I recently bought a house with a septic tank for the very first time. I thought I was prepared, but I really had no idea what I was getting into. Shortly after we moved in, the septic tank backed up. I had to call for emergency septic services to have it pumped and taken care of. That's when I learned that I had overlooked some of the signs that the tank needed to be emptied. I created this site to share my experience and the tips that I learned along the way. My goal is to help others avoid the same septic problems that I have dealt with.
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If something is awry with your septic system, waste no time in calling for septic system repairs. Often the issues you come across with a septic system only become much worse when ignored. The following three issues tend to be the most common. Here is how the repair technician/contractor manages them:
Leaking Sewer Pipe
If you took a look at the main sewer pipe that leads from your toilet stack into the ground, you would see that it looks just like the toilet stack pipe in any home, including those with access to city sewer lines. The big difference with septic systems is where the toilet stack leads after it heads underground. Rather than dropping down deep into the ground and heading at a slant toward the city sewer, your toilet stack heads to the septic tank in the ground.
If the pipe starts leaking inside your house, that is actually a good thing because you can catch it before things turn ugly. If the pipe is leaking underground, you will not know it until you have a small, smelly lake of urine and methane gas pooling in your yard. If the pipe is definitely leaking, the repair technician/contractor will need to excavate your yard to uncover most of the pipe, find where the leak is (or leaks are!), and replace that section of pipe completely.
Overflowing or Ruptured Tank
This is even messier than a leaking sewer pipe. If a tank is not emptied regularly -- and it can be easy to forget -- you end up with raw sewage all over your lawn. A ruptured tank creates the same result, except that a ruptured tank needs to be replaced entirely. At least if you have an overflowing tank, that is a much simpler fix. The technician brings a pump truck, clears the waste from the yard, pumps out the tank, and then inspects the tank to make sure it is still solid. A sewer camera inserted into the pump port of the tank is enough to verify that the tank is intact. If the tank is ruptured, then the technician/contractor has make plans to excavate, remove the damaged tank, and install a new one.
The Drainage Field Is Flooded
In general, a drainage field should never be flooded. The pipe that takes liquid waste away from the septic tank and disperses it through a sort of gravel and soil pit underground should not be flooded over the top of the soil. The problem here could be twofold; one, there is a leak in the drainage field pipe, and/or two, it has been excessively rainy or flooding and the drainage field cannot absorb the fluids. The technician/contractor has to examine the pipe to make sure that it is not the problem. Then a septic pumping truck can clear the fluids sitting on top of the soil over the drainage field.
You can reach out to a septic service in your area for more information about septic system repairs.
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