What can go wrong with septic tanks?

Posted by on Dec 14, 2011 in Articles | 0 comments

Septic tanks are not immune to overflowing, blockage or bad odours and these problems can normally be traced to the soakaway blocking or failing.

Every septic tank is attached to a soakaway, so why do they fail? Well, it mostly comes down to a combination of poor soakaway construction or maintenance, deterioration of the septic tank itself or the drainage pipes – especially if they are clay pipes.

OK, so how will you know if your soakaway has failed?

Here are the most likely symptoms:

  • Effluent surfacing/leaking.
  • Bad odours.
  • Septic tank backing up soon after emptying.
  • Bathroom and kitchen gullies overflowing.
  • Residual effluent in Inspection chambers.
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