Why Pumping?
A Quick Guide to Pumping
A vast number of rural communities and remote homes depend on septic tank systems to manage and dispose of wastewater and sewage, with over 21 million households in the U.S. relying on them. Keeping this many toilets working may not be as important as national security, but it’s not far off either.
With septic pumping service key to the health of these systems, we’re going to give you a brief rundown of the whys, whens, and hows of the pumping process.
Why?
Most septic tanks are located beneath properties and dispose of household waste, typically from kitchens and bathrooms. The tank stores all the waste, breaking down solid waste using naturally occurring bacteria. Once the bacteria have done their job, the resulting effluent is now a relatively clean liquid that’s disposed of through drainage systems that flow into a drain field.
The problem? The liquid effluent that exits the tank leaves behind a layer of sludge. This layer builds up over time, reducing the effectiveness of your tank and often damaging the septic system itself. With this sludge also potentially producing all kinds of nasty parasites and microorganisms, regular pumping is as important to the health of the people using the system as it is to the health of the system itself.
When?
When it comes to how often you need to pump your septic tank, four major factors need to be considered.
The size of your household
Needless to say, the more people in your household, the more waste they’re going to produce and the faster a septic tank will be filled.
The quantity of wastewater generated
The amount of wastewater entering a septic tank also significantly influences how soon the tank reaches its full volume.
The quantity of solid waste
If your home has a larger number of bathrooms or you use a garbage disposal regularly, this will also affect how quickly your tank fills up.
The size of your septic tank
The final factor is the size of your tank, with larger tanks needing to be pumped less frequently.
As a rough guide, though, a typical septic tank system will need to be pumped every three years or so.
When it comes to grease traps, they should be cleaned every 1-3 months. As a rule of thumb, it’s wise to use the “1/4th rule” (cleaning a trap once it reaches a quarter of its capacity).
How?
Our technicians will give your tank a thorough inspection, measuring the sludge level before pumping it clean. Once your tank has been emptied, we perform another inspection to make sure everything is as it should be, then seal the tank, ready for use again.
If you’d like to speak to someone about a septic tank service or would like some advice about your waste system in general, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.