A household septic tank needs to be pumped every few years. If you don’t pump the septic tank twice a decade at least, you may not be successfully taking care of your septic system. There are septic tank maintenance companies who can help you pump out the different solids in the septic tanks, which are often the cause of the underlying issues with these structures.
With enough regular maintenance, you may never need a professional septic tank repair service. That said, it’s still possible for a high-quality septic tank or system to fail in spite of your best efforts. If you hear gurgling noises, you shouldn’t always assume that they’re normal. A failing septic tank can also cause algae blooms in water sources that are nearby, so it might be important to check the surrounding landscape if you think the septic tank is experiencing problems.
You should certainly look at the drain field, which could have pools of water or odd vegetation if the changes in the septic tank have been happening for a long enough time. Professional septic tank repair services can also help you if you have a situation involving the septic tank filling up quickly.
The concept of running water and plumbing dates back to the ancient Romans, who used lead-coated pipes to channel water into households and buildings, not to mention their famed bath houses. Today’s plumbing and sewer disposal systems are far more advanced, of course, and sewage treatment plants can create a lot of clean water. Most houses and buildings in the United States today are connected to public utilities to receive clean water and dispose of sewage, but some properties are too remote (often in rural areas) to connect to those public utilities. So, around 25% of all American homes will use septic tanks and septic systems on their grounds, and these are self-contained, independent sewage disposal utilities that need regular care. A homeowner can look up “septic near me” or “septic tank services nearby” if their tank needs cleaning or repair, and the rest of the system may need some attention, too.
How Septic Systems Operate
To begin with, the house will flush all of its dirty, used water down some pipes and into a large, underground septic tank. Such tank can store many gallons of dirty water at once, often two or three days’ worth, and bacteria colonies in the tank will start breaking down organic waste right away. Waste particles settle at the tank’s bottom to form a thick sludge, and fats and oils will float to the water’s surface. This leaves relatively clean water in between, and after a few days of this, the water passes through a filter grate (which further cleans it), and the water proceeds deeper into the system.
The semi-cleaned water flows through several branching pipes that are found just under the soil surface, and these pipes have nozzles and holes that allow the water to leach right out into the property’s drainage field. As the water filters through loose gravel, dirt, and bacteria colonies, it is cleaned even more, and it is now safe enough to re-enter the natural water cycle. This completes the overall septic process.
Finding Septic Services
A septic system will operate independently for the most part, but from time to time, it will need some cleaning or repair work, and the homeowner ought to know when to look up “septic near me” or “septic pumping near me” online to get this work done. For one thing, take note that the sludge in the septic tank has no means of leaving the tank, and it will continue to build up. The homeowner can measure the sludge’s level by inserting a long stick (a sludge judge) into the tank and measure the level. Once the tank is one third to one half full, the homeowner can look up “septic near me” or “pumping services nearby,” and have professionals handle the rest. Workers will arrive with a truck-mounted tank and they will dig up the septic tank’s hatch, open it, attach a large hose, and pump out all of the sludge. This may be done once every few years or so.
Why else might a homeowner look up “septic near me” and have workers visit their property? An old septic tank, such as one that is 20 years old, is probably going to start leaking and breaking down, and that is not acceptable. So, the homeowner may call upon professionals who will dig up the old tank, remove it, and then install a brand new one. If necessary, that new tank may be even larger than the old one, and it will certainly not leak.
Meanwhile, the filter grate on the tank’s wall might get clogged or damaged over time, and that interferes with the filtering process. That filter must be cleaned off, repaired, or replaced at once, and it’s not an option to simply remove a clogged grate to restore water flow. A functional filter grate must be present.
Lastly, workers can be hired to dig up and clean out the pipes in the septic system’s drainage field, which may get clogged on the inside over time. Those workers can use pressurized water to scour the pipes’ insides clean, or repair or replace damaged pipes. Also, no one should drive vehicles across the drainage field, or they’ll compress the earth too much for the natural filtration process to work.
