Because your septic tank is considered a part of your home, it is covered by your homeowners insurance in the event of damage. Any damage caused by neglect or a lack of maintenance, on the other hand, will not be covered. We’ll go over the criteria that go into determining whether or not your septic tank is covered by your homes insurance.
Do Home warranties cover septic systems?
Septic coverage is usually available as an add-on option with most home warranty programs. Septic tank pumping is not included in most companies’ septic coverage, however some will offer it as an add-on. You can add septic system coverage to your home warranty for a few extra dollars per month after you’ve purchased your home warranty. A home warranty can cover more than just your septic system; it can also cover your home’s most vital appliances and systems.
What are the signs of a failing septic system?
- Toilets, drains, and sinks are leaking water and sewage into the house.
- Even in dry weather, bright green, spongy lush grass grows over the sewage tank or drainfield.
Septic systems, like most other parts of your house, need to be serviced on a regular basis. If properly maintained, the septic system should last for many years. Owners risk severe and costly failures if their septic system isn’t maintained. Septic systems also have a limited lifespan and will need to be updated at some point.
A septic system that has failed or is malfunctioning can endanger human and animal health as well as contaminate the environment. Regardless of the age of the system, a competent septic owner is aware of the indicators of failure and responds swiftly when they are identified. A prompt response could save the owner money on repairs, as well as prevent illness and environmental damage.
What happens when a septic system fails?
Untreated sewage is released and delivered where it shouldn’t be when a septic system fails. As a result, sewage may rise to the surface of the earth near the tank or drainfield, or back up in the building’s pipes. Without our knowledge, sewage could find its way into groundwater, surface water, or marine water. Pathogens and other harmful substances can be found in sewage. People and animals can become ill as a result of exposure to certain diseases and pollutants. They can also contaminate water sources, making them dangerous to drink, swim in, harvest shellfish from, or utilize for agricultural purposes.
What are some common reasons a septic system doesn’t work properly?
The pipe between the house and the tank is obstructed. Drains drain very slowly (perhaps slower on lower levels of the building) or stop draining completely when this happens. This is usually a simple issue to resolve. A service provider may usually “snake the line” and unclog it. Flush only human waste and toilet paper down the drain, and have your system inspected once a year to avoid a clogged line. Vehicle or animal traffic can sometimes crush or break this conduit. Plant roots might occasionally obstruct the pipe (particularly on older systems). To repair a crushed or root-damaged pipe, you’ll need to replace (at least) a piece of it.
The tank’s inlet baffle is obstructed. This failure is very similar to when the house-to-tank input pipe becomes obstructed. You can inspect your intake baffle opening for a clog if you have access to it. If you notice toilet paper or other debris, try using a pole to unclog it. Make sure you don’t harm any of the septic system’s components. For this rather simple and low-cost fix, a service professional can also be engaged. Avoid clogging your inlet baffle by flushing only human waste and toilet paper and having your system examined once a year.
The effluent filter or outlet baffle is clogged. Sewage may back up into the house or surface near the septic tank as a result of this. This problem could indicate that the tank is receiving too much water in a short period of time. If an effluent filter is present, it must be cleaned or replaced. If there is no effluent filter, this problem will almost certainly need having the tank drained to locate and remove the clog. Clean your effluent filter (if you have one) and have your system inspected once a year to avoid this problem.
The drainage system has failed. Sewage may backup into the home if the drainfield collapses or becomes saturated with water. You may notice spongy bright green grass growing above or around the drainfield, as well as wet, soggy places. There could also be scents in the vicinity of the tank or drainfield. This could be the last time this part of your septic system works. It’s possible that the system was set up incorrectly, allowing too much solid material to enter the drainfield, leading it to fail prematurely. Or perhaps the system has just reached its capacity to accept waste after many years of service. However, if the drainfield has been saturated by too much water (due to high amounts of water pouring down the drain or flood water on the drainfield), the drainfield may be dried out and restored. To analyze the situation, contact a service specialist. If the drainfield has failed, if it is possible, a connection to the public sewer system should be considered. A new drainfield will have to be installed if this does not happen.
A septic system can fail or malfunction for a variety of reasons. Contact a septic professional if your system isn’t performing properly.
How can I prevent a failure?
Your septic system will have a long and trouble-free life with appropriate maintenance and operation. The rest is up to you if your septic system has been correctly designed, sited, and installed. Annually inspect your system and pump as needed (usually every 3-5 years). Avoid wasting water and be careful what you flush down the toilet and down the drain. Learn more about septic system maintenance.
Can my failing septic system contaminate the water?
Yes, a failed septic system can pollute well water and nearby bodies of water. Untreated wastewater is a health problem that can lead to a variety of ailments in humans. You and your neighbors’ wells could be affected if this untreated effluent enters the groundwater. Shellfish beds and recreational swimming sites may be affected if sewage enters local streams or waterbodies.
Is there financial help for failing systems or repairs?
- Craft3 is a local nonprofit financial institution that provides loans throughout many counties.
- Municipal Health Departments – A number of local health departments offer low-interest loans and grants.
How does sewage ejector pump work?
We get a lot of calls about submersible sewage pumps in our sales department at Septic Solutions. The great majority of customers in need of a sewage handling pump assume that they require a sewage grinder pump as well. This is a common misunderstanding that leads many people to believe that all sewage treatment pumps are grinder pumps. This is far from the case. In the domestic and light commercial / industrial parts of the business, sewage handling pumps are divided into two types: sewage ejector pumps and sewage grinder pumps.
In order to throw additional light on the topic of sewage ejector pumps vs. sewage grinder pumps, we’ll go over the proper applications for each device in this post.
SEWAGE EJECTOR PUMPS (4/10 HP – 2 HP)
Sewage ejector pumps are submerged solids handling pumps with a large volume and low pressure. Grinding blades are not used in sewage ejector pumps. They employ a spinning pump that draws raw sewage in through the bottom of the pump and forces it out the outlet and into the discharge pipe under pressure. Pumps for sewage ejectors are typically built to handle solids up to 2″ in diameter.
A Sewage Ejector pump is most commonly used to transport raw sewage from a home to a septic tank or gravity flow sewer main. These devices typically have a 2″ discharge and range in power from 4/10 HP to 2 HP. Pumps for sewage ejectors can handle large amounts of sewage (up to 220 Gallons Per Minute). These pumps are designed for short pumping lengths (under 750 feet) and can withstand nearly 75 feet of head pressure.
The pump in a basement floor pit meant to evacuate sewage from a basement bathroom up to the main level is an example of a sewage ejector pump. Another example is using an ejector pump to drive waste back to the main house’s septic tank when adding living space or a bathroom to an outbuilding, garage, or shed.
A sewage ejector pump must always be used instead of a sewage grinder pump when pumping to a septic tank or septic system.
SEWAGE GRINDER PUMPS (2 HP and larger)
Sewage Grinder Pumps are submerged solids handling pumps with a high pressure and low volume. Cutting blades in sewage grinder pumps crush raw sewage into a slurry before passing it through the discharge pipe. Sewage Grinder Pumps are designed to handle the same materials as Sewage Ejector Pumps, but they can handle tougher solids.
When pumping from a home to a pressurized city sewer main, sewage grinder pumps are most typically employed. Because a pressurized sewer main is under pressure from another sewage pump, liquids must be pumped into it with a pump that can overcome that pressure. Sewage Grinder Pumps can achieve this because they can pump fluids at over 60 PSI. Pumps for sewage grinders typically have a 1-1/4″ discharge and range in horsepower from 2 to 10. They can only pump little amounts of sewage (30 gallons per minute or less), but they can push it over great distances (thousands of feet) and handle head pressures of up to 130 psi.
When pumping sewage from a home to a septic tank, a Sewage Grinder Pump is not suggested. The sewage is ground into such a fine slurry that the solids never separate from the liquid in the septic tank and are transferred on to the secondary system. Your subsurface leaching field will fast be ruined as a result of this.
In order to function properly, 2.0 HP Sewage Grinder pumps require a minimum of 20 to 30 feet of head pressure. A Sewage Grinder pump will quickly burn out if used in a low head environment (very little vertical lift, short horizontal run). The majority of manufacturers rely on that small amount of head pressure to keep the electric motor’s RPMs low. When there isn’t enough head pressure, the motors spin faster, drawing more current and becoming hotter, causing them to fail far sooner than they should.
WHICH PUMP SHOULD I USE?
Only utilize a sewage grinder pump if one of the following scenarios applies to your situation:
To summarize, not all sewage treatment pumps are grinder pumps, and a sewage grinder pump is not always required to pump raw sewage. In most circumstances, a sewage ejector pump is the far superior choice. There are some situations in which you could utilize either type.
THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULE
The 1.0 HP Liberty ProVore Domestic Grinder and the 1.0 HP Myers VRS Residential Grinder pumps are specialist devices designed to replace residential sewage ejector pumps ranging from 4/10 to 1.0 HP. These machines have no minimum head requirement and have the same cutting action as bigger commercial grinder pumps, but with a smaller 1.0 HP motor. While this will pump sewage from a residence to a public sewer, we do not recommend using it to pump to a septic tank because it still grinds the sewage into a slurry.
How long does a septic tank last?
A septic tank’s lifespan is determined by a variety of factors, including ground conditions and how well it is maintained. GRP, PE, and concrete tanks have a typical lifespan of more than 30 years.
- Steel septic tanks have a 15 to 20-year life expectancy. These should not be utilized for new installations, but they are nevertheless occasionally seen in older rural homes.
- Tanks made of plastic (PE) or fiberglass (GRP) have a lifespan of 20 to 30 years.
- Concrete tanks have a 30- to 40-year life expectancy (sometimes longer, depending on conditions).
Can a water softener damage a septic system?
The answers to that question, as well as the consequences of using a water softener with a septic system, are provided below.
Water softener regeneration outputs do not cause problems for septic systems or the leach field. Water softener regeneration wastes do not interfere with septic tank system drain field soil percolation, but the polyvalent water hardness cations in the regeneration discharges increase soil percolation, especially in fine-textured soils, according to studies.
On septic tanks and water softeners, WQA has research reports from the University of Wisconsin and the National Sanitation Foundation. This study was finished in the late 1970s. Several regulatory bodies were considering restricting the discharge of water softener wastes to private sewage disposal systems at the time.
The US Environmental Protection Agency recently evaluated this research paper, and an expert in on-site waste treatment noted in October 1993 that “the conclusions of the prior study would not alter because the chemistry and physics of soils have not changed.”
He continues, “I am confident that this work will stay scientifically outstanding.”
Septic tanks are unaffected by water softener waste effluents, according to these investigations.
Water treatment system discharges to hundreds of thousands of septic tank systems are now almost universally permitted. It has not created any damage or risks, but it has benefited many homeowners with convenience and financial savings. The “Recommended Standards for Individual Sewage Systems” of the Ten States support this conclusion. The states have found that the discharge of brine wastes from water softening equipment has no major impact on the permeability of soils appropriate for soil absorption systems, even in Montmorillinite clay soils.
The addition of salt to a septic system through the use of soft water has a favorable effect on bacterial waste decomposition. The volume of waste from a water softener that is added to the septic tank is not large enough to cause any hydraulic load issues. In reality, they contain less volume and increase at a slower rate than waste from automated washers. Softener regeneration wastes contain calcium and magnesium, which aid air and water flow (increased soil percolation) via the septic system drainage field.
When sodium from the softener regeneration cycle is discharged into the soil via a septic system along with other salts like calcium, magnesium, and iron, the result is an improvement in the soil’s percolation rather than a detriment, according to reports from the University of Wisconsin and the National Sanitation Foundation.
The similar conclusion is reached by Dr. Fred P Miller, Professor of Soil Science, Department of Agronomy, University of Maryland. When the septic system only receives water with a low mineral content and does not receive mineral salts from the backwash cycle, this circumstance “could result in swelling and dispersion of clay and diminished hydraulic conductivity in the absorption field,” according to Dr. Miller.
When the hardness minerals calcium and magnesium are removed by softening, there are other benefits that are directly tied to the usage of ion exchange softened water. The homeowner uses less soap, according to research, between 50 and 75 percent less. There are also less biodegradable items discharged into the system, reducing the system’s burden.
It is common knowledge that many homeowners do not properly maintain their septic systems. Failure to pump the system at regular intervals allows detergent solids, as well as other solids, to be transferred into the drainage region, clogging the system. Furthermore, by having soft or stain-free water on hand, the homeowner’s fabrics will be cleaner, and the amount of water needed will be minimized. This greatly lessens the burden on the septic system.
Many people believe that water conditioning equipment regenerates regularly and discharges a significant amount of sodium salts into the waste water. This is obviously not the case; a typical family of four would require softener regeneration four to five times per week.
The Water Quality Improvement Industry has been working hard to go through the facts about softener effluent. The septic tank study clearly shows that when water conditioning effluent is discharged into properly designed private septic systems, there are no negative consequences. There are a few more publications that show how the hardness ions in softener regeneration wastes cause less blockage and retain higher permeability than typical septic tank effluent.
Shakespeare, on the other hand, didn’t have to worry about whether or not to use a softener with his septic system. With 20 million on-site household disposal systems, many homeowners have asked this question. Can softened water cause problems for septic system users? The answer is NO, according to targeted study soften with certainty.
Household sewage disposal systems are simple to use. The main soil pipe from a home’s plumbing system empties into a concrete or steel tank that is buried a certain distance from the house and below the frost line. A barrier near the input pipe prevents the effluent from backing up and lowers the turbulence of the incoming waste in the common single-compartment tank. The heavier solids sink to the bottom of the effluent tank, while the more buoyant substances rise to the surface. The waste material is digested and chemically changed by bacteria present in the effluent as well as other species introduced to the tank. An anaerobic process is a bacterial action that takes place in the absence of oxygen. A vented system works in a similar way, but the breakdown is aerobic, requiring air.
After the bacterial action takes place, reasonably clean water is discharged through the tank’s outlet pipe, flowing to a distribution box and then to the drainage field via perforated, loosely connected pipes. The perforations and slack joints allow water to infiltrate into the surrounding soil. Pipes are typically installed in gravel or loose rock beds to improve water dispersion.
This concludes the section on the waste disposal system. The water softening system is included on the other side, which deals with water before it reaches the tap.
A resinous substance attracts sodium ions in a standard water softener. The sodium ions are exchanged for calcium and magnesium ions as the ion exchange resin reacts with the influent water. Calcium and magnesium are minerals that exist naturally in many water sources. The presence of these ions causes water to become “hard,” while exchanging the calcium and magnesium ions for sodium or potassium ions causes the water to become “soft.” The hardness ions are removed from the softener exchange resin during the regeneration cycle and discharged with the backwash and any extra regenerant salt (sodium chloride or potassium chloride) required to drive the regeneration reaction.
In the 1970s, a number of counties and states were concerned about the impact of softened water on septic systems. Despite the fact that the assumptions were incorrect, there were three main causes for the unwarranted fears and inaccurate preconceptions. Bacterial life forms are known to be endangered by too much or too little salt in their environment. It was thought that the higher salt concentration in the effluent or softened water might hurt or kill the bacteria in the tank.
The second issue was that during regeneration, the backwash flow rate might introduce water quicker than the tank could handle. The effluent would be forced out of the tank before the bacterial process could finish. To put it another way, “unprocessed waste water” would be discharged into the drainage system.
Finally, there was concern that the softener’s salt brine might reduce the drainage field’s ability to absorb water. Agricultural studies on irrigation systems with high sodium concentration led to this conclusion.
These were not proven facts based on scientific testing, but rather “common sense” assertions regarding a potential problem. As a result of these assumptions, some states have established legislation prohibiting the use of softened water in septic systems. To deal with the circumstance,
Can I shower if my septic tank is full?
Drains in modern homes have a tendency of remaining unnoticed. Plumbers and exorcists aren’t generally on our minds till the toilet is overflowing or the bath spigot is filling the tub with blood. Waste is kept out of sight and out of mind with the easy push of a lever. This is not the case in this article. We’re heading to your backyard, to the greenest spot of grass, to attack your septic system head on.
A septic system treats the waste in around one-third of all American residences. These systems are designed to be simple. All of the house’s drains connect to a single line that leads to the septic tank, which is buried outside. The waste water from your toilet, shower, sinks, and washing machine is combined when it leaves your home. However, when it reaches the septic tank, it begins to separate. Sludge, or the heaviest particle stuff in the waste, settles to the bottom. The floating scum layer at the top of the tank is made up of fats, oils, and proteins. The relatively clear liquid layer known as effluent or gray water is in the middle. Septage refers to the combination of these elements.
How can you tell if your leach field is failing?
While many homeowners are familiar with their septic tank, they may not be aware of the leach field, which is an important aspect of the septic system. The leach field, also known as the drain field, is the region beneath your house where your leach field pipes filter wastewater from the tank into the soil. Natural microbes break down the wastewater as it settles into the soil.
The leach field is the most common cause of septic system failure. The leach field filters and disperses waste in the system. The dirt at the bottom of the leach field plugs up and prevents effective drainage when wastewater or solid waste builds up on it. The following are some of the most common causes of leach field failure:
Leach field failure is a significant issue that must be handled as soon as possible. The leach field could jeopardize your and your family’s health if it is not properly repaired. The following are some of the most prevalent indications of a failing leach field:
If properly maintained, leach fields can endure anywhere between 15 and 25 years. Monitoring water usage and what goes into your septic system is the first step in proper leach field upkeep.
Why do I smell septic outside my house?
A well-maintained septic tank should be odor-free, so if you notice a foul odor inside your home or in the leach field, it’s a clue that something is wrong. However, a bad odor does not always indicate that the septic tank needs to be flushed. Gases in the system, such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and methane, generate septic odors. Not only may these gases be irritating, but they can also be poisonous or even explosive in high enough concentrations. Septic tank odor has a number of origins and treatments.
Why does my ejector pit smell?
Water in the sump pit evaporates over time during dry seasons since the pump does not remove it. When the basin dries completely, gases escape, causing foul odors in your home.