If your home is not connected to a municipal sewer system, then you most likely have a septic tank somewhere on your property. A septic tank is a self-contained wastewater management system that is most commonly found in rural areas. If you have a properly functioning septic tank, you never really notice it or think about it, but it is still important to know some important details to ensure that it continues to function without issues. Regular septic tank cleaning in Houston, Texas is important to ensuring your septic tank doesn’t overflow.
How Does a Septic Tank Work?
With a septic tank system in your home, anytime you flush something down your plumbing, whether it be the sink, shower, or toilet, it all drains into the septic tank, where solids are separated from the liquids. Any solid materials in the tank separate based on their density; heavier solids end up in the bottom of the tank, and lighter ones end up as a scum layer at the top. Bacteria and other biological processes help break down the solid materials within the tank. Lastly, the liquid will flow out of the tank into a drainage system, which is normally located underneath a section of the lawn, and any remaining solids are filtered out. Every few years, your septic tank will need a septic tank cleaning in Houston, Texas to ensure that solids do not build up too much.
Signs That Your Septic Tank is Failing
There are several signs you should know to look for in case your septic tank may be starting to fail. When a septic tank fails, it can start spewing out untreated sewage or start backing up into your home through drains. That’s definitely when you need to call septic tank cleaning in Houston, Texas.
Signs to Look for:
1. Foul odors around your lawn where the septic tank and drain field are located
2. Gurgling sounds in your plumbing
3. Slowed down draining for your drains in your home
4. Sewage and water backing up in your drains
5. Extra green, or faster-growing grass in spots on your lawn (around drain field)
6. Damp spots or water pooling around your septic tank and drain field
If you have noticed any of these signs, then you should call in a company to do a septic tank cleaning and they will also diagnose any issues and rectify them.
What Can Fail on Your Septic Tank?
There are several components to a septic tank system, and failure at any one of those locations can result in a system that doesn’t function at full capacity, or even start to cause issues. If your plumbing system is blocked anywhere between the building and the septic tank, it is similar to a block inside the home: drains will drain slower, or possibly back up. The inlet baffle for the tank can also similarly be blocked, with a similar result. If the effluent filter or outlet baffle gets blocked, the tank can no longer properly drain, which will result in backing up into the home, or through the surface around the tank. Finally, if the drain field has failed due to being too saturated with water, then water will start to settle on the surface, and parts of the drain field will have grass that appears to be extra green, or that is growing at a much faster rate. A failed drain field must be dried out and rehabilitated before it can be fully used again. All of these failures can be avoided with regularly scheduled maintenance when you schedule a septic tank cleaning in Houston, Texas.
Septic Tank Cleaning
If your septic tank hasn’t been cleaned in a few years, or if you are starting to see signs of failure, contact Drane Ranger today to schedule a septic tank cleaning in Houston, Texas to ensure that you get your septic tank back up and running at full capacity.