Your septic system is designed to receive regular septic maintenance. If you get your septic tank serviced regularly, you may avoid costly repairs.

Good question! Briefly put, it is onsite waste water treatment systems that processes and purifies household waste (effluent) The effluent consist of black water (toilet waste) and grey water (kitchen, bath, laundry). A septic system has two components: a septic tank and field lines (also referred to as a leach field). Primary treatment occurs in the septic tank where bacteria digest organic materials in the wastewater. The effluent then flows into the field lines for secondary treatment. Here bacteria complete the digestion and purification process as the wastewater slowly leaches or infiltrates into the soil.

The septic tank is a "watertight" underground box, traditionally concrete, about eight feet long, four feet wide, and five feet deep. It has at least a 1,000 gallon capacity. As wastewater flows into the tank, heavy solids settle to the bottom into a sludge layer, while grease and fats float to the top forming a layer of scum. Between these two layers is a clear zone of liquid. Found in all three of these layers are billions of bacteria that live naturally in the tank and perform the first phase of treatment to breakdown the solid matter. As they digest the solid materials gases are produced, which are vented through the plumbing vent on your rooftop.