Frequently Asked Questions

Avoid flushing paper towels, tissues, hygiene products, diapers, hairs, solid food, and grease. Paper towels and napkins seem to go down the toilet fine, but they should never be flushed. They are designed to absorb water, not disintegrate in it. Regular maintenance is necessary to avoid clogs. Treat your drains regularly with a drain cleaner. Pipe inspection with a video system will check for potential blockages.

Video inspection is when a professional uses a mini-camera to look inside pipes to check for cracks, leaks, broken joints, or tree roots. In video inspection, you see the inside of your entire sewer from the cleanout in the basement to the connection to the main in the city street. It is an effective way to see the problem. Sometimes you can avoid digging or a full replacement, and discover a simple solution is available.

Wastewater leaves your home through a pipeline called the mainline and then enters the septic tank. The septic holds the waste for primary treatment where heavy digested solids called sludge accumulate at the bottom of the tank, and the lighter materials (grease and oils) called a scum layer float to the top. Natural bacteria generated by solid waste partially decompose the waste in the septic tank and reduces the amount of solid material by as much as 60%. An Automatic Liquid Septic Dissolving System will also increase the breakdown of solid material.

Septic systems often fail due to a lack of maintenance. When the septic tank is not maintained properly or pumped on a regular basis, it will become overloaded with solid waste. This overloading will cause solid waste to enter the drainage area, and the drainage area is not designed to handle the solid matter. This will lead to the possibility of waste backing up into the household.