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If you are like most people, you know very little about your septic tank system. This is understandable. In urban and suburban areas there are sewers to carry household waste to municipal wastewater treatment plants. In more rural areas, however, septic tank systems provide the functions of both sewers and treatment plants.

All household waste is disposed through the septic system. The proper operation of the septic system is essential to health, property value and the ecology.

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" was never truer than it is with septic tank care. A small commitment to the care of your septic system will protect you indefinitely from the nightmare created by a failing system.

THE SEPTIC SYSTEM

The septic system is a small, on-site sewage treatment and disposal system buried in the ground. The septic system is comprised of a septic tank and a soil absorption area.

When household waste material enters this box, several thing occur:
1.
Organic solid material floats to the surface and forms a layer of what is commonly called "scum." Bacteria in the septic tank biologically convert this material to liquid.

2. Inorganic or inert solid materials and the by-products of bacterial digestion sink to the bottom of the tank from a layer commonly called "sludge."

3. Only fairly clear water should exist between the scum and sludge layers. It is this clear water-and only this clear water, that should overflow into the soil absorption area.


Solid material overflowing into the soil absorption area should be avoided at all costs. it is this solids overflow that clogs soil pores and causes septic systems to fail. Two main factors cause solid material to build up enough to overflow: Bacterial deficiency and lack of sludge removal.

Bacteria must be present in the septic tank to digest the organic solids. Normal household waste provides enough bacteria to digest the solid UNLESS any harm is done to the bacteria. Bacteria are very sensitive to environmental changes. Many home-care products used in most homes every day will destroy bacteria. Check the labels of products you normally use. Labels carrying any of the following warnings will kill bacteria.

• Harmful of fatal if swallowed
• Avoid contact with the skin
• Do not get in open cuts or sores
• If comes in contact with eyes, call a physician immediately

Check the following list. These are common used home-care products that will kill bacteria necessary for proper septic tank operation. Many of these products are used in most homes on a daily basis:

detergents - bleach - polishes - disinfectants - acids - sink & tub cleaners
toilet cleaners - cleaning compounds - caustic drain openers

People do not think of the effect of these products on the septic system when the products go down the drain. What kind of effect do you think antiseptics have on your septic tank?

Bacteria must be present to digest and liquefy the scum. If not digested, the scum will accumulate until it overflows, clogging the soil absorption area.

The sludge in the septic tank-inorganic and inert material and by products of bacterial digestion-is not biodegradable and will not decompose. If not removed, sludge will accumulate until it overflows, again clogging the soil absorption area.

SOIL ABSORPTION OR LEACHING AREA

The main way to carry off the overflow water from the septic tank is a drain field. Drain fields generally consist of a network of perforated pipes laid in a gravel-lined trench. Solids clogging the pipe perforations will cause drainage to slow and eventually stop.


SEPTIC SYSTEM MAINTENANCE

The U.S Government Department of Health, Education, and Welfare Public Health Service says, "A septic tank system will serve a home satisfactorily only if it is properly designed, installed, and adequately maintained. Even a good system which does not have proper care and attention may become a nuisance, and burdensome expense."

Septic system maintenance means two simple things. First, sludge that accumulates in the bottom of the tank must be pumped out periodically. How frequently depends on the size of the tank, the use it gets, and the condition of the system. There is no additive that you can put in the tank that will deal with the sludge. IT MUST BE PUMPED OUT. If not pumped out, it will eventually overflow into the soil absorption area. This will clog the system, and it will need to be rejuvenated or replaced, at enormous expense and inconvenience.

The second part of the septic system maintenance involves the bacteria necessary for solids digestion. If bacteria-killing products are used in the home-as they are-the bacteria must be replenished. If the bacteria are not replenished, the septic system will fill up with solid material and overflow into the soil absorption area. This will clog the system, and it will have to be rejuvenated or replaced.

Your septic tank could be overflowing solid material into the soil RIGHT NOW, and you won't even know it until it blocks the soil so badly that no more drainage is possible. This blockage takes varying periods of time depending of soil structure. But this is fact: a negative system WILL get blocked; it WILL overflow; it WILL have an obnoxious odor; it WILL contaminate and pollute. It will probably have to be replaced or rejuvenated. The first septic system "emergency" usually marks the beginning of the end. Repair costs vary from $1200 to $15,000.

WARNING SIGNS OF SEPTIC SYTEM FAILURE

• Sluggish drainage in the home
• Plumbing backups
• Gurgling sound in pipes and drains
• Outdoor odor
• Mushy ground or greener grass in area of septic system



Service Prices*

up to 500 Gal. Septic Tank.................................................... $270
up to 1000 Gal. Septic Tank.................................................. $325
up to 1200 Gal. Septic Tank.................................................. $390
up to 1500 Gal. Septic Tank.................................................. $487
Locating Septic Tank............................................................. $95 to $165 per hour (1 hour minimum)
Labor.................................................................................... $95 per hour (1 hour minimum)
Jetting.................................................................................... $175 per hour (1 hour minimum, $100 pumping fee if not pumping septic tank)
                                                                            All Prices billed at 1/4 of an hour after the first hour
Basic Septic Inspection.......................................................... $85
Service Call........................................................................... $95

  * Prices subject to change without notice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Clinkscales Portable Toilets
840 Explorer Ave
Molalla, OR 97038

cpt@molalla.net
503-829-7448

800-683-7007