Having your septic tank regularly checked for issues is an important part of being a good home or business owner. You wouldn’t want it failing on you at any time. Not just because of the awful smell and filth that will be everywhere if it does fail, but also because of the amount of trouble you’re going to need to go through if it does fail. However, your septic tank still fails despite your best efforts and there’s sewage everywhere. You might be thinking what you could have done to prevent the accident and what could have caused such a crappy disaster.
Reasons Why a Septic Tank Can Fail
Septic tanks are hardy pieces of modernized ancient tech that is meant to stand the test of time. However, everything has a limit of how much punishment it can take. That includes your septic tank. Normally a septic tank will last 20 to 30 years before starting to show problems.
Botched Installation
A botched septic tank installation is a ticking time bomb. A disgusting and filthy time bomb at that. You can expect your septic tank to have a large number of problems if it isn’t installed properly in the first place. A misaligned part would mean that there would be sewage leaks and cause parts that shouldn’t even be in contact with the sewage, swimming in it. The best way to prevent this is to ensure that you hire a credible professional to install the septic tank for you.
Constant Overloading
Constant overloading involves draining too much water or dumping too much solid waste into the septic tank at once. This can be a problem as this will require your septic tank to be pumped more often, otherwise the tank will degrade faster.
The biggest contributor to excess water is laundry. Make sure to spread out laundry over several days or weeks to keep your septic tank from overloading on water. Excessive solid waste on the other hand isn’t from toilets. Excessive solid waste mostly comes from garbage disposals with the majority of waste not degrading fast enough. Either lessen the use of garbage disposals or throw trash in garbage bins or compost pits instead.
Physical Damage
Physical damage can come in many different forms. One of the most common is having a vehicle drive over the septic tank over and over again. This compresses it and makes it easier for effluent to escape from the tank. Another is having a tree’s roots dig into the septic tank. Tree roots can easily push a septic tank out of position.
Flushing Foreign Objects
Foreign objects in your septic tank will slowly build up and eventually create a crappy disaster of epic proportions. The reason for this is because most foreign objects cannot be broken down by the septic tank’s bacterial cultures. These objects will slowly build up and make it easier for your tank to overload or have an important passage blocked by a candy wrapper.
Lack Of Maintenance
Maintenance is an important aspect of any properly working device. That includes your septic tank. Maintaining your septic tank lets you know exactly what’s going on in the tank and take the necessary steps to fix those problems. Just make sure to come prepared with the right tools for the job. Otherwise your “maintenance” might not turn out the way you expect it to and you might end up doing more damage control instead of maintenance.