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A Complete Guide to Septic System Maintenance & Repair

This website answers just about any question you might have about buying or owning a house with a septic system. Here we provide complete detail on how to maintain and repair septic tanks and all other components of septic systems. We discuss how to provide septic system care to avoid replacing the septic system unnecessarily. Septic cleaning and septic maintenance procedures, septic inspection methods, septic repair guides are provided here in articles for home owners, home buyers, and septic system designers, installers, and septic system maintenance contractors. We include tables for septic tank pumping frequency and other septic maintenance procedures.

This page organizes and links to our detailed septic system inspection, test, repair, and design articles, including our online septic systems book. Septic testing class presentations, photos, sketches, tables, links to products and consultants are provided. If you do not quickly find here information you need, ask by email.

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• Abandoned or New Septic System inspection & testing suggestions
• Abandoning a Septic Tank - Guide - how to safely find & abandoned unused septic tanks, cesspools, drywells
• Additives & Chemicals for septic system maintenance. Are septic products needed? Are septic treatments legal?
• Aerobic Septic System Products Directory List
• AGE of Plumbing Materials & Fixtures including piping, plumbing fixtures, septic systems, cesspools, drainfields
• Alternative Septic System Product Suppliers List
• Blocked Drain Repair Methods - do-it-yourself steps you can try to clear a clogged drain before calling a professional plumber
• Books on Septic Systems to Buy Online, our list of recommended books on septic system maintenance, design, and alternative designs available at Amazon.com - septic system education materials
• Clogged Drain and Septic Backup Diagnosis - is the problem the septic system failure or a building drain system clog?
• Contamination in Buildings how to test buildings for bacterial contamination from sewage and septic backup, remediation, & references
• Curtain drains or intercept drains can protect septic drainfields in areas of wet soils or surface and subsurface groundwater
• Design Guide for Septic Systems complete list of detailed "how to" articles
• Distribution Box - Septic D-BOX Inspection provides for help in finding and inspecting the septic system drainfield distribution box
• Don't Flush these things into a septic system: a list of what's ok and what's not ok to put into septic tanks and building drains offers important septic maintenance advice
• Drain Noises: may indicate defective or clogged plumbing: how to diagnose and cure drain sounds
• Filters for Septic Systems - how and where filters are used to protect septic drainfields and other septic system components
• Filters for Septic Systems - Product Suppliers, Septic Filters & Wastewater Treatment Systems Using Filtration Methods Products Directory
• SEPTIC FLOOD RESPONSE what to do after a septic system has been exposed to flooding: key septic repair and maintenance steps and when to do them
• Garbage Grinders and garbage disposal units - effects on septic systems and on the need for septic tank cleaning
• Grazing, Animals Over Septic Fields, is it a problem?
• Gravelless septic systems - "no-rock" septic designs
• Gravelless Septic System Suppliers Directory List Leach Field Septic Systems Products Directory List
• Inspection & Testing of Septic Systems complete list of detailed "how to" articles
• Leach Field Inspection Procedure septic leach fields - how to inspect and diagnose septic drainfield failures
• Life Expectancy of Septic Systems and septic system components and the relationship of field life to septic maintenance
• Maintenance: Ten Steps to Keeping a Septic System Working, septic maintenance suggestions from the U.S. EPA, edits and additions by DJF
• Maintenance & Repair of Septic Systems complete list of detailed "how to" article
• Other Septic Wastewater Treatment Products List
• Plumbers & Septic Repair Companies List
• Planting Over Septic Systems: trees, shrubs, groundcover over the septic system: what can you plant over or near septic system components without causing a problem?
• Planting Gardens Near Septics, vegetables, fruits, other types of gardens
• Planting Grasses or Flowers Over Septic Systems what's OK
• Planting Ground Cover, Ivy Over Septic Systems what's OK
• Planting Trees or Shrubs Over or Near Septic Systems what's OK
• Plumbers & Septic Repair Companies Directory List & Septic Repair Companies List
• Pumps Septic pumps, sewage ejector pumps, grinder pumps, effluent pumps, sump pumps, & septic pumping stations compared; pump alarms. Advice.
• Pumping Stations describes sewer system pumping stations.
• Root Killers Over Septic Fields, is there a concern?
• "Roto Rooters" and Power Drain Snakes to clear clogged septic fields
• Safety: Septic System, Septic Tank, & cesspool safety warnings for septic inspectors, septic pumpers, and homeowners
• Sewage & Septic Backups and what to do about sewage spillage in buildings
• Sewage Contaminants which may be released from sewage spills from residential septic systems and wastewater disposal systems
• Septic Effluent Distribution Products Directory List
  
  
• Septic Tanks: septic tank types are described at TANK INSPECTION PROCEDURE and include
  • steel septic tanks,
  • concrete septic tanks,
  • plastic and
  • fiberglass septic tanks, and
  • home-made septic tanks that we've found constructed of stone, concrete block, bamboo, brick, and wood.
    Also see Septic Tank Suppliers: a directory list of septic tank suppliers and see ALTERNATIVE SEPTIC PRODUCTS for directory lists of other septic system component suppliers.
• Septic or Sewer Connection? - how to determine if a building is connected to a septic tank or to a public sewer line
• Septic Tank Abandonment Guide - how to safely find & abandoned unused septic tanks, cesspools, drywells
• Septic Tank Depth - how deep will we find or install a septic tank
• Septic Tank Inspection Procedure - how to inspect septic tanks and evaluate the septic tank condition, baffles, sludge levels, damage, evidence of septic failure, etc.
• Septic Tank Leaks can prevent a valid septic loading and dye test and can damage the drainfield
• Septic Tank Location - How to Find the Septic Tank, how deep will the cover be, how to document its location
• Septic D-BOX Inspection provides for help in finding and inspecting the septic system drainfield distribution box
• Septic Tank Pumping Reasons why relying on the septic tank pumping schedule table or advice from pumping contractors isn't enough
• Septic Tank Pumping Frequency Guide for septic tanks: when, how, what to watch for when pumping or cleaning septic tanks - the key septic maintenance schedule
• Septic Tank Pumping Procedure step by step photo guideline of how to pump and clean a septic tank - septic tank care
• Septic Tank Size: how to determine the size of a septic tank, septic tank size and capacity vs. usage determine the required septic tank size, calculate size of an existing septic tank
• Septic Tank Types: characteristics and inspection guide for steel, concrete, plastic, fiberglass, and home made septic tanks
• Septic Pumper Truck Operation Procedures. How the septic tank pumping truck is set up for septic tank cleaning operations.
• Septic Tank Sludge and Floating Scum: what makes up the contents of residential sewage
  
  
• Septic Sludge & Scum Levels in septic tanks - measuring the level of accumulated solids, sludge and floating scum in treatment tanks
  
• Sewer Gas Odors diagnosing, finding, and curing septic tank and sewer line smells
• Sewer Gas - Methane and other septic system gas explosion or asphyxiation hazards such as hydrogen sulfide
• Sewer Line Replacement diagnosing a clogged drain leads to drain line replacement - step by step photo-illustrated guide to drain replacement
• Septic Tank Suppliers Directory List septic tank suppliers
  
  
• Swimming Pool Clearance distance to septic components
• Tank Location - how to find the septic tank, how deep will the cover be, how to document its location
• TOILET OVERFLOW EMERGENCY: how to stop a toilet from overflowing
• TOILET TISSUE? and TOILET TISSUE TEST: Toilet paper: what kind of bathroom tissue to use in septic systems, testing toilet paper for septic tank breakdown
• Toilets, Composting Toilets, Biological Toilets, No-water/Low water toilets, Waterless toilets, Chemical Toilets, Incinerating Toilets and related products list
• Ten Steps to Keeping a Septic System Working, septic maintenance suggestions from the U.S. EPA, edits and additions by DJF
• Wet Weather or Cold Weather Septic Odors or Sewage Odor Diagnosis & Repair Guide diagnosing and eliminating cold weather sewer gas odors
• Water Softeners maintenance, adjustment, and water softener effect on drinking water; potential effects of salts on septic systems

Also see These Directory Lists of Septic System Parts & Supplies

• Aerobic Septic System Products Directory List
• Alternative Septic System Product Suppliers List
• Filters, Septic Filters & Wastewater Treatment Systems Using Filtration Methods Products Directory
• Gravelless Leach Field Septic Systems Products Directory List
• Septic Effluent Distribution Products Directory List
• Toilets, Composting Toilets, Biological Toilets, No-water/Low water toilets, Waterless toilets, Chemical Toilets, Incinerating Toilets and related products list
• Other Septic Wastewater Treatment Products List
• Plumbers & Septic Repair Companies List
• Septic Tanks septic tank suppliers

...

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SEPTIC SYSTEMS HOME
SEPTIC INFO ARTICLES
  Info for Home Buyers or Owners
  Septic System Design
  Septic Inspection Testing
  Septic Maintenance Repair
HOME BUYERS GUIDE to SEPTIC SYSTEMS
SEPTIC SYSTEMS ONLINE BOOK
SEPTIC TANK PUMPING SCHEDULE
SEPTIC TANK PUMPING PROCEDURE
SEPTIC TANK PUMPING SCHEDULE
SEPTIC INSPECTION TYPES & LEVELS
SEPTIC FIELD INSPECTION
SEPTIC TREATMENTS
SEPTIC CONSULTANTS
SEPTIC AUTHORITIES
SEPTIC SYSTEM BOOKS REFS CODES
SEPTIC SYSTEM DESIGN MANUAL - Online
SEPTIC SYSTEM DESIGN BASICS
SEPTIC DESIGN ALTERNATIVES

More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

• The Septic System Information Website home page for this topic
• Septic Systems Inspection, Testing, & Maintenance- online textbook. Detailed how to inspect, maintain, repair information
• Septic System Inspection Methods and Procedures, - online illustrated class for Building and septic inspectors
• Septic Tank Pumping Guide: When, Why, How to pump the septic tank

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