How a Septic System Works
At B & B Sanitation we like to remind our friends and clients that a well-maintained septic system can run for decades, but an abused or neglected one can fail tomorrow. We believe that once you understand how a septic system functions, you can take better care of it. Give us a call to schedule septic system service if you can't remember the last time your septic tank was pumped. It may be time. We are based in Gravenhurst and serve all of Muskoka.
How a Septic Tank Works
Buried in your yard and built to last, your home septic system may never have crossed your mind. But out of site and out of mind, it still performs a vital task. Its operation is simple: a tank, a network of pipes, and billions of microscopic organisms. Yet it has received every flush, every shower, and whatever else you and anyone else who has lived in your house has ever poured down the drain.
Your septic system treats tonnes of organic waste each season. The tank treats sewage by letting the heavy solid materials settle and allowing time for lighter "scum" to float to the top. This partly treated liquid then flows into perforated pipes, called the leaching bed, where it filters into the ground and is further treated. Helpful bacteria and other soil organisms do the bulk of the work.
Schedule Regular Check-Ups to Avoid Clogging
Even on a proper diet, a septic system still needs regular check-ups. Though a septic tank is designed to store solid materials, these solids build up and limit the settling of particles entering it. And if septic solids are allowed to flow into the drainage field, the field may become clogged.
Septic systems work slowly, because the micro-organisms that treat wastewater can only digest so much at a time. Septic tanks also need some "retention time" for the solids to separate from the liquids. This means that pouring less into your septic system allows it more time to work on each litre of waste, and each litre will be more completely treated. It also means that pushing too much, too quickly through your septic tank can cause untreated solid material to flow into the drainage field, possibly clogging it.
Sludge decreases the retention time of your tank, even though it appears to be working normally. It might take a year, or it may take five or more, but 'sludge happens'.
