WHEN SHOULD A SEPTIC TANK BE EMPTIED?
Anyone who has a home septic system should have their tank pumped out periodically by a licensed liquid waste hauler. The most common reason for system failure is a lack of periodic cleaning. Without removal, the solids can clog your disposal system causing you time and money to have your tank serviced or replaced.
As a general rule, you should ideally empty out your septic tank once every three to five years.
However, the actual frequency will vary depending on usage and how many people live in your household. You may need to pump out a tank more frequently in larger households, for instance, while a single person living alone in a house may be able to go ten years without having the tank pumped out but a family of seven might have to pump every two years.
WHY SHOULD A SEPTIC TANK BE EMPTIED?
Emptying a septic tank is important because of the tank’s main purpose. By design, heavier substances settle at the bottom and eventually form a sludge layer. If the sludge builds up to higher levels than allowed, more solid substances will make their way into the soil absorption system (lateral field). As lateral field pipes become clogged, liquids are prevented from flowing through and out of the pipes to absorbed into surrounding soil. The final part of this sequence of events involves unsanitary water making its way back to the surface because the septic system has become overloaded. When this occurs, you and your neighbors will smell it before you see it.
