Your septic tank is an important part of your home and a major tool for managing your wastewater. However, if it gets blocked, then you can often struggle to get it fixed, especially without any kind of professional help or assistance.

But how do you clear one, and what steps are you supposed to take in dealing with it?

Accessing the Tank

You need to know where your tank is and how to get there before you can do anything with it. A blocked septic tank often requires manual cleaning, usually from specialists, so you need a quick and easy way to get there properly.

The easiest way is to access the lid above the tank, usually the one closest to your home. This is often a concrete or plastic cover somewhere in your yard, one that might require specific tools to raise it up correctly. Be sure to not drop anything inside – you might struggle to get it back.

Only try to fix the problem yourself if you are experienced enough with the system. Even then, it might be a good idea to hand it off to an expert with the necessary tools to fix the issue.

Identifying the Blockage

You will want to find the inlet pipe, a green and white pipe on the side of the tank facing your home. Most blockages are caused in this pipe, so it is important to check the inside of the pipe and see if you can identify the location of the blockage itself.

Usually, the water can be the best way to find the issue since it can directly influence the water level above the inlet:

  • A water level above the inlet pipe means that the blockage is probably in the leach field, although this is not always the case.
  • A water level below the inlet means that the blockage is usually going to be within the pipe itself.

Remember that this is not always exact: you will often want to get an expert in to inspect the area and make sure that you are looking in the right places, especially if there are particular blockage issues that can only happen in certain areas of your system.

Prepare a Specialist

While it is possible to clean a septic tank blockage on your own, it can take a lot of specialized knowledge and tools, things that you might not easily have access to unlike signing up for a kickass torrent or Netflix. Beyond that, there can be times when the problem is simply too serious for you to tackle on your own.

Getting a specialist’s help can often be your best option, so do not hesitate to look into local experts that can help with a blocked septic tank. They often know the better ways to tackle these problems and can ensure that the work gets done without causing any accidental damage to the rest of the system.

Do not be afraid to approach local specialists, even if it is just to get price quotes for their work. There is nothing wrong with examining your options, especially if you want to clear the septic tank issue before it causes even more problems but you do not have the means to do it yourself.