Septic tank pump outs and Septic tank cleaning
Did you know that over time your homes septic tank or wastewater treatment system requires a pump out or septic tank clean
It is recommended that septic tanks and treatment plants be pumped out every 3 to 5 years, this is due to the build-up of sludge (the layer of solids that is left sitting at the bottom of the tank) and scum (the layer that forms at the top of the tank.
When a septic system or treatment plant treats effluent, there are parts of the effluent that can’t be treated and create a build-up of sludge and scum inside the tank.
Generally, the liquid that sits between these two layers is thinner / cleaner and it’s that liquid we want to pass through into your disposal field for primary systems or your aeration chamber for secondary systems.
Over time the sludge and scum layers build up making this thinner liquid thicker and therefore passes it through to the next stage of treatment or dispersal.
This is something that is generally only picked up with the proper septic servicing or maintenance as it is unable to be seen from a simple visual inspection.
So what happens if you don’t get your septic system pumped out as required?
To get to the bottom of that question we first must separate:
The difference between conventional septic systems and treatment plants.
Septic systems and treatment systems are very different from each other, at the end of the day treatment systems produce a lot cleaner wastewater (secondary level) to be dispersed back into the environment, as they carry out further treatment of the wastewater after the conventional septic process would have finished and left the processing tank (the septic tank)
So with that in mind if it’s a conventional septic system and the tank is not pumped out when required or recommended the liquid that passes out of the tank is thicker and therefore flows to your distribution field, causing it to block well before it should and therefore significantly reducing the expected lifespan of the system.
On the other hand, if it’s a treatment system that you have the liquid that passes through into the remaining chambers of the tank/s is thicker causing filters and internal pipework to become blocked.
This generally leads to larger particles leaving the tank and either getting caught in irrigation filters or worse getting struck in emitters within your irrigation field.
Both of these effects cause major back pressures on internal pumps and you will start to go through irrigation pumps very frequently (very costly).
Septic tank cleaning should be seen as simple maintenance for your septic system and should be expected and budgeted for, if this is something you can keep in check your home, your family, your septic system and your surrounding neighbours will thank you for it.
For any further information please reach out on the details below
Steve
Sepserve
1300 364 428
enquiries@sepserve.com.au