The drain field is the last part of the mini wastewater treatment facility of your home. This is where the purification of the effluent takes place for it to be used again as it reaches the groundwater. So it is very important to have the drain field cleaned and cleared.
Drain fields are highly affected by too much accumulated solid waste materials in the tank. This happens when the sludge isn’t digested well because the bacterial population is depleted, the tank has not been pumped regularly or because too much water is loaded into the septic system stirring up solidified wastes and carrying them out into the drain field. If the fats, oils and grease reach the drain field, clogging will occur. In the septic tank, only about 50 percent of solids are broken down by bacteria, the rest accumulates in the bottom of the tank until it is pumped out. Over time the solids will build up. The time it takes for this to happen depends mostly on the household size, but also septic tank size. Having too many solids accumulated, and too much water entering the tank at once can cause the solids to be flushed out into the drain field where it can clog it.
Once this happens, if not remedied quickly, it is inevitable that the rest of the septic system will fail. You really have to pay attention to your drain field to ensure that you have a smooth flowing system and that the solids are properly digested before they head out to the drain field.
A properly designed septic system handles a specific amount of wastewater which is determined by how many people are living in the house. As a rule of thumb, the number of people per household is calculated by the number of bedrooms – figuring two people per bedroom. If a household overloads a system by using way too much water each day, the drain lines never have time to dry out.
When a drain field is constantly saturated, a bacterial mat called a “bio-mat” forms along the trench walls. This slimy mat doesn’t allow water to seep through it, and therefore the trenches no longer can handle the wastewater.
Simply pumping out the septic tank at this point will not restore the system. At this point it will require either one of the drain field repair services that we offer or a new drain field depending on the severity of the problem.
Caustic soda for drain field repair
Terralift for drain field repair and rejuvenation