septic: Articles tagged with “septic”

If you've ever lived without plumbing, even for a weekend camping trip, you can appreciate how important it has become to modern living. Drinking water, baths, showers, toilets, dishwashers, clothes washers, gardens -- none of these are possible, or at least practical, without plumbing systems.

Q: I have a smell in my basement that is coming from the sump pump pit.

Q: I have an eight month old house with a septic system with an electric alarm. What would cause the alarm to go off? There is no indication of blockage but we have received 4 inches of rain in 24 hours.

Septic systems are "holding tanks" placed underground outside your home, where your waste sewage is broken down by bacteria. It pays to take care of your septic tank. When maintained improperly, the necessary bacteria in the system can be destroyed, causing the biological machine to shut down. Then, sludge builds up and is pushed into the drainfield, where it clogs up the system. Before you know it, you have a sewage backup and a major headache.

Water

In general, tap water in North America is perfectly safe for human consumption. However, sometimes you may notice a funny color, odor or taste. These often come from otherwise harmless contaminants like chlorine, sulfur, iron and manganese. You can get rid of these problems easily by using a conventional activated carbon filter, available at many retail stores and even supermarkets.

The main sewer line out of your home is an extension of your main stack line inside the house. It leaves near the foundation and connects to the municipal sewer line near the street or into a septic system. When water backs up onto a basement floor, there is either a clog in the sewer service line, floor drain line or drain trap. Your service professional can determine where the clog is.

The main sewer line out of your home is an extension of your main stack line inside the house. It leaves near the foundation and connects up to the municipal sewer line near the street or into a septic system. When water backs up onto a basement floor, there is either a clog in the sewer service line, floor drain line or drain trap.

Common septic system problems

A septic system is a self-contained water recycling system. Located underground in the yard, a water-tight tank receives and stores wastes from the house. Bacteria in the tank decompose the wastes; sludge settles in the tank and effluent flows into the ground through a drain system. It eventually filters back down to groundwater sources.

Q: I have developed a bore hole (a water driven hole leading underground to a space). The surface hole was almost perfectly round and about two inches in diameter. I dug it out and about a foot down it expands into a small cave leading off in one direction and I can easily get my forearm into it. How far that goes I don't know. It has been there about two weeks, and the hole at the top never got any larger after it appeared.