The earlier you can get started the better…with the warmer weather over spring and summer the liquid temperature in your septic tank is higher than in the fall and winter and our septic bacteria do a much better job.

Ideally, the bacteria would like the temperature in your septic tank to be 80 to 85 degrees to work at their best…however this isn’t likely to happen in your septic tank…unless you heat it!

As the liquid temperature in your septic tank drops the septic bacteria’s performance diminishes; they still work at digesting organic waste, but not with the same efficiency. The lower the temperature of the liquid the less effective they are. Hence over the fall and winter the bacteria are less effective than in the spring and summer.

Therefore I like to get really aggressive with treatment over the summer in order to unclog the drain field and get liquid flowing through it again before fall and winter set in.

You could say septic bacteria are like you and I; we both prefer warmer temperatures!

Question:

I have sewer gas leaking back through my septic system into the house. The pipe bringinsewer into the system does not have a 90 degree elbow extending down into the tank. Do I need to install an elbow with a short pipe extending down into the tank. and if so how far into the tank should it extend ?
Answer:

The gases generated in your septic tank by septic bacteria have to get out of the tank or these gases can cause an explosive (not like a bomb) back up in the waste pipes.  Explosive means that you might flush the toilet and a geyser of septic tank effluent and solids can charge back into your house because of the high pressure in the septic tank from gases not being able to escape pushes some of the contents back into the house.

Your waste, drain and disposal pipe system has vents before all fixtures so these gases can excape from the system (typically through the roof) and not get into your house.  Homes that are fifty or sixty years old or older can have a single vent running up the side of the house to vent the sewer line before the house.  Often times these vents don’t penetrate the roof and merely stop at the or just below the eaves.  These are not very effecient and can become clogged by insects, birds and general debris.  These types of vents must be kept open and clean.

If you are smelling septic gases, formed by septic bacteria, in the house, I would need to know if it is constant or merely when you use particular plumbing fixtures.  Over time, solids can and do build up inside the waste pipes of the house and give off septic gases.  Flushing toilets in older homes can often allow these septic gases into the house during the flushing cycle when there is liquid moving through the trap of the toilet creating air channels for gases to get into the house.  More information will be needed to understand your problem.

Obviously, there can be a broken fitting or vent pipe with a hole in it that is allowing the septic gases to get into you walls and house.  If you have a cast iron waste and vent system, and the home is fifty plus years old, this is a real possibility.  There are sulfide metabolizing bacteria living in the aerobic areas of the septic and waste pipes of your house that utilize Hydrogen Sulfide gas and leave Sulfuric Acid on your pipes.  Cast iron pipes will be eaten up over time.  Modern PVC or ABS pipes are inert and non reactive to acids and don’t have this problem.  This would need to be investigated by a plumber or other equally skilled individual.

Have the septic tank opened and inspected.  If you haven’t pumped your septic tank regularly, then solids can build up in the tank and cause liquid and solids from the house to back up into the inlet sewer line from your house.  The pumper should be able to advise you about the condition of your tank.  If the tank is heavily laden with solids, you  might want to have your sewer line jetted or rootered to remove residual solids that may have attached to the inside of the pipe.

Lastly, you could have a broken inlet sewer pipe from the house that can cause a build up of solids in the inlet pipe even though the septic system works.  Its not common but does occur.  Again, have a local septic professional look into the possibility if nothing else seems to help.

Sewer gases created by septic bacteria are toxic and can make you ill or even cause death.  The smell you are experiencing is most typically Hydrogen Sulfide.  Sulfides will anesthetize the olfactory nerves in your nose and you won’t smell it after a very short period of exposure time but it is still there.  Hydrogen Sulfide gas damages your hemogloben cells so they cannot uptake oxygen.  Simply put, it damages the oxygen transportation system in you body so you can’t use oxygen when exposed to certain concentrations of the gas for a long enough time.  Do not allow this problem to continue undiagnosed and repaired.