The drain field, also known as the leach field, is undeniably the most important component of the septic system. On the same breath, it is also the most expensive part to replace.
For these reasons, it is only logical to maintain your leach field regularly to extend its life. Without proper drain field maintenance, the entire septic system is bound to fail.
Nevertheless, drain field failure is sometimes inevitable due to aging, excessive rainfall, cracking pipes, and overloading (both hydraulic and biological)
Hydraulic overloading occurs when the system is taking in too much wastewater, while biological overloading is a result of excess organic matter in the effluent. If your drain field is a bit sluggish due to overloading, consider calling in an expert to restore your septic system.
Here are common methods of drain field rehabilitation used by septic service providers to remedy system failure.
1. Jetting and Mechanical Aeration
Over time, sludge and debris are likely to accumulate inside the septic system, leading to clogged pipes and blocked lateral lines. To restore your drain field, you could consider employing techniques such as jetting and mechanical aeration.
As the name implies, jetting is a process that involves the use of a forceful burst of water to remove clogs and clear out blocked lines. Mechanical aeration, on the other hand, involves fracturing the soil around the drain field to create new natural drainage lines to improve flow.
2. Leach Field Treatments
Using an additive is one of the easiest and safest ways of rehabilitating the drain field. It involves adding organic treatments and biological products such as baking soda and yeast to resolve clogging, disarm smells, and address the chemical imbalance in the leach field.
These treatments help anaerobic and aerobic bacteria to thrive subsequently rejuvenating the drain field back to life.
3. Installing Clean-outs and Vents
If jetting or mechanical aeration does not restore flow, then installing clean-outs and vents is another viable remedy that your service provider would consider. Clean-outs and vents are components that help improve flow by preventing clogs and flooding.
They come with in-built monitoring systems that detect clogs and blockages, ensuring that the drain field is working optimally.
4. Terralift
Terralift is an innovative drain field rehabilitation method that utilizes high pressure to force air into the soil. This helps in creating cracks and loosening dirt and debris, subsequently restoring the operations of the septic system.
The method is ideal for removing bio-mat, which normally forms beneath the distribution lines and on the side of the drain field trenches.
5. Drain Field Replacement
If your drain field is old (25-30 years), finding a replacement could be the only sensible solution. Nevertheless, make sure you enlist an experienced septic system service provider for proper design, installation, and drain field maintenance.
Benefits of Drain Field Rehabilitation
Drain field rehabilitation offers dozens of benefits to property owners. Apart from extending the life of your leach field, drain field restoration can save you from ever-increasing costs of installing a replacement.
Here are other benefits of drain field restoration:
Optimizes system performance
The essence of rehabilitating the drain field is to improve the performance of the entire septic system. By enlisting drain field rehabilitation services, you should expect efficient and uninterrupted wastewater disposal
Improves water quality
The latest methods of drain field rehabilitation aim at improving groundwater and surface water quality since they don’t involve harsh chemicals and acids that might harm the environment.
Preserves your lawn
Even though an overflowing drain field may lead to a thriving lawn, the long-term impact is not ideal for the environment. Restoring your drain field will address issues like stagnant water, and sludge buildup on your lawn, hence preserving your backyard
Get Assistance by Contacting All Septic and Sewer
Drain field rehabilitation may help extend the life of your septic system by a few more years. Apparently, if your leach field is functioning optimally, then the entire system will also perform, as it should. However, the outcome of this process depends on the type of septic service provider you enlist.
All Septic & Sewer offers incisive drain field rehabilitation services that aim at optimizing the performance of your septic system. We use the latest remediation techniques to restore your drain field and to ensure it functions optimally.
Call us today and let us restore your drain field back to its level best.