For those not connected to the sewage mains, septic tanks are an absolute necessity and must be carefully looked after and maintained. A broken or backed-up septic tank can be unpleasant, inconvenient and expensive. It can also cause terrible problems with neighbors. The state of a septic tank, and its history, can also affect property values quite significantly.
It is recommended that the emptying of septic tanks be carried out once a year to avoid problems. In Taunton it is easy to find a company who will do this for you.
Knowing how septic tanks work can help to understand why emptying them is so important. When the household waste reaches the septic tank, it separates into three different layers: The sludge at the bottom, the scum on the top and the effluent in the middle. The effluent is a clear liquid, mostly all of the water from the household waste, and this is what gets discharged from the septic tank to where it drains away. This is normally through a pipe with holes drilled into it and laid underground, usually below the garden, a field or other open area. The effluent then seeps from the pipe and into the ground, where it is naturally filtered and absorbed by the soil.
The layers of sludge and scum remain in the septic tank. The top layer, the scum, is a combination of all the organic material from the household waste. The bacteria already in the septic tank forms an ecosystem which naturally breaks down the scum, so that the level remains fairly constant as new scum is added. The bottom layer, the sludge, is the inorganic material and will not be discharged or broken down. Therefore it needs to be removed manually, which is why septic tanks need to be emptied.
If not, a number of different things can go wrong, resulting in the sludge or scum backing up through the system and back into the house, or being discharged through the drainage pipe. Either of these will cause huge problems.
It doesn’t matter where you are. Septic tank emptying is as crucial in Taunton as it is in more rural Somerset. Taunton has many homes and businesses using septic tanks.
If there is a septic tank, it must be emptied once a year, or more if it is showing any signs of a problem. Regular maintenance can give you peace of mind and save you a lot of money in the long run.
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