Septic tank and leach field system parts, tips, hints, and tricks

The wastewater your home produces is referred to as 'effluent' and consists of blackwater (toilet and garbage disposal waste) and greywater (shower, sink and laundry waste). Effluent flows directly from your household plumbing into a watertight, underground, two compartment septic tank. Solid waste settles into a sludge layer on the bottom and fats float to the top of the first compartment. Between these two scum layers is a zone of clarified liquid effluent which is internally piped to the second compartment of the septic tank for additional settling. As incoming sewage from the house fills the first compartment, clarified liquids are forced to leave the second chamber of the septic tank and flow out to the leach field or leach pit. The typical leach field is a series of rock filled trenches where effluent is further treated as it slowly percolates through the soil. A leach pit is a deeper, larger hole filled with rock for disposing of wastewater in a smaller footprint. Not as effective as a larger leach field, where sewage percolates slowly over a larger area, leach pits are an alternative for smaller properties only where high seasonal ground water is not present. If allowed by local building department, it is best practice to divert your household greywater (washing machine, at least, plus sinks and showers) to a separate leaching area. Greywater contains soaps designed to kill bacteria (clean and disinfect things) and thus discourage optimal septic tank function. You want to encourage helpful good bacteria (digesting anaerobic cultures) to grow in your septic tank and organically treat the waste, not kill helpful bacteria with detergent laden graywater.

Septic Design Tips Drywell Leach Pits Settling Filter Basins Plastic Septic Tanks Infiltrator Chamber Systems

Drywell leach pit kits are $169* with free shipping great for fixing a failed leach field or adding on to an exisiting system

Our drywell leaching pit kits are excellent for new septic systems, adding on to one that is too small, or repairing a failed pipe-in-gravel leach field. If you have a failing leach field, there truly is nothing permanent you can do to repair it unless you add additional leach line or drywell pits. Please dont believe those ads for "all natural, biodegradable, miracle cures" - at best you buy a couple of months, at worst you pollute the groundwater and kill local soil organisms with such additives. Septic waste digesters are generally too little, too late and schemes to punch holes in your yard to cure the problem are just that - schemes to take your money. If you want to "revitalize" your leach field health in a more natural way, use industrial strength hydrogen peroxide AFTER flushing the leach field lines. Home use hydrogen peroxide is around 3% strength with pool chemical supply stores selling barrels of 30% strength up to 50%, or more. Highest strength hydrogen peroxide is preferred for cleaning leach fields and the price difference is typically minimal ($6 to $8 per gallon). Please note that 30% strength and above is DANGEROUS AND WILL BURN YOU, so DO NOT transport or use this stuff yourself. Have the pool supply store deliver for your cleaning contractor. HazMat Placards must be posted in your front and rear window when transporting above 30% strength.

Always hire a professional to flush the lines FIRST (power jetting) prior to adding hydrogen peroxide, especially the first time. They locate a cleanout in front of leach field and thread hose with jetted cutting head down through the perforated field pipe, flushing the accumulated bio-mat and any roots OUT of the leach field. This is an important distinction - accumulated bio-mat must be flushed OUT of the leach field lines. You do not accomplish anything by allowing the bio-mat to remain in the lateral pipes (drainage lines). Lacking the proper power jetting head for four inch pipe, you can do a passable job with a high pressure sprayer equipped with disruptor head (full circle shower spray). This is not something you want to try to do yourself. Hire a professional to do the job. The cleanup of tools alone is nasty business.

Lack of venting at the ends (at least) of each leach field lateral line (finger) is the most common cause of leach field failure - no fresh air in the pipes. Drywells are most highly recommended for the end of each lateral line, with two drywells in series the optimal long-term answer. This allows the first drywell to act as a settling catchment, ensuring long-term viability on a failed/failing system by keeping the perforated pipes lines dry most of the time. If you are not professionally pumping and removing the material flushed from septic field fingers (only sensible approach), you end up having to dig to a large hole at end of each lateral line to receive all the flushed bio-mat. Should the ends of fingers not be vented, you have to find them first. Without a detailed survey of leach field location, you must use a metal spike/probe to find the end of each line. Luckily, the ground tends to be softer over the top of your leach field lateral lines. Do not use this hole for your drywell location... the soil will be saturated with bio-mat and is best left well-alone, marked and buried under at least three feet of native soil. Once lines have been flushed, temporarily cap/plug the pipe ends and then pour hydrogen peroxide into cleanout, so it fills the lateral lines. Put the lines under water pressure for a few minutes, if possible. Keep the ends plugged until the hydrogen peroxide has done its job (give it a few hours, if not overnight) and then flush the leach field lines with clear water again for best effect. The same thing it does on a cut, peroxide will do in the leach field lines: loosen up the bio-mat (scab) and restore healthy aerobic (oxygen rich) bacterial culture. Careful now, this is a nasty job and best left to professionals since the biomat sludge is highly contaminated with bacteria galore. If your local code allows, just let the bio-mat drop down into a pit off end of lateral line and cover with soil (and maybe a little lime) later. Trying to catch it in some type of barrel or basket is a nasty mess just waiting to happen. This is a good time to remind everyone that toilet waste is hazardous septic human waste and must be approached with proper safety equipment and plenty of caution. Wear disposable protective clothes with full head/mouth covering, face shield and/or goggles, protected sleeves and gloves. In a pinch, Saran wrap can be put around arms and then securely taped to the gloves.

We do not sell hydrogen peroxide. But your local septic tank pumper-contractor can pour a five or fifteen gallon bucket into the lateral line vents every five years, or so, when you are having the tank pumped. It is good maintenance in a well-ventilated leach field, and as with most fixes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Once a leach field fails (stops percolating), it becomes necessary to flush the accumulated bio-mat out of lateral lines with high pressure water and then add hydrogen peroxide to loosen and aerate soil. "How to fix a leach field" is more involved than just flushing the lateral lines, though. You have to examine why it failed in the first place. The most common reasons for leach field failure are: trying to use a single compartment septic tank, absence of a particulate filter, under-sized leach field, and lack of ventilation in the leach field. Oxygen is very important to leach field health and a drywell with surface vent at end of lateral line is an instant fix for that while greatly increasing the capacity and drying out the lateral lines at the same time. Taking the load off your failing leach field is crucial to any repair. An excellent long-term fix is to add one (or more) of our drywell kits to the end of each leach field lateral line after flushing the pipes: drywell kits. One drywell kit has a surge capacity of 48+ gallons... the same as almost 74 feet of perforated leach field pipe. Adding a drywell kit to the end of each lateral line of the leach field is key since it allows it to dry out between dosings. Without air in the leach field and not given opportunity to dry out between soakings, the leach field is certain to fail again. These amazingly strong plastic leach pit kits can be buried as deep as you need to dispose of household septic effluent. Gravel backfill around and under the drywells will increase the capacity of your leaching pit and extend the servicable life expectancy. A single drywell with a foot of gravel under and around it will dispose of 200+ gallons per day in most soils, but you can not have too large of a leaching pit - the more gravel the better. As with all of our products, we'll work closely with you, providing toll-free consultation during construction!

Shown below is a sample installation with two drywells in series - bringing sewage in through the lid. Top loading (with vent) ensures maximum surge capacity for the drywell. Please note that venting your leaching pit (or any septic field) is most highly recommended... lack of venting at both ends of lateral lines is the ultimate cause of leach field failure (after lack of proper two compartment filtered septic tank). Oxygen keeps the drainage pit dry and the soil around it healthier. Freezing is rarely, if ever, a problem with running sewage water underground, but you can always cap the vents in deep winter, if need be. We provide all of the fittings pictured with your kit (san tee, riser, coupler, vent and geotextile fabric). The geotextile fabric is included for installation above the gravel layer. It keeps backfill soil from clogging the gravel and is crucial to extending the life of your leach pit.

click here or on images for the drywell installation detail page

It is possible to install a drywell gravel-less, just using native soil for backfill if it percolates quickly but for best results, place at least a foot or two of gravel under and around the drywell. ... Six inches of gravel, as noted above, should be considered a bare minimum only ... DO NOT put gravel inside of the drywell - that would defeat its purpose as a surge vessel. click here or on image above for the drywell installation detail page

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Septic tank and leach field system parts, tips, hints, and tricks