Have An Old Septic Tank? How To Know It Need To Be Repaired Or Replaced
Does your home have a very old septic tank made out of steel to handle sewage? If so, you may be wondering if the tank is in need of repair or replacement. There are a few signs to look out for that can tell you something is wrong with the tank and to take action as soon as possible. Be on the lookout for these 3 things.
The Tank Is Starting To Sink
When a septic tank gets up there in age, one part that can fail is the septic tank's lid, which is located at the top. Inspect the ground directly above the location of your septic tank. Do you notice that the ground has dropped in elevation right where the tank is buried? If so, it is an indication that the tank's lid is deteriorating. You'll want to have this problem inspected immediately before the whole tank fails by collapsing, which can leave raw sewage in your yard.
The Tank Acts Full
If you follow a septic tank pumping schedule, you should have an idea of when your tank will be full and needs to be cleaned out. However, it may have been recently pumped and currently be acting like it needs professional pumping again. This could be happening because there is a leak somewhere in the tank that is allowing groundwater to enter it. If the tank fills up with water, there won't be enough bacteria to break down the sludge and allow the tank to operate properly.
This is another problem that requires a professional inspection to find out what is wrong. If the structure of the tank is compromised, you may need to replace it with a new one.
The Tank Regurgitates Sewage
The problems with a failing septic tank are not limited to outside your home, since they're known to cause problems inside your home as well. You may be noticing issues where sewage has started to come up through drains in your home, or you flush a toilet and the sewage comes up through another drain.
This is a sign that you have issues with the drainage lines that flow into the tank being broken, which may only require professional repair. Fixing the problem may require a bit of digging to get down to the drainage lines in your yard, but it will prevent a mess from being caused in your home due to an unexpected sewage backup.
Contact a company like River City Septic & Excavating for additional information.