Septic Drainer Blog

Some people may be reluctant to buy a home that uses a septic system, which is an onsite system to manage household waste. A septic system processes liquid and solid wastes that come from sinks and toilets, using the laws of nature to eliminate harmful bacteria in household effluent.

If your house is not hooked up to a municipal water system, you may be intimidated by the thought that you alone are responsible for the upkeep of a septic system. There are horror stories about septic system failures, but the issues were likely preventable if the individual components of the system were properly maintained through the years.

A conventional septic system consists of two main parts: a septic tank and a septic drain field.  The tank is a watertight holding tank, usually with an average capacity of about 1,000 gallons. It is often buried underground near the house. Solid wastes are separated in the tank and settle to the bottom to form a layer of sludge. Liquids, on the other hand, exit near the top of the tank and flows out to the drain field, which is located downhill and away from the house.

Regular maintenance of the tank, which involves a professional pumping company emptying out the solids when they reach between 30% and 50% of total capacity, ensures that the tank will remain in good health. Watch what you flush or put down drains: no caustic substances or chemicals should be put into a septic system. In general, any solid matter besides human waste will shorten a septic tank’s lifespan.

In the septic drain field, the wastewater is disbursed via perforated pipes, which lie in gravel-lined trenches, usually two to three feet deep. The pipes are located over a wide area so that the soil can easily absorb the effluent. The natural components of soil neutralize bacteria before they reach groundwater or nearby rivers and lakes. The ideal soil is aerobic, meaning it contains a good amount of cleansing oxygen.

Good drainage and proper soil are critical elements in the efficient functioning of a septic drain field. However, sometimes the soil develops a condition called “hardpan”, which is caused when sodium combines with the soil to produce hardened calcium carbonate deposits. Over time, hardpan can form an impenetrable barrier, preventing the soil from doing its job absorbing and cleaning harmful bacteria.

Keeping the septic drain field in good shape means reducing the amount of sodium, which is found in foods and laundry products, for example. Moreover, do not plant long-rooted plants, shrubs or trees over the leach field because the roots may infiltrate the perforated pipes in the field. Above all, practice water conservation techniques because excessive water usage can drive solids from a septic tank into the distribution box and ultimately, into the drain field.

You may be considering planting some flowers and bushes around the outside of your house, but worries about potentially damaging your septic drain field may keep you from enhancing the beauty of your yard.  If your yard is of modest proportions, which means you must plant where the drain field runs, then you need to be careful with what plants, trees and shrubs you select. You want to avoid decisions that may contribute to a failure in your own drain field!

While there is no easy answer to the question: “what am I able to plant?”, there are some guidelines that homeowners should follow to ensure that they do not damage the proper functioning of the septic drain field. Planting the wrong plants or putting them in the wrong places can lead to expensive septic system repairs.

First and foremost, the leach field should be planted with grass or native grasses, native wildflowers and ground covers. These plants stabilize the soil in the septic drain area and they do not interfere with soil transpiration or evaporation. Shallow-rooted, herbaceous plants are recommended because their roots do not obstruct the perforated underground pipes that leach wastewater back into the septic drain field.  Flowering perennials and annuals are good alternatives. These plants can actually help your septic drain field by removing moisture and nutrients from the soil, thereby making the cleansing of the effluent more efficient.

Trees and shrubs present riskier choices for the drainage field.  The roots of willow and popular trees are notorious for causing problems with drain field pipes. In general, smaller and less-aggressive woody plants are more suitable for planting over a septic drain field. If possible, plant the shrubs between a drain field’s lines.  Normally, drainage trenches are 3 feet wide with 6 feet between the trenches.

If you decide to throw caution to the wind, then try to select trees that will be the least disruptive to the drain field, or plant them a longer distance away from the drain field in order to mitigate the threat of root intrusion. In either case, you should be prepared to face the consequences in a few years when the tree is fully matured.

The big question is whether you can safely plant fruit trees or vegetable gardens over your septic drain area.  Experts are divided on whether there are health hazards associated with consuming fruits and vegetables that are grown over septic drain fields.  This is because some of the contaminants or pathogens found in sewage and sewage effluent may be absorbed during the growth stages by the fruits and veggies.

The best advice: avoid planting crops for consumption and plant grasses and flowers.

If you use a septic drain field to treat your household’s wastewater, there are a few dreaded comments that you don’t want to hear from a pumping company. One of them is: “You know, your septic drain field smells kind of funky.” Another is: “Hey, as we were pumping out your tank, we noticed water falling back into the tank from the septic field.” And the last remark – but certainly not the least important – is: “When did you put in the pond over by the septic drain field?”

These comments should not be ignored as idle conversation. The pungent smell, problems with the septic tank’s water levels or with drains backing up in the house, and wet lawn or pooling water over the septic or leach field, all are early warning signs that the septic drain field is failing.

You also may notice that your toilets and sinks are taking longer to drain, there may be gurgling sounds in the plumbing, or bright green patches or strips may appear over the septic drain field. Your septic drain field is letting you know that trouble is brewing underground.

The bad news is that the sodium from water softeners present in products for the laundry, kitchen, and bathroom, and our diets, has bonded with the soil in your septic drain field. Over time, this bond creates an impenetrable barrier, which prevents the wastewater from percolating through the soil. Almost 90% of septic system failures are due to sodium buildup in the soil. If the soil is unable to perform its cleaning or absorptive functions, then the continuous wastewater flushed out from the septic tank into the septic drain field has to find an outlet.

The good news is that is possible to restore soil structure and drainage. And it won’t involve thousands of dollars to rip out the septic tank or repair the pipes that distribute effluent through the septic drain field.

Septic Drainer, an environmentally safe product developed by RCS II Inc., uses a groundbreaking soil-restorative formula to restore failed or failing septic drain fields. The product is based a solution commonly used in agriculture to improve the absorption of plant foods and water in the fields.
Septic Drainer drives the sodium from the soil and chemically aerates it, which allows the much-needed aerobic bacteria to flourish in your septic system.

If you need to rejuvenate a failing system, initially add four gallons of Septic Drainer to a conventional 1,000-gallon septic tank and then one gallon every six months thereafter to bring your system back into balance.  Septic Drainer will also revive sluggish systems that may be experiencing problems. This is an effective solution – both from a cost and an efficiency standpoint – and it offers a ‘stress-less’ solution to a worried homeowner.

So next time your septic maintenance company arrives to pump out your septic tank, the comment will be: “All good, see you again in a few years.”