The Essential Guide to Septic Drain Field Maintenance, Common Problems, & Solutions
Owning a home with a septic system is a responsibility that comes with a unique set of tasks. The drain field or leach field, often hidden away from sight buried somewhere in your yard, serves as the heart of your septic system and is essential in treating wastewater before it re-enters the soil. Just as you wouldn’t neglect your own heart’s health and are always on the lookout for any signs of problems, it’s crucial to understand the health of your drain field and overall septic system as a whole. Preventative maintenance and recognizing early signs that your system may not be functioning optimally will go a long way to avoiding expensive repairs and the unpleasant side effects of a malfunctioning septic system.
This hidden yet vital component of the septic system uses soil to naturally cleanse the wastewater, making the drain field and drain field maintenance central to the well-being of both the septic system and the environment. This guide will give you good information on how your drain field functions, signs there may be a problem, how you can fix drain field backups, and effective preventative maintenance steps you can take to avoid problems recurring in the future.
As with most things in life, the old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” couldn’t be more true when it comes to your septic system. When the drain field gets clogged with solid wastes that haven’t been properly broken down, it doesn’t function properly, resulting in soggy spots, standing water, and unpleasant septic tank odors. In addition to the nasty smell of wastewater pooling up in your yard, septic drain field backups can produce untreated wastewater that is likely to contaminate local water, jeopardizing human health and the environment, as well as potentially costly repairs.
Identifying Common Drain Field Problems
What are the common symptoms of a potential septic system drain field problem brewing under the ground? How can homeowners be proactive in identifying and fixing drain field failures? Here are some clues that something’s not right with your septic drain field.
Visible Surface Wastewater
When wastewater appears on the surface, it’s often an indication of the field’s inability to process water, possibly due to an excess of biomat in the drain field.
Slow Drainage
A noticeable decrease in the speed of your drains and toilets can be an early sign of a compromised leach field, and simply fixing slow drains won’t solve the problem.
Unpleasant Odors
If there’s a distinct, unpleasant smell resembling rotten eggs near the field or inside your home, it suggests an issue. While it could be due to a build-up in the pipes, if the smell persists, especially with other signs present, the drain field is likely at fault.
High Septic Tank Water Levels
An elevated water level in the septic tank can be caused by an obstructed drain field. While occasional high water levels can result from heavy rain or excessive water usage, consistent high levels point to field inefficiencies.
Lusher Grass Patches
Areas of grass that appear greener and taller than the surrounding yard over the leach field suggest wastewater nourishing the grass instead of being properly absorbed.
Damp Soil
If the soil around the leaching area feels overly wet or seems to sink or collapse, it’s another indication of a problem.
What are the Common Causes of Septic System Drain Field Issues?
Your aerobic or anaerobic septic system is continually processing waste from your home, breaking it down, and returning it to the environment through your drain field. You can think of your septic tank as your first filter where heavy solids fall to the bottom of the tank and the greasy scum rises to the top of the tank. This allows the liquid wastewater in the middle of the tank to flow out of the tank into the drain field.
If your septic system is not doing a good job of breaking down the solids in your septic tank you are on the path to larger septic issues in the future. This problem generally begins due to the biology not working properly in the septic tank because the antimicrobial and antibacterial soaps and cleaning agents going into the septic tank are killing off the good bacteria responsible for breaking down the solid waste as they should.
When the septic system is not breaking down the solids, some of the solid matter flows out of the tank and into the drain field pipes. As this unprocessed matter collects over time, it forms a thick tar-like substance known as a biomat or bio blanket. Over time, this can become almost like putting a big plastic mat under your drain field pipes, restricting the wastewater from properly dissipating into the soil. Dumping salt down your drain can also have a similar negative effect. If salts in the septic tank aren’t broken down before being released into the drain field, the sodium particles bind clay soil particles together, making soil denser and more difficult for water to move through.
When the wastewater from your septic system can’t percolate into the soil it results in nasty smelling standing pools collecting in your yard. As the drain field pipes continue to get more build-up and clogging, it can result in backups into your home as well. This can become a disgusting and expensive problem to fix.
Fixing Common Drain Field Problems
So what can you do to fix the problem? In the worst cases, you will need to get a septic professional to address the problem, which could include digging up your drain field, removing the waste, and rebuilding your system. Obviously, this can be a very expensive project and a last resort. Experts agree that a better option is to first try a powerful biological agent with enzymes that work to break down the biomat material that is clogging the system.
At HOTROD Septic, we have been working on septic systems for over 40 years and have worked with countless homeowners on solving these types of septic problems. While treating manure at scale in large pits and lagoons, we found that our formula was incredibly successful at breaking down the organic matter we were targeting. With a bit of modification, we knew this could be useful for treating sludge and solid waste buildup in septic tanks, and, guess what? It worked great. Not only does our treatment break down waste in your system, stopping clogs and blockages from forming, but with its fast action it makes drain field percolation much better.
Unlike many other treatment additives that advertise septic solutions, our product really works. By using a patented formulation with 26 biological strains (a typical septic treatment product only has 2-3 strains) and powerful enzymes, we were able to create a product that was so effective it could be used beyond septic system maintenance and into emergency situations to clear out biomat and other problems causing drain field backups and restoring proper percolation. Now, many of our competitor’s products have biologicals and enzymes in them (not always the right ones), but what they lack is our patented Third Mode of Action technology. This tech is the reason HOTROD Septic Treatment only needs to be added to your system once every six months. Replicating the biology through the patented formulation, causes it to keep working over time, unlike other treatments that die off after about a month in the septic tank.
Instead of having to dig out your septic system for repairs or to start over, homeowners and septic professionals could now use a biological septic product that uses the power of biological agents and enzymes to break down the solids to clear out the system and allow the drain field to flow again.
The product works so well that septic professionals, plumbers, and pumpers across the country now utilize HOTROD Septic Treatment products to prevent and solve a wide range of septic system issues for their clients.
Preventing Drain Field Issues and Maintaining Leach Field Percolation
It’s not just about treating symptoms of a failing drain field but preventing them in the first place. HOTROD Septic treatment products can help. The environment in which we live is a delicate balance, and our septic systems play a more significant role in this balance than most homeowners realize. By understanding the importance of our drain field and taking proactive measures with septic treatment solutions that ensure the septic system is working as efficiently as possible, we not only protect our investments but also the world around us.
