Imagine leaving for a weekend getaway and coming back to find a pungent smell of rotten eggs has taken over your home. Or worse, your yard is swamped in pools of sewage. If not properly maintained, your septic tank could fail and leave a huge mess for you and the environment.
Take Luxemburg Wisconsin for example. Up to 60 percent of sampled wells in a Kewaunee County study contained fecal microbe, the type that are capable of causing illness and even fatalities for humans and calves.
According to the La Crosse Tribune, they study found “microorganisms including Cryptosporidium, a parasite that comes from both people and animals. Researchers estimated Crypto in drinking water is likely infecting 140 of the county’s 20,000 residents each year.” The cause of this contamination is bovine and human waste that enters groundwater through cracks in failed septic systems.
Even in Santa Maria, California, where the water report came back as overall safe, they found certain contaminants that cause residents to avoid the tap entirely.
“Definitely no, we would not drink the water out of the tap,” Santa Maria resident Agkash Lakshmanan said.
Big Problem
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, septic tank failures are one of the main causes of water contamination in the United States. In fact, approximately one in four homes in the United States rely on septic tanks to dispose of their waste, so while one broken septic tank may seem like a non-issue, the spills add up. The EPA states that when a septic system is improperly sited, designed, constructed, or maintained, it can contaminate ground water with bacteria, viruses, nitrates, detergents, oils, and chemicals.
Fortunately, there are key measures you can take to avoiding septic tank failures. First, conserve the amount of water you use. By reducing your showers and using water-saving fixtures you can reduce the amount of water the soil has to absorb.
You should also never dispose of anything down the drain or toilet that doesn’t belong there, such as chemicals, solvents, cleaning fluid, orange peels, coffee grounds or paint. These could clog the drain and potentially kill the good bacteria in the tank. In addition, you should make sure the drainfield is covered well with grass to prevent soil erosion and keep gutters and other drainage systems away from your drainfield and septic tank to avoid excess water.
Finally, regularly pump your tank. This prevents solids from clogging the drainfield. Your tank should be pumped every 2 to 4 years to properly maintain your system.
Septic Tank Cleaning for your Home
At Angel Plumbers Inc. we can help you pump your septic system, or fix any other plumbing problems with ease. We work 24 hours for emergencies, so if you ever do come home to a swamp of sewage in your backyard, you can trust us to be there. Call today and get the reassurance of having a family-owned business with trusted experts keep your system in shape.