There are several working components of your septic system, but there are just a few main areas. Your septic system has pipes or drain lines that connect your home to the septic tank and your septic tank to your drain field. While you may be quick to blame your pipes or your tank for your septic disruptions, the culprit could actually be found in your drain field. Your drain field (or leach field) is where the wastewater from your tank is dispersed into the soil. A drain field is typically made of perforated pipes buried in trenches filled with gravel. The water flowing into this area of your property is slowly absorbed and filtered by drain field soil. If problems erupt within your drain field, it must be properly diagnosed and repaired by a septic professional.
What could cause your drain field (and subsequently your septic system) to malfunction? Here are some common culprits to drain field problems:
- Tree Roots – The trees that you planted years ago may have expanded their root systems and are now penetrating your drain field space. This can disrupt your system over time.
- Grease – The dangers of putting grease down your drains can filter all the way to your drain field. In fact, grease can deplete necessary oxygen within the drain field, which is critical to its function.
- Household Cleaners – If too many household cleaners are sent down your drains, it throws off the overall balance of your septic system. More specifically, it kills the good bacteria in your septic tank so that your wastewater is not processed and separated like it should be.
- Heavy Traffic – Your drain field should never be the place that you operate heavy machinery, park your cars or house livestock. These objects are simply too heavy, and they can damage your underground pipes as well as compact the soil.
- Past Due Pumping – Has it been more than 3 to 5 years since your last septic tank pumping? The damaging effects don’t stay within your tank. Excess sludge can disrupt the overall health and efficiency of your septic system, which inevitably means the consequences trickle to your drain field.
When to Call a Septic Expert
Drain field problems aren’t always obvious. However, if you see pools of water on your drain field or notice a foul odor in the area, it is likely you have a septic repair in your near future. Septic backups should always be taken seriously. Not only can your plumbing fail in your home but your groundwater can also become contaminated. Call Bynum & Sons Plumbing, Inc. today for affordable septic services and drain field repair near Lilburn.
Posted on behalf of Bynum & Sons Plumbing, Inc.