Working of a septic tank and its plumbing problems

CategoriesPlumbing

Whenever there is an issue with the plumbing of a place, proper methods and equipment are required to solve the issue. Not only these but also protection of the surrounding things is necessary. All these need to be taken care of by professionals.

The plumbing system in a house or business place consists of many different types of tanks, pipes, pumps and drains etc. They all work in harmony with each other. If any of these starts working abnormally, a plumbing problem arises that requires immediate attention of someone who has experience in dealing with such problems and knows what to do and how to do it.

A septic tank is also one of the parts of the sewage system of a house. It is a container that is placed below the ground. It may be made up of polyethylene, concrete or fiberglass. The containers might be more than one. All the wastewater flows towards the septic tank.

The function of the tank is to keep the waste water in itself for so long a time that the waste and water separate. Three layers emerge after the separation, namely sludge, effluent and scum.

SOLIDS: these settle down at the bottom as they are heavy. These not only include inorganic substances but also byproducts of bacterial decomposition. They are named sludge.

WATER: it occupies most of the space in the chamber and the organic matter in it is degraded by the anaerobic bacteria. It is called effluent.

SCUM: all the fats, greases and oils being lighter, come to the top of the waste water forming the uppermost layer and are called the scum.

After the formation of the layers, only the effluent water goes to the drain pipe, from where, it leaks into the gravel around it. From there, the water flows into the soil and oxygen reaches the bacteria. The bacteria use it and completely digest the wastes. At the end, the clean water leaks into the groundwater. This is the whole role of a septic tank in your sewage system.

The remaining sludge and scum in the container accumulate and can be easily pumped out of the tank after regular intervals of time. This ensures good working of a septic tank.

But sometimes, some issues can arise in the proper functioning of this tank. For instance, the chemicals used in the house for cleaning purposes can kill the useful bacteria in the chamber, which would slow down the decomposition process. Also, the bacteria can’t breakdown the lint from synthetic fibers that comes through the washing machines.

More than normal amount of sludge also hinders bacteria’s function and the tree roots in the chamber can block its drains also.

If the septic pump does not work normally due to any of these problems, you need emergency plumbing service to correct the abnormality. The professional plumbers would respond quickly and quickly detect the root cause of the issue due to their polished skills and experience in the field.

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