Septic Tank Maintenance Advice from Pembrokeshire’s Professionals
Septic tank, cesspit and small sewerage treatment works maintenace is extremely important when you have off mains sewerage. Make sure yours is properly maintained with CG Pearce Ltd.
A maintenance visit every year to de-sludge and inspect your system, if your maintenance is overdue or just need some friendly advice then please get in touch.
While maintenance is extremely important, it’s also vital that you use an experienced installer. A septic tank which is incorrectly built or placed into the wrong type of ground can end up being a costly mistake, both legally and financially. If you’re unsure if your septic tank is up to the task, then please get in touch.
A quick septic tank lesson
The very basic workings of a self-sufficient septic tank or cesspit system involve waste entering through the inlet, internal bacteria breaking down the solids through anaerobic or aerobic digestion (depending on your system), and the clarified waste being sent to the drain field or discharged to a suitable watercourse. The remaining undigested sludge is then removed by us, using our tankers and disposed of in the correct manner.
Although it’s a simple process, occasionally, problems can appear as a result of the following:
- Poorly constructed drain fields or soakaways constructed in ground that is susceptible to flooding, or has poor or unsuitable soil makeup, can cause an inability for the digestion processes to take place correctly and can result in system or soakaway failure
- Infrequent maintenance, which allows the tank to become full of sludge, clogging up the soakaway and permanently damaging them.
Septic tank systems can also be damaged by disposing items which don’t break down. For example, the following items should never be put into the tank:
- Antibacterial cleaning products and sterilising fluids (baby food utensils) which kill the bacteria inside the tank
- Sanitary towels, baby wipes and disposable nappies
- Cooking oils and fats which solidify and block the whole system — not just the tank
Septic tank, cesspool and small packge treatment works maintenance
Unfortunately, due to the nature of closed septic tank/cesspit systems, everyone who owns one will eventually have to fix problems with their drain field or soakaway. This will be exacerbated by poor maintenance and construction. By following this basic advice with your septic tank/cesspit system, we can help you lengthen the lifespan of your closed tank:
- Refrain from disposing of damaging items such as antiseptic wipes, disposable nappies, baby wipes, or oils and fats
- Help the bacteria inside to flourish by buying tank biotic ‘boosters’
- Undertake regular maintenance which can identify problems before they become expensive to fix
If, you are the owner of a small package treatment works please call us for advice if you’re unsure about what you should or shouldn’t be doing as these systems vary greatly in their maintenance needs.
Septic tank installation
If you are having a new tank installed, there are certain tests that need to be done to check the suitability of the ground. Although these checks, trial holes and percolation tests are part of building regulations, they are rarely checked during or after the construction, which can leave you with a poorly constructed drain field/soak away that is likely to fail.
Remember that you have environmental and legal obligations as the owner of a septic tank/cesspit. These include maintaining it and ensuring the waste doesn’t pollute groundwater or watercourses. If you need advice in this regard then please get in touch. We can go through all the tests that should be carried out pre-installation.