Celebrating your birthday has always been a red-letter event. Even if it just involved having dinner with your girlfriend or your family, it was always special. There was a time when you were so busy to plan your birthday celebration that your family and friends surprised you with one. It was done over a weekend so everyone was there. This year, you planned on having a party in the coming weekend. There was going to be a holiday on the following Monday so you were expecting really long celebration. That was when your wife said to you the there were odors coming from the kitchen sink. You father said that odors coming from the sink can mean trouble.
With the plan brewing in your head, you went to your bathroom to wash your face. Your faithful pug sat at your feet and watched you. When you bent over, you smelled something foul. You though that your dog just farted but it came from the sink. You knew that odors coming from the sink can men trouble so you immediately called your septic expert.
He said that there was indeed a problem with your septic system so he said that he would check on it immediately. After a few minutes, he arrived and inspected the system. He checked on the plumbing but there wasn’t any problem only odors coming from the sink can mean trouble.He concluded that it was in the septic system itself. When he checked the records, it showed that you were not able to have the tank pumped out three years ago. Anyone who was as busy as you were would have also forgotten the scheduled pump out.
It was trouble for you because you can’t afford to have your septic system replaced. There are so many caused of septic trouble that you may have unknowingly done yourself. The septic expert enumerated some of them:
1) Use of antibacterial solutions
Many households use antibacterial solutions to clean their homes and you were one of them. Paranoia struck you hard before because of a skin irritation that infected your brother when he visited a year ago. From then on, you used nothing but antibacterial household cleaners. These cleaners kill off the resident bacteria that decompose or break down the solid particles in the wastewater. If there are no bacteria to do the job, the entire septic system fails to work.
2) Dumping of grease and fats
Grease and fats clog the system. They are not easily digested by the resident bacteria so they just get dispersed into the drain field and clog the entire septic system. You were guilty of this especially when you used your garbage disposal. You just disposed of the grease and fats in there everytime you had pork chops.
3) Dumping of non-biodegradable materials
Non-biodegradable materials such as paint, tampons, diapers, napkins, and plastic items completely add up to the clogs in the system. Even if you did use your garbage disposal, it didn’t change the composition of these items. They are not degraded by the resident bacteria and just stay in the system. These materials clog the septic system, which will eventually lead to malfunction and failure.
4) Increased water load
An increase in water load can be brought about by a heavy rain fall directed over the system, a heavy batch of laundry every week, and more people living in the house. The rain gutter should be diverted away from the system, the laundry should be divided in a week, and there should be an adjustment in the size of the system if there will be more people living in your home.
5) Trees, vehicles, or construction over the tank or drain field
Tree roots could invade the system components in search of water and nutrients. Vehicles or construction placed over the system damages the system’s components because of the heavy weight.
6) Not pumping on schedule
When you fail to have your tank pumped out, the sludge will get dispersed into your drain field and clog the system.
7) Pumping during heavy rains
If you pump your system during heavy rains, the mud and silt will enter the system. The mud and silt will clog the system and will lead to malfunction and failure.
The septic expert corrected the septic malfunction and you just couldn’t be more grateful because you could get on with planning your birthday celebration the coming weekend. You definitely learned your lesson and asked the septic expert to always remind you of your pump out schedules. Remember, odors coming from the sink can mean trouble.