Septic Tank Jargon
Septic Tank Jargon
About one-third of all American households make use of a septic system to treat the waste in their homes. Septic systems are purposely designed to be fairly simple with all the drains in your home converging into a single pipe that leads to the septic tank buried outside. When the waste water from your toilet, shower, sinks and washing machine leave your house, it combines. When these waste products hit the septic tank however, they begin to separate, resulting in the heaviest particulate matter in the waste, called sludge, sinking to the bottom. At the top of your septic tank, fats, oils and proteins form a floating layer of these wastes, called scum. In the middle of these two layers, a comparatively clear liquid layer forms called effluent or gray water. Combined, these components comprise the septage, in your septic tank.
Septic systems are designed so that only the effluent layer is discharged from the tank into the drain field (also called the leach field). The drain field is simply a set of pipes with holes drilled into them that release the effluent below ground (but above the water table). The effluent is degraded enough to be appropriately-filtered by good soil. And since plenty of organic material is left in the effluent, the organic materials act as fertilizer which accounts for the fact that the drain field associated with septic tank systems usually boasts the healthiest segment of the yard above it.
Even though septic systems are designed simply, septic systems require homeowners to monitor them before problems arise. Usually, once a septic tank problem becomes obvious, it’s too late for a simple solution. Fixing a big septic problem often requires thousands of dollars worth of parts and labor. Fortunately, a little maintenance can go a long way in avoiding septic tank problems. If you are conscientious about having your septic tank pumped out by a licensed qualified service provider, you’ll most likely avoid these high-ticket repairs.
Blog post provided by: Cartersville GA Septic Tank Plumbers