How Your Septic Tank Works

The problem with this old method was that there was no way to breakdown the solid sewage. The sewage water simply leached or evaporated from the cesspool pit leaving behind the solid residue. The solid reside or solid waste clogged the pit to the point that a new one had to be constructed. This type of sewage disposal system was unhealthy, costly, and hazardous.

Modern septic tank design and leach fields have greatly improved over the old process of disposing waste water and sewage. The leach field is an area where the waste water (black water) that exits the septic tank is leached back into the surrounding soil. The leach field is a large area that consists of water absorbing material, consisting of crushed stone and sand. The leach field actually filters the black water into clean water.

The size of the leach field depends upon how large the house is and how many people live in the house, usually determined by the number of bedrooms in the house. A three bedroom house requires approximately one thousand square feet of leach field in most states. The leach field is hardly noticeable at most locations. All the action takes place underground and it usually has a finished lawn appearance. 

Your septic tank and leach field work together to process your waste water and sewage. The septic tank is a large concrete tank, usually 1,000 gallons for a three bedroom house. Although most are concrete there are other materials that are often used in the construction of septic tanks such as fiberglass. The septic tank has two chambers; the first chamber permits the heavy solids to settle out while the black water drains into the second chamber. More of the smaller solids settle out in the second chamber while the water drains off trough an array of drain pipes into the leach field.

Septic tank maintenance is limited to cleaning it out (pumped) periodically to remove the solid waste before it can run into the leach field. If solid waste runs into the leach field it will clog the field, rendering it incapable to leach water. If this occurs the leach field will have to be replaced. Replacing a leach field can be very expensive. To avoid contaminating the leach field with solids the septic tank should be cleaned every three to five years depending how many people live in the house.

Septic tank pumping is nothing more than having the solids pumped from the two chambers. Many different companies sell various products to help break down the solid waste that collects in the septic tank. Buying such products is a waste of your money as they generally will not break the solids down into a liquid. The best way to protect your leach field is have the septic tank cleaned (pumped) of all solids periodically. Insure that the service pumps both chambers of the septic tank clean. Very often septic cleaning service companies only pump one of the chambers leaving you with an endangered leach field and /or having to have it pumped again.