Sanitation In Cooking

How Can You Tell If Your Home's Septic Tank Needs To Be Pumped?

Are you new to having a septic tank and are unsure of when the tank needs to be pumped? If so, it helps to know some of the signs that you need to call a professional to perform this vital service for your septic tank.

Your Plumbing Has A Sewage Backup

The most obvious sign of a full septic tank is a sewage backup. This is when the tank is completely full and the sewage has no place to go, so it starts flowing back into your home through your drains. If you are having a sewage backup issue, definitely get your septic tank pumped as soon as possible. 

Your Drains Smell Badly

Every drain should have a trap that prevents gases from entering your home. There is always a bit of water underneath the drain that constantly gets pushed out with new water. However, that seal formed by the water can be disrupted every single time you use your water. If the septic tank is full, there are excess gases that may be looking for a way out, and that disruption of the water in the trap will cause some gases to leak back into your home. If you have sewage from the septic tank that is starting to back up into your home, some of that sewage water may have finally reached the water trap.

Your Drains Move Slow

One of the first things that you may start to notice is that all of the drains in your home move a bit slow. This is a problem you are likely to notice in the shower, where the water is not draining faster than it is coming out of the showerhead, and water slowly starts to collect near the shower drain. This problem will start out slow, but likely get much worse over time as you continue to leave your septic tank alone and do not have it pumped. 

Your Toilet Has A Weak Flush

When you flush the toilet, do you notice that the flush seems a bit weak? This is another symptom caused by a full septic tank since the water is struggling to enter the tank as quickly as it can. Your toilet is going to seem as if it is draining slowly, but it is really due to the water having nowhere to go and struggling to get through the pipes as fast as it normally does.

Reach out to a sanitation expert near you for septic tank service.


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