Septic tanks make up an essential part of a waste management system. They are connected to a residential or commercial home plumbing structure and are often utilized in regions without public sewer lines. Above-ground septic tanks are used in regions with no underground space for the slow leeching of sewage waste.
A home’s plumbing system is connected to the septic tank using an above ground sewer line, which takes wastewater or sewage water away from the home. Septic tank cleaning businesses are there to help clean a septic tank. As sewage enters a septic tank, the solid wastes sink to the bottom and break down over time to sludge, which should be pumped out to prevent the overflowing of the septic tanks.
An above ground sewer pipe provides an exit way for the overflowing sewage waste, enabling the exit of excess sewage matter from the septic tanks. As sludge material builds up, you can contact professional sewage cleaners to perform above ground septic tank pumping to remove the sludge completely. Above ground septic pump cleaning can be simple. However, allow a professional to do the job to avoid improper waste disposal or damage to the tank.
The use of a septic tank in residential buildings has lost popularity over the years with many homes being put on city sewer or municipal sewer. Those homes that are still using septic tanks do have some options when it comes to updating and learning all about septic systems. Automatic septic tank options have grown in popularity and are now easier to get and more prevalent as is the ability to build your own septic system.
A septic tank is a tank that collects the black and grey water from your home. This is the water that comes from the toilet, the washer, the showers, the dishwasher, and more. This water has been used and does contain sediment and dirt in many cases. In the case of toilet water, it has solid waste in it as well. The tank holds the sediment where it is contained and kept from entering the water table, therefore, keeping the water clean. Below-ground septic tank options are the best as they cannot be easily accessed or accidentally accessed letting the water and the waste out. Septic tanks may not be as popular as they once were, but they are still useful and so is learning about them.
Although the majority of Americans have access to plumbing from the municipality that they live in, many Americans do not. They must dispose of their waste themselves, which can be difficult in certain areas of the country. They take advantage of a system that has been around for hundreds of years. It’s called the septic tank.
A septic tank is a system by which waste from a home can be disposed of. One-quarter of homes in the United States use a septic system, including great parts in the Midwest or other places that are rural and lack access to a city-maintained waste disposal system. A septic tank may seem crude but it has a certain chemistry to it.
There are certain factors that go into the making of a septic tank. Water usage is one of those factors. On average, a single-family home will use 70 gallons of water per person per day, meaning that the size of the tank needs to be able to accommodate waste from all that water. There are certain stipulations to this.
Generally, a four-person, two-bedroom household needs a 1000 gallon tank at a minimum. And this number can rise or fall depending on how many people live in the household, how much waste is produced, and so forth. The following section details how septic tanks work, why they’re useful, and how they can be managed. First, some general statistics.
- A garbage disposal alone can increase the number of solids in the septic tank by 50%.
- Usually, a septic tank should be big enough to hold two days of wastewater, which is how long it takes for solids to settle out.
- Data from the EPA states that more than 4 billion gallons of wastewater are dispersed below the ground surface every day.
- There are four factors that impact the frequency of pumping: number of people in a household, amount of wastewater generated, the volume of solids in wastewater, and the size of the septic tank.
- The state of Illinois requires that all piping more than five feet from a building’s foundation used for moving wastewater be considered part of the septic system.
Those statistics give a small view of the different components of a septic system, including the governmental regulation of such systems, particularly in the state of Illinois. There are many components to a septic system and they rely on a certain amount of ecology to work.
A septic tank starts with the pipe that comes from the house. The pipe carries waste. These might be food waste, as from a garbage disposal, regular waste, from the human body, or waste coming from unnatural sources, like gunk that has built up in the piping system over time.
The pipe enters a tank, which is placed in the backyard. The waste enters the tank through the pipe and is deposited into the first of two containers. The containers are connected and divided, more of which will be explained later. When the waste enters the tank, it is kept from going into the second tank.
The waste becomes part of the general wastewater mixture in the tank. From that point, the bacteria in the tank eats away at the solid water (which has accumulated at the bottom) to the point where the water can rise and enter into the next tank. At this point, the chemicals in the waste have been broken down, making it “cleaner” water.
A similar process occurs in the second tank. The solid waste is broken down further until the water rises to the point where it is passed through a second pipe. This pipe takes the wastewater into the field and disperses it. This dispersal becomes fuel for plants and crops and trees, which draw on the nutrients in the wastewater for growth.
There are times when a septic tank needs treatment. Septic tank treatment generally occurs once to twice per year, depending on the situation. Septic tank treatment involves emptying out and cleaning out of the tank. Bacteria can often rise in the tank, which can lead to the need for septic tank treatment.
Septic tank treatment can be performed by a professional or by the person who owns the septic tank. Septic tank service is common where there are septic tanks.