It has been a hectic week for you at work. Deadlines and meetings left and right so by the time Friday set in, you were ready to hit the tub and take a long, relaxing aromatic bath that you have been planning since Monday. You get home and get ready for your hot tub bath. But when you went to your tub to draw your bath, there was already water in it. Only, it wasn’t exactly the kind of water that you would want to soak into. It was filthy and very, very smelly. Suddenly, all of your stress just boosted up to your head. It was just what you needed—another crisis. It doesn’t seem to end. When you said oh NO! You brother said, is your tub backing up from the septic system again?
You have owned your house for a few years now but since you moved in, you didn’t think of your septic system at all. Your confidence in the home inspectors was absolute so you didn’t have any worries. You absolutely thought that everything is going your way until that fateful bath tub day. After all this, you calm yourself down and call the septic professional that your property agent recommended.
When your tub suddenly backs up, there is definitely a problem somewhere in your drains or septic system in general. If the problem is too big already, then it might cost you a hefty amount because of the complications that have happened through years of neglect.
As you know, your septic system is the one that is responsible for the collection and storage of wastewater from your home though your drains and toilets. The wastewater is degraded by the anaerobic bacteria in your septic tank. Sludge will be produced and build up. If this is not pumped out, this will cause damage to your septic system. Before you panic and start computing for the heavy repairs, make sure that your tank is really backing up and it is not just a minor clog somewhere. Here are some things that you could do if your tub backs up:
- Think of how long it has been since the tank was pumped. It should be every 3-5 years. If you know u pumped out your septic tank as scheduled, then there has to be another cause for the problem.
- You should run some water into the tub or sink that is situated in the lowest part of your house and monitor the drain rate. If is slow draining, then your septic system is backed up.
- If sewage odors are wafting as the sewage leaks, your system is really backed up this time. The leaking wastewater reaches the surrounding soil of the septic area as well, aside from backing up into your home.
- Inspect your yard and look for wet spots. These are small puddles that just appeared over your drain field even if there was no rainfall. They can also be found in a portion of your yard at a fair distance away from your tank.
- If the water that has backed up into your lowest sinks, toilet, or tub has a foul smell and is murky. This could just happen suddenly and when you turn on the water on the upper levels of your house.
It was a good decision for you to call a professional already. Doing so will help the problem immediately and will not get worse anymore. If the sludge in the septic tank is already leaking into the surrounding soil, it could contaminate the groundwater and this is not going to be a healthy picture.
When your septic professional arrived he asked you is your tub backing up from the septic system again? He advised you to have the septic system inspected, always make sure that you see what’s going on, so that you will know the various components of your septic system. This could really educate you about your septic system’s Dos and DON’Ts so that you will know what to do when backing up happens again, you will know what to do.