What Gets Removed During Septic Pump-Outs?

Having your septic tank pumped out on an appropriate schedule is the best way to prevent the numerous problems that will arise if your tank is allowed to become overfull and start backing up.

Septic pump-outs, when performed by an experienced team such as Quality Septic Inc. of Plant City, FL, are designed to remove the many compounds that might get stuck in your septic tank and keep it from working properly.

In most cases, septic pump-outs involve several steps, all of which are critical to keeping your tank and septic system clean, safe and fully functional.

Septic pump-out

Here are three things that experienced septic crews remove from the tank during a septic pump-out.

1. Sludge

Sludge from the bottom part of the septic tank is usually cleared out at the beginning of the pumping process. The removed sludge includes materials that can potentially keep the good bacteria in your tank from breaking down the waste that accumulates inside of it.

2. Greasy materials

Septic tanks don’t do well with excess grease and greasy materials. Many different types of soap will add a greasy component to your tank. And, of course, cooking grease will make the problem much worse. Removing grease from a septic system sometimes requires extra pressure. In some cases, the materials must be physically removed through an alternative process.

3. Synthetic materials

Synthetic materials, such as those that may collect in a washing machine, will not break down completely in your septic tank. A pump-out will force these materials out of the system.

Items that should not be in a septic tank

There are many items that should not enter a septic tank. These include:

• Cigarette butts
• Cotton swabs
• Certain feminine products
• Paper towels
• Any kind of packaging wrappers

When these materials and other foreign materials get into a tank, backups are almost certain to occur at one point. A septic pump-out is the way to remove these materials.

What you can prevent with regular septic service

By scheduling septic pump-outs every one or two years, along with routine inspections and needed repairs, you’ll be able to prevent a lot of headaches for yourself.
Neglected septic tanks let you know pretty fast when there’s a problem. Issues can include:

• Drains running slowly or backing up
• Toilets overflowing
• Harmful bacteria entering your home
• Offensive odors filling your home and your yard around the septic tank

Regular pump-outs can prevent these problems. However, keep an eye out for signs of septic backups and malfunction:

• Smells (as noted above)
• All the shower and sink drains in your home becoming sluggish (a single slow drain may indicate a specific plumbing problem)
• Extra-lush grass growing above the septic tank, which means a leak is happening
• Soggy patches of ground appearing above the tank, which also indicates a leak

Quality service from Quality Septic

The Quality Septic crew is ready to help with all your septic pump-outs and other services, including septic inspections, septic system repairs and complete system installations.
Speak with an expert today at (813) 754-9891. You can also get in touch with our handy contact form.