What the Heck is a Septic Tank System and How Do I Maintain It?

Septic tank systems are very simple structures and are a cinch to maintain. Many homeowners with septic tank systems aren't even really sure what they are or how they work. SO... let Emergency Pumping and Plumbing give you the 411. Lets start at the beginning...

 What is a Septic Tank System and How the Heck Does It Work?

A septic tank system is a simple apparatus that takes care of waste water that is eliminated from a household or business building where no access to a city sewer system is available.  Believe it or not, approximately 25% of households in America rely on septic tank system as their waste water treatment method.

Septic tank systems consist of a sewer lines, a concrete or poly septic tank, and a disposal field. A sewer line attached to your home's plumbing mainline runs directly into the septic tank. The septic tank becomes the holding vessel. Once the waste water is inside the septic tank, solids settle and scum floats. The solids are anaerobically decomposed by the bacteria colonies that develop inside of the tank and breakdown the volumes of solid wastes. The excess liquid is then introduced to the disposal field through force once the septic tank is at full capacity.

Think of it this way, once you have filled your tank (say it's a 1000 gallon tank) with waste water, when one toilet flush goes into the tank, one toilet flush goes into a sewer line that transports the water to a disposal field. Your septic tank will run at FULL capacity. If you pop open a cap and see that your tank is full, that does NOT indicate that it is time to pump. A 1000 gallon tank is easily filled in one week with waste water. Now back to the disposal field...

A disposal field consists of a vertical leaching pit(s) or horizontal leach lines. The County determines upon permitting which leaching system is needed and how many pits or lines are needed. They are both the same idea, just installed in different directions. A pit is dug out and perforated pipe is installed in the center of the pit. Gravel rock is then back filled in and around the perforated pipe. Once waste water has entered into the disposal field it will slowly filter through the pipe and through the gravel before returning into the ground. (this is an explanation of a conventional septic tank system). Photo courtesy of EPA "A Homeowner's Guide to Septic Systems".

How Do I Maintain A Septic System?

Just like you change the oil in your car on a periodic basis, you must remove the scum and sludge buildup inside of your septic tank. If you do not regularly have these layers removed from your septic tank, they will compact the water area and make your system work inefficiently. When the layers become too thick, they may even begin to pass into the outlet sewer line to the disposal field. Introducing scum and sludge into the disposal field can cause very costly repair issues.

 A family of four with a 1000 gallon septic tank should have it pumped on a three year schedule. This will ensure efficiency with your system and prevent disposal field contamination. If you have a larger tank or less occupancy at your house, we suggest never extending past 5 years between maintenance pumping schedules.

Regular septic tank pumping means removing the entire contents of the septic tank: scum, water and sludge layers. There will be a small amount of sludge left in the bottom of the tank, most often less than 2 inches. This sludge contains the anaerobic environment in which helps decompose the oncoming sludge matter of the waste water. It is a bad idea to thoroughly spray down and spot clean a septic tank once it is put into use.

Septic Tank Bacteria additives are a great way to help keep the bacteria colonies in your tank at their peak. All of the detergents and anti-bacterial soaps we use make the bacteria colonies inside of the septic tank weak. We suggest using a monthly additive for your system. It is a simple, drop in a toilet and flush packet. The addition of this bacteria DOES NOT ALLEVIATE THE NEED TO REGULARLY PUMP YOUR SEPTIC TANK! It should only be used to replace bacterium that is weakened by household and personal cleaners. To read more about our suggested product, please click here.


Maintaining a septic system is very simple and is actually cheaper than those pesky sewer bills from the city. An average 1000 gallon septic tank costs approximately $325.00 from start to finish to have regularly pumped and maintained. That is less than $10.00 per month! Not too shabby!

If you are nearing your routine pumping schedule date or can't remember when the last time you pumped your tank, give us a call! We offer competitive pricing and some of the best customer service in the industry. We thoroughly pump your septic tanks for a fair price. 602-438-0911 or visit our website www.emergencypumping.com for an entire list of our services or to just check us out further! We have great reviews!

Be aware of the "water suckers". Removing only the water from the septic tank is a total waste of money since the purpose of pumping the tank is to remove the scum and sludge levels inside. It is impossible to suck out one or the other layer without removing the entire contents - so buyer beware!
Septic tanks should also be pumped from the manholes directly on top of the septic tank. Septic tanks cannot be pumped from clean out caps on sewer lines and are not effectively cleaned through the 3-5" baffle inspection ports. To properly pump and clean those layers, manholes should be exposed and lids removed for cleaning.