Five signs your septic tank is full
A tank almost never fails without warning. It gives you a few weeks of small signals first, and that window is when cleaning is cheapest and least disruptive. These are the ones worth paying attention to.
The signs, roughly in the order they appear
- The toilet flushes slowly. The first and easiest to ignore. Water takes longer to clear than it used to, and it gets gradually worse rather than suddenly.
- Drains gurgle after flushing. A gurgling sound from the bathroom or kitchen drain means air is being pushed back up the line because the tank below has no room left.
- Smell near the tank or courtyard. Strongest in hot weather and just after rain. If you can smell sewage outside, the tank or soak pit is at capacity.
- Wet or soggy ground over the tank. Ground that stays damp when everywhere else is dry, sometimes with unusually green grass over it, means liquid is escaping instead of being held.
- Water backing up indoors. The last stage. Waste water comes back up through the bathroom floor or the toilet. At this point it is an emergency, not maintenance.
What these signs are not
Not every slow drain is a full tank. A single blocked bathroom drain with the rest of the house working normally is usually a local blockage, not the tank. A tank problem affects everything on the same line.
Equally, a tank cleaned eighteen months ago can still be full if the household grew or a soak pit stopped absorbing. Age since last cleaning is a guide, not a rule.
If you see two or more of these
Call before it reaches the fifth sign. Emptying a full tank is routine work. Cleaning up after an overflow is not, and it costs more.
My toilet drains slowly but the tank was cleaned last year. Why?
A slow drain is not always a full tank. It can be a blocked connecting line or a soak pit that has stopped absorbing. We can check both when we come out.
Is a bad smell always the tank?
Not always, but it is the most common cause. A smell that gets worse in hot weather or after rain usually points at the tank or the soak pit.
Can I wait until it overflows?
You can, but it costs more and you lose the use of the bathroom while you wait. Once it overflows you are paying for cleanup as well as emptying.
How quickly do you come for an overflow?
For Salipur and nearby we try for the same day. Call 9439465721 and we will tell you honestly when we can be there.
Seeing any of these signs?
Call and tell us where you are. You get a price on the phone, before the tanker leaves.