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What Happens If You Don’t Get Your Septic Tank Pumped?

If you have a septic tank on your property, it’s advisable to get it pumped regularly. Unfortunately, most property owners don’t know much about septic tanks and how to keep them performing properly. Hence, many homeowners often wonder why it’s essential to schedule a septic tank pump.

Getting your septic tank pumped is one of the most important maintenance decisions you can make. Below are the consequences of avoiding a septic tank pump:

Slow Drainage

Do you understand how your septic tank works? Knowing how your tank works will help you better understand the importance of pumping. 

A septic tank separates liquid and solid wastes. While the liquid waste flows out and gets drained, the solid waste settles at the bottom of the tank. If you don’t pump the tank regularly, you will notice that there are slow drains because the solid waste is overflowing.

Slow drains lead to the accumulation of additional waste from your home, leaving very little room for the liquids to flow out into the sewer system. The more time you take to call in a professional septic pumping service, the more your drains will clog.

Too much clogging could result in the clogging company taking too long to pump your septic tank. This might cost you some extra dollars. If you don’t call in a pumping service, you might find yourself standing in a pool of dirty water while you are in the bathroom taking a shower.

Sewer Backup

The first telltale sign of a full septic tank is a slow drain. However, if you don’t pump your septic tank on time, it may result in a sewer backup. It’s quite easy for a sewer backup to occur especially when your tank is full, and the waste is filling up your drain pipes.

When you keep adding in more waste that has nowhere to pass through, you may notice the waste will spew out, spilling from any drain openings. Sewer backups have varying consequences. Some of which include:

  • Backed-up sewer waste may leave your home smelling foul
  • Waste from the sewer may result in damage to the contents of your home and your floors
  • Certain structures of your house may incur water damage, costing you hundreds of dollars in repairs
  • Germs and bacteria from the waste products could make your household members ill
  • Too much moisture in your house could lead to the growth of mold and mildew

Sewer backups are very inconvenient for property owners. They can also cost you thousands of dollars in repairs and healthcare costs. Therefore, ensure that you regularly contact a septic tank pumping service to avoid the above inconveniences and fully enjoy your home.

Bad Odor

Have you ever passed somewhere and felt a foul odor coming from a septic tank? Sewer gases are some of the most inconvenient and foul-smelling gasses. If you don’t pump your septic tank regularly, your home and the surrounding environment could be plagued with a foul odor from overflowing and decomposing waste.

There are three ways that a poorly maintained septic tank could lead to a foul odor. These include:

  • You may deal with an overflowing septic tank that emits terrible odor into the atmosphere
  •  Accumulated waste in the drain pipes will start decomposing and emitting a foul odor
  • The untreated waste collected in the drain field will fill your home with a foul smell

Whatever the case, no one wants to live in a house that’s filled with foul odor from sewer gases. If you don’t take care of your septic tank, you will pay devastating consequences. Therefore, always ensure that it’s on the list of home maintenance projects you handle every year.

It May Result in System Damage

If you don’t pump your septic tank regularly, you may end up with a system problem on your hands. Too much waste without drainage may result in mechanical and physical damage to your septic system. This may lead to expensive repairs and even replacements of the damaged components.

For example, if you haven’t pumped your tank for a while, the tank may not have the capacity to handle the additional waste. The sludge and solid waste could overwhelm the outlet and inlet pipes, cracking them.

Once the pipes are cracked, you can’t use your septic tank without fixing them, and the repairs could cost you more money than you would have spent on septic services. Therefore, ensure that you pump the septic tank regularly to avoid mechanical and physical damages.

Failure to Pump Your Septic Tank Will Result in Drain-Field Failure

While it’s quite unfortunate that many property owners don’t know much about septic tanks, you should take your time to understand how yours works. Drain-field failure is among the most disastrous and catastrophic impacts of poor maintenance of your septic tank.

If you don’t regularly pump your septic tank, the solid and liquid waste may spill over and get to the drain field. If the drain field has too much sludge and solid waste, the overflowing waste will prevent further absorption.

Professional septic service providers refer to this situation as a drain field failure. If your septic tank suffers a drain field failure, you will be fortunate if you’re able to rehabilitate it. Otherwise, you will have to spend thousands of dollars building a new drain field to ensure continuous absorption of waste.

Contamination of the Environment

If you don’t pump your septic frequently, you will not be the only individual who suffers the consequences.

Once the tank is full, it may result in drain field failure and cracking of the inlet and outlet pipes. Burst pipes may result in untreated waste from your septic tank sipping into the environment, ending up in underground water sources.

The level of contamination that your untreated waste will cause may depend on your environment. However, once the waste sips into water sources, the neighbors and other individuals using the water for drinking and cooking could get sick from the bacteria.

To avoid contaminating the environment, ensure you contact a septic cleaning and pumping service immediately.

Are You Ready To Get Your Septic Tank Pumped?

As clearly indicated above, if you don’t take care of your septic tank, you will face devastating consequences.

At Goebel Septic Services, we have been offering property owners septic tank services and portable restrooms since 1979. Our business is bonded and licensed, and all our septic tank technicians are certified.

If you haven’t pumped your tank in a while, ensure you contact us today for all your septic tank cleaning, service, and pumping needs.