Unseen, buried in your yard, it's constantly at work. While you're away during the day, it's at work too. As you sleep at night, it's still working. Through holidays and all types of weather, it's working yet. In fact, your septic tank never stops. That is, not as long as you care for it properly. Here's what you need to know to keep your septic tank working behind the scenes every day of the year.
How a Septic Tank Works
Whether you call it an individual sewage disposal system, an onsite wastewater treatment system, an on-lot system or any combination of terms – a typical septic tank isn't fancy or complicated. It's comprised of four main parts:
The Waste Pipe: A solid pipe leads from the house and ends at the septic tank. It delivers all household waste flushed from sinks, bathtubs, showers or toilets.
The Septic Tank: A buried container, the septic tank is generally about 4 feet wide and 4 feet in depth, with a length of 6 to 8 feet (dimensions may vary depending on home size or, more specifically, number of bedrooms). Watertight, it's usually made of fiberglass, plastic or concrete. Inside the tank is an inlet tee where the waste pipe enters, separate compartments, and an outlet tee. Additionally, a portion called a riser acts like a porthole, allowing the sludge level to be inspected, and a manhole cover in another area makes easy access for cleaning.
The Drain Field: The drain field is an area of land to which the septic tank pumps the liquid portion of the contents. Some states require a reserve drain field as well.
Drain Field Soil: Where the magic takes place: as the wastewater enters the soil it's gradually cleansed of bacteria, viruses and other contaminants. Each time more waste is discharged from the septic tank, previous wastewater is forced deeper into the soil and purified further. Given the proper dirt, the water is clean by the time it reaches the ground water deep below the surface.
So your septic tank doesn't actually store all the wastewater you use. Instead, it holds it long enough to allow solids to settle to the bottom and begin decomposing, forming sludge. Oils and grease float to the top, forming scum. The water portion flows out through a perforated pipe into the drain field, where it trickles into the ground........ (READ MORE)
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