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Your homes septic system is like the engine
in your car, if you maintain it properly it will last
you years to come. However, if you abuse it, slack on
maintenance, or simply ignore it, it will cost you greatly
or leave you with a complete mess. Maintenance on a
residential septic system is every 2-5 years depending
on the amount of people, and usage. You must have the
sludge (solids) pumped out of your tank in order to
NOT RUIN your drain fields, or the interior of your
lovely house. We at Copsey's Septic pump the complete
tank when we provide our service. We also backflush
the septic system, which means we pump the tank, and
then allow the solids to settle on our truck. We then
spray liquid from our pressurized hose on the walls
of the septic tank. This removes the solids that stick
to the tank. We then re-pump the entire tank.
Residential septic tanks are designs
in a couple different ways. Approximately 98% of them
are 1000-1500 gallon concrete; with dimensions 4 foot
wide, and 10-13 ft in length. Other residential tanks
may either be fiberglass or metal. This information
should be provided at the time of purchase, or per the
inspection of the septic system.
Most houses built since 1990 have what
they call a DUAL CHAMBER TANK. The tank has a wall in
the middle with baffles in it. The front chamber is
approx. 1000 gallons, and the second is approx. 500
gallons. This means you CANNOT pump the complete tank
from one access lid. This dual-tank system was designed
to slow the sludge down from entering the drain field,
before it completely settles to the bottom. This tank
is designed to have more solids in the front chamber
(typically closest access to the house), and the second
chamber to have more water less solids. This does not
mean the second chamber is exempt from sludge. We at
Copsey's pump the entire tank to provide the best benefits
to the customer. Copsey’s Septic Never
charges extra to pump the second chamber, it is part
of our flat pump-out rate. We contacted the local health
dept., and they all recommend pumping the entire tank.
The access lids are approx. 1 foot in from
each short side of the tank. There is a small 6-8 inches
round plug, inside a 2 foot round hole. We recommend
cleaning from the 2-foot hole in order for us to get
a proper cleaning. The second chamber can be pumped
from the small hole, because as stated above there isn't
as much grease or solids on the walls. This is confirmed
based on the condition of the 1st chamber.
If your house was built before 1990,
you probably have a single chamber tank. Which means
you do not have a wall with baffles in the middle of
your tank. These tanks typically have a square lid to
clean from. These tanks can also be 1000 or 1500 gallons,
depending on what the health dept. recommended at the
time. These tanks get pumped from the lid closest to
the house. Once again, they will also be back-flushed,
and emptied completely.
The residential septic system is design
to have 3 layers. The first layer top to bottom is a
layer of scum, (a mixture of solids, liquids, household
chemicals, and of course good old toilet paper). This
layer of scum will always be there. The lighter particles
such as grease, and light objects will remain in the
layer of scum. The second layer is primarily water with
living bacteria, naturally produced by the human body.
The Third layer is solids, which have settle from the
top. The bacteria only digest about 50% of the solids,
which means the solids can then accumulate, and eventually
end up in the drain fields. (a few hundred dollars verses several thousand dollars,
and a destroyed lawn.) When the scum layer is not maintained
(pumped out) it can cause an accumulation of grease,
which is very sticky.
Allowed to continue to grow, this will
cause other objects to accumulate, and cause a mass
at the end of the main pipe coming from the house. This
mass will eventually block off the sewage flow from
the house, and cause a back-up into the house. This
back-up is usually at the least resistant place in the
house. (a basement tub or toilet, laundry tub, or unfinished
bathroom pipe). This can create a stinky disgusting
mess and is among the primary reasons to be sure your
home has regularly scheduled maintenance pump-outs.
To avoid that situation, contact
us today for an evaluation or to schedule
a pump-out of your septic system.
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