Septic Lesson#3 Why Septic Systems Fail

This video is all about understanding better why septic systems fail

Now in the previous video I mentioned that when septic systems back up it's because sewage can't get out of these holes

And it just backs up from there into the tank and then maybe even into your house depending on the relative level

So there's really two main things that account for only at least 90% of septic system failure

One is that this soil and fill around here gets impervious to the passage of water

That can be for biological reasons. There can be something called a biomath that develops in the pipe and around in the soil

And there can also be chemical issues that cause this material that was once able to allow water to move through it not to be able to allow that water to move through anymore

Sometimes there can be enough biomath building up that the holes themselves can get covered on the inside

The soil around the pipes might be okay but if these holes are covered up with a layer of slime then water can't get out and you're in trouble

Sometimes the biomath builds up so much that it actually blocks off the hole altogether

And even if these holes were open and water could go out if the water can't get past this point then that's going to be a problem

There are other issues too. Sometimes these pipes get crushed if traffic is allowed to drive on the leaching bed

It shouldn't be. Other times trees can send their roots in and the roots can plug up the pipes as well

I'll be talking about how to solve that problem later. But the vast majority of septic system failures happen from a biomath buildup and chemical changes in the soil around the leaching bed

And that's the main approach that we're going to take to getting your septic system working properly again