A septic tank is a common alternative to a municipal sewage system, especially in rural areas. Its proper functionality and durably are crucial to you living a clean, convenient life without risk of an environmental disaster, inside or outside of your home.
However, there's one major drawback to septic tanks when compared to a municipal sewer system: its limited capacity. While you can almost guarantee that connectivity to a municipal system allows you to flush away wastewater and waste matter without worrying about where it ends up, owners of a septic system know exactly where their waste is going.
That means that, on occasion, you must empty the tank. A plumber or other septic tank professional must visit your property to unearth the tank, pump its contents, and eliminate the deposits that have formed on its walls and floor.
When is it time to do so? How can you verify the fullness levels of a tank that's appropriately buried underground? Here are the most common signs that it's time to empty your home's septic tank.
Slow Draining
Sluggish drains are the top sign that it's time to call a plumber. While there are microbes in your septic tank that break down the sewage within, solid deposits will form along the sides of the tank over time, diminishing its capacity like plaque in a blood vessel. In reaction to this, waste water from your sinks and appliances will drain far more slowly. Contact a plumber before any of the following signs of a progressing problem happen.
Sewage Odors
When the septic tank is full, sewage gases will have nowhere to flow but up through your sewer main and back up through your drains. Gas takes up space, after all, and in a cramped environment like a full septic tank, it will follow the path of least resistance, escaping back into your home and stinking up your bathrooms and kitchen.
Moisture in Lawn
Green grass is usually nothing to fear, except when it's limited to the soil directly above your septic tank. If your grass is significantly healthier, fuller, and faster-growing above the tank than elsewhere, this is a sign that the grass is getting some extra nutrients. What could the culprit be? Try your wastewater. When a septic tank reaches capacity, waste will escape.
Sewage Backup
When sewage gets desperate, it will fight for somewhere to go. Unfortunately, homes with a full septic tank may experience foul sewage backup into their sinks, toilets, and tubs. When this problem escalates further, sewage can even flood your floors, rendering your home completely unsafe to inhabit. Why does this happen? While this may be a disgusting comparison, think about what happens when you suck through a straw. Liquids in a full container will flow through an empty chamber—like a straw—and into your mouth. When your sewage attempts to enter a full septic tank, it will seem to defy physics and flow back upward, causing a disaster.
Before any of the above happens, call a plumber for simple and affordable septic tank pumping services. Then, mark your calendar. A good plumber will recommend a timeframe for your next service.
