with a removable lid on it – not the septic tank), in such a way that the smell from the septic cannot travel through the water into the pipe coming from the house. Works when properly installed and there is enough water in the system – both of which are also requirements for vented systems.

As well, the toilet and gray water pipes discharge into different compartments in the septic tank.

By: Betty

Betty — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:42:41 +0000

Hi everybody,

You are all stars……..thank you so much for all your advice/ideas.

Will let you know how we get on.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Cheers

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:37:07 +0000

We (2) moved in to our property just over 4 years ago and we did have some problems initially with a back up of water in the toilets and also a horrendous smell from the overflows. On contacting our builder he arranged for his plumber and he also advised that possibly we were using too much toilet paper. We have since cut this down as much as possible. The plumber did also make an extension to our external waste pipes. We have also been advised not to use too many chemicals, bleach etc down the loo as this can kill off bacterias and insects that naturally help to clear the system. We have never had to have our tank emptied and no longer appear to have a problem.

By: Der

Der — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:27:33 +0000

There is a fairly new arbitration route for dealing with disputes and to avoid expense and cluttering the courts. Probably best to contact DECO for details, although it is covered on a blog some time ago if someone wants to search for it.

By: Tobi

Tobi — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:12:52 +0000

Jon , the weather has changed again, and now saying poss chance of rain tomorrow as well , it has been changing all day so they really update the site alot, its only a 20% chance of rain , but if we do get some you can be sure in will be in Gaula, Happy gardening… lol lol

By: Tobi

Tobi — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:08:59 +0000

Yes everyone puts loo paper in their loos Betty, you dont say which part of madeira your from , but i guess your water bill could be correct, as they are higher in the summer months, and although your using a sprinkler, it can use alot of water, and normally the more you use the higher the price per litre or however they measure it gets.

If the builder wont listen to you , try to threaten him with police or court action and tell him you have had legal advise first before paying to see a lawyer, if it doesnt work then you will have to get your lawyer involved, but make it clear you want action quick , and let him know how much you have spent on emptying it and show proof if you have it , the lawyer maybe able to get this paid back to you also.

By: Betty

Betty — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 20:40:44 +0000

Hi everybody who is giving me advice. (Thanks to Jon too by the way, I never noticed your comment until just now……….sorry…………..)

Terrible subject here but – As I said earlier – the builder says we should not put toilet paper into the loo. Crazy question – but do you all put toilet paper into your loos? Weird subject to finish off the day – if it wasn’t so serious it would be funny!!!

By: Betty

Betty — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:42:47 +0000

Dear Ellen,

It would be great if anyone else could give us any info on any of this. I feel if we don’t do something now we are only building up trouble for the future.

Thanks again.

By: ellen

ellen — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:09:55 +0000

It would be interesting to hear from other people – to me those are unbelievably high water bills for anywhere in Madeira.

By: Betty

Betty — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:32:38 +0000

Hi Ellen,
Many thanks for taking the time to reply to our problem.
We do have a pool. Secondly our monthly water costs for Sept were 35.36; Aug 11.44; July 43.16; June 28.50; May 50.96; April 7.80; March 0.00; Feb. 11.96; Jan 6.76 which I’ve always thought expensive. We do have quite a large lawn area which we use sprinklers on (not automatic and not used every day – mostly used at very dry times). It is a mystery – but now that other people think it’s not just our imagination then we really will have to try and get to the bottom of it.
Thanks again and we will let you know if it ever gets resolved.

By: Jon

Jon — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:19:54 +0000

Hi chrome Tobi – all shiny! Thanks also for weather info – some “heavy” gardening planned for tomorrow…..

Good advice Ellen, agreed in total. A strong letter from the Lawyer is needed -statuatory g’tees etc……the fault is in the tank/system, NOT the user.

We have never had to have our tank emptied in over 5 years and as far as I know neither did the previous owner……

By: ellen

ellen — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:35:23 +0000

Hi Robert and Betty,

Septic tanks are built differently in Madeira. They have 3 chambers and there is no “run off” pipe.

There is obviously something wrong with Betty’s tank as a Madeiran tank – as in other countries – should be able to take toilet paper and if it ever needs to be emptied it should not be for many years. In all tanks sludge can build up, but not this quickly.

My first guess would be that ground water is seeping in and filling the tank, or one of the water pipes has a leak. If a water pipe, your water bill should reflect it. Ours comes in at 2-3 euros/month for 2 people. It likely varies by region. I would check with the neighbours. If you have a pool, that could also be a source of water leaking underground.

It is definitely the builder’s problem and I doubt there is a language difficulty as much as a builder not wanting to understand difficulty. It is preposterous that is has already cost you this much and gone on this long. Perhaps your estate agent could help act as a translator to impress on the builder that you don’t intend to put up with this? If not, then your lawyer would be your next avenue.

Good luck.

Ellen

By: Tobi

Tobi — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:18:50 +0000

Just to let everyone know , our website Madeira Island direct is back up and running.

Sorry for the down time but was beyond our control.

By: Tobi

Tobi — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:10:04 +0000

Sorry using chrome , didnt realise my name wasnt attached.