East County Septic

Residential Septic Specialist
Established 1990
CA Contractor's Lic.# 797596
(619) 443-4568
Owner/Operator serving the entire San Diego County since 1983

Electronic Tank Locating
Septic Pumping/Cleaning
Inspections/Certifications
Septic Repairs
Escrow Billing
Complete Septic System Diagnostics

Scott Nichols (Owner/Operator)

How often should my septic tank be pumped?
How does a septic tank/system work?
What about septic tank additives?
What about household cleaners and Drain Cleaners?
I'm selling my house, now what? Septic Inspection

Are you neglecting your septic tank?

If it has been more than 4 years since your septic tank was last pumped, you may be doing damage to your leaching system. The San Diego Health Dept. recommends a septic tank to be pumped every 2 to 4 years. With a maintenance schedule like this, you can ensure the longest possible lifespan of your septic system. Unfortunately, septic systems may give little warning before complete failure. Just like changing the oil in your car, you may go 50,000 miles without an oil change and not notice anything wrong, then BANG! You need a new engine.
Another important factor is safety. Periodic maintenance will keep you informed of the structural safety of the septic tank. See the attached News Article and Pictures

How A Septic Tank Works

A septic tank takes the place of the sewer system where sewer lines were not available when your house was built. All water from your house flows through your septic tank: toilets, bath, sinks, washing machine etc...
Your septic tank is made up with 2 or 3 compartments inside, depending on design. The water flows from your house into the first and largest compartment. There the solids are separated from the water, and mostly water flows into the 2nd and 3rd compartments. The bacteria that is naturally in these solids begins to break the solids down into a sludge that rests on the bottom. The sludge and solids must be periodically removed by pumping the tank. If not, the solids build up and begin to fill your other compartments and eventually your leaching system, causing it to fail. The warning signs may never come until it's too late.
Sludge may be accumulating in your leach lines, but everything keeps working fine. Irreversible damage can be done to the leaching system and you may never have a slow flush until it completely fails. A good analogy would be if you went 7000 miles without an oil change in your car and thought, 'hmmm....no problems, think i'll let it go another 7000 miles'. Then at the end of the second 7000 miles, you don't notice anything different, so you roll the dice again.

Leaching System

The leaching system is designed to handle the water that leaves your septic tank. The normal operating level of a septic tank is full (about 8 to 12 inches from the top). When 10 gallons of sewage enters your tank, 10 gallons of water will leave your tank and go to the leaching system. Cess pools and leach pits are 2 types of leach systems. The most common type is a system of leach lines: 4 inch pipe with holes in it, buried in a trench with gravel. The water stays underground and is absorbed into the soil. As long as sludge does not enter the leach lines and heavy equipment is not driven over them, they should give you 20 years or more of trouble-free service.

Septic and Bacterial Additives

There are no additives, yeasts, bacterias, enzymes or other substances capable of reducing the solids and sludge in a septic tank so that periodic cleaning is not necessary. Beware of any product that claims to eliminate the need for pumping altogether. There are some products that can help the natural bacteria in your tank to speed the breakdown of the solid mat and turn it into sludge faster, but the sludge will accumulate and need to be cleaned from the tank to prevent leaching failure. It's the same principle as burning logs in your fire place.....the ashes still have to be cleaned out once in a while!
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Normal use of Household Cleaners

Normal usage of these cleaners, such as toilet bowl cleaners, kitchen and bath detergents, laundry soap and bleach are okay. Some people worry about 'anti-septic' mouthwashes. These products will have a very small effect on the bacteria in your septic tank. The bacteria recovers quickly under these circumstances.
HOWEVER, conventional drain cleaners such as drain-o and liquid plumber should be avoided. Not only are they bad for your pipes, studies have shown that just one dosage of drain-o can kill the entire population of bacteria in your septic tank. It can take a month or more for the bacteria levels to reach normal again. Look for alternative measures, such as Power Max, an environmentally safe drain cleaner.

My House is For Sale and I Need a Septic Inspection

Before you sell your house, you will probably be required to have a septic inspection done. There are some important questions that may come up like, 'who should I call?', 'what is the purpose?', 'what will they do?'.
First of all, the purpose is fairly simple: To make sure the system is working properly. As we noted earlier, you may not experience any warning signs of a slow septic system until it completely fails. A septic inspection can help ensure public safety also. See the attached News Article and Pictures.

You should call a licensed septic tank pumper to do the inspection. A septic pumper that has a CA Contractors Liscense is even better. A proper inspection cannot be done unless the tank is uncovered, pumped and cleaned to expose the interior of the tank.

The inspection process will include a water flow load test on the leaching system, and visual inspection of the system for structural safety, baffle wall conditions, lid conditions, inlet and outlet downspouts etc...