Septic Tanks Plymouth
Our experienced and professional engineers supply, install and maintain septic tanks in Plymouth and the surrounding region at competitive prices. We can carry out our services efficiently, causing minimal disruption to your home or business. We also empty, repair and clean septic tanks, offering complete solutions for your total satisfaction. Get in touch to arrange an estimate.
Septic Tank Installation
Our team source and fit septic tanks from top suppliers, professionally and affordably. As of 1st January 2020, you should replace any tanks releasing their contents into a ditch or watercourse with a sewage treatment plant. Alternatively, you should upgrade your plant so it connects with sewer mains.
You can have a septic tank if it releases the waste into a soakaway system or drainage field. If you are not certain, a member of our team can pay a visit to your premises to survey your plant and offer our professional advice.
Septic Tank Emptying
We can arrange recurring tank emptying services to keep your sewage system working optimally. Septic tanks function by extracting water from solid waste and it is just the wastewater that enters into the soakaway system or drainage field. We remove the solid contents of the tank via a long hose that sucks up the waste and transports it to our disposal tankers. Contact us to book septic tank emptying services.
Septic Tank Repairs
Since septic tanks are not above ground, it is not always easy to know whether or not they are working as they should do. We can troubleshoot issues quickly and provide professional septic tank repair solutions.
Unpleasant smells around the unit and wastewater entering your house are signs that your tank requires fixing. Spongy ground surrounding your tank and green grass above the system could indicate a broken pipe, and leaks can be caused by root ingress or gradual pipe deterioration that may happen naturally with age.
If wastewater backs up through the pipes in your residential or commercial premises, this could cause an overflow. Wastewater entering your property can be caused by a blocked pipe. Pipes are prone to blockages if materials that do not break down, like wet wipes and sanitary products, enter the system.
Whatever the issue, call us for a fast response for tank repairs.
Septic Tank and Cesspit Jetting
We offer cesspit and septic tank jetting that will thoroughly clear your container interior. Jetting effectively removes blocked waste from pipes to make sure that waste can move through them with ease.
Septic Tank Replacements
As well as the installation of new septic tanks, our highly experienced team can also replace existing septic tanks.
The life expectancy of a septic tank varies depending on a number of things, including the material it’s composed of and the environment it’s in. In general, if properly maintained, a septic tank can survive anywhere from 15 to 40 years. Damages such as leaks, cracks, and blockages will occur if the septic tank is neglected, and if the situation is too serious to repair, a septic tank replacement will be required.
Another reason for a septic tank replacement is to guarantee that you are in compliance with the law. These are known as the General Binding Rules in the United Kingdom. Operators of septic tanks or small sewage treatment plants are subject to the General Binding Rules, which govern small sewage discharges.
Older septic tanks frequently dump directly or indirectly into watercourses such as rivers, streams, and brooks. Watercourses are protected by the General Binding Rules from contamination such as untreated wastewater discharged from septic tanks.
All septic tanks must now discharge into a sewage treatment plant or a compatible drainage area. Sewage treatment facilities break down solid waste to eliminate impurities, resulting in a cleaner, more ecologically friendly effluent that can subsequently be discharged into a waterway. Your septic tank must be replaced as soon as possible if it empties into a waterway.
How Frequently Does My Septic Tank Need To Be Emptied?
All septic tanks or sewage treatment plants should be emptied annually.
It is important to arrange periodic maintenance of your septic tank/sewage treatment plant as this will keep your system working as it should and prevent waste from backing up into your property or your sewage treatment plant breaking down. Emptying the tank will also stop overflow from occurring which can pollute watercourses and create bad odours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Septic tanks use gravity to separate the liquid waste from the solid waste that flows into them from your property, whether they are single or multi-chambered.
The waste’s lighter particles, as well as oil and grease, float to the surface and form a “scum” layer. The heavy materials descend to the bottom of the tank, where anaerobic bacteria breaks them down and digests them, forming a “sludge” layer.
The leftover liquids suspended between these two layers flow out of the tank into a septic soakaway/drainage field (occasionally via a second settlement chamber). The discharged effluent is subsequently spread into the surrounding soil, where it is broken down by naturally occurring aerobic (waste-degrading) bacteria.
Both systems utilise gravity to separate liquid and solid waste, but a septic tank does not treat wastewater and cannot discharge into a watercourse, whereas a sewage treatment plant produces near-clean effluent that can be discharged into a waterway.
The addition of a sewage treatment plant to the process adds a crucial step. After the solids have been removed, the wastewater is treated to an air pump that introduces oxygen into the system, allowing aerobic bacteria to proliferate. Within the tank, bacteria works to break down the residual sewage into a healthier effluent.
The anaerobic action of the bacteria will digest some of the settled solids (sludge) at the bottom of your septic tank, and it will disappear. Over time, the residual sludge will accumulate in the tank and will need to be drained out. Your septic tank will be “desludged” rather than completely drained.
Contact Us For Professional Septic Tank Services Today
Call us today if you need a team to empty, clean, supply and install septic tanks in Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall.