This was the first thing that you saw very early that morning. The stress of having your wedding in your yard was getting to you and then your septic tank flooded. It was all too much to bear. You stared at your yard and watched the flooding saturated your beautiful green grass. There was a soggy and yucky wet spot in the middle of your yard. Tears welled up in your eyes as you picked up the phone and called your septic expert. He was a close friend and was supposed to be one of the groomsmen at the wedding. He hurriedly came by with all his equipment and tried to comfort you. He said that you shouldn’t worry too much because your fiancé would want to marry you and not a haggard old lady. With those powerful words, you controlled yourself and stopped crying.
He immediately went to work. Just as he suspected, even the drains, sinks, and toilets were flooding and backing up with sewage from the septic tank. The septic odors were overwhelming that you just opted to stay in your balcony where the fresh morning breeze managed to dissipate the septic tank odors. It was a very devastating day. But thanks to your dependable septic tank inspector friend, the agony was going to end pretty soon. While he prepared to go to work and repair your flooded septic tank and drain field, you asked the reasons why your septic tank was backing up in the first place. He gave you the following possible reasons:
a. Necessary maintenance and care may not have been given to your septic tank. You should keep the scheduled pump outs and beneficial bacterial treatment sessions so that the sludge may be removed on time and the components of the system may be properly inspected as well.
b. There might have been heavy cars or construction vehicles placed over the septic tank. The heavy weight may have already caused damage to the septic tank and drain field causing leaks and flooding in your yard.
c. The heavy rains from gutters and down spouts might have been diverted towards your septic tank and drain field area. This could cause a high increase in water load over the septic system. The high water load could deplete beneficial bacterial counts and delay the breakdown of solid waste materials. This leads to high sludge level and clogging of the septic tank and drain field. Eventually, the septic tank will overflow and flood the yard and surrounding areas.
d. The use of harsh chemical solutions and antibacterial hand soaps can kills off beneficial bacterial population that decomposes the solid wastes prior to draining into the drain field. Without the bacteria that do the essential job, the tank will fill up with solid wastes and this will result to an overflow of the tank and of course, flooding of the drain field.
e. There may also be an improper over usage of sinks, toilets, and drains water. This can produce a un- necessary strain on the septic tank and drain field causing septic tank flooding.
Your septic expert told you that you should make sure that everything in your septic system was okay especially your septic tank. This component is where the primary treatment of the wastewater happens. It is the holding vessel of all the wastes that your household produces. So it is only appropriate to provide it with as much care and maintenance that it should receive. When he was finished correcting the flooding of your septic tank, you agreed to keep the maintenance schedule that he gave you.
When you first moved into your home, you never realized that your septic system would require bacterial treatment and maintenance. You just assumed that it would all be taken care of by the real estate agent and the house inspectors. The assumption turned out wrong and you suffered the consequences of a failed septic and flooded septic tank drain field.
Septic tank treatments are critical to the smooth operation of a septic tank and drain field system. Treat your system on a monthly basis and you can eliminate most future septic tank problems.