Which signs of a full cesspit you can trust on East Sussex clay and levels, which ones mislead, and when an early warning means book now rather than wait.
At KP Cesspool Services, many emergency callouts we attend in East Sussex were preceded by a week or two of small warnings that nobody read as warnings. A cesspit gives plenty of notice before it overflows, if you know what to look for. The general signs, slow drains, gurgling, smells, damp ground and water backing up, are covered in signs your cesspool is full. This guide is about reading them on East Sussex ground, where a couple of the usual signs can mislead, and about the ones worth trusting. Our emergency and scheduled cesspit emptying covers the county day and night.
The signs you can trust anywhere
Every drain slowing at once. One slow sink is a blocked pipe. Every sink, bath and toilet slowing together means the water has nowhere to go, and the tank is the likely reason.
Gurgling from plugholes. Air being pushed back up the pipes as water struggles into the tank. It usually comes before the drains slow noticeably, so treat it as the first real warning.
The alarm. A high level alarm in the tank is the one sign that does not depend on interpretation. If your cesspit does not have one, it is worth fitting, and on East Sussex ground, for the reasons below, more than most.
Water coming back up. A downstairs toilet that will not clear or a shower tray filling from below means the tank is full now. That is no longer a sign, it is an emergency.
The sign that misleads on clay and the levels
Damp ground over the tank is a standard warning that a cesspit is full or leaking. On much of East Sussex it is a poor guide on its own. The Low Weald is heavy clay that holds water for months, and the Pevensey Levels, the Brede valley and the levels around Rye sit on a high water table. In winter the whole garden may be wet, tank or no tank.
Look instead for the ground over and around the tank being wetter than the rest of the garden, for a sewage smell with the wetness, or for wet ground in a dry spell. Any of those is worth a call, because a leaking cesspit is a pollution risk as well as a cost.
The sign that tells you something else is wrong
A tank that suddenly fills faster than usual is a warning in its own right. On East Sussex clay and levels, the usual reason is groundwater getting into an older tank through a crack or a failed joint, especially in winter. On older properties it can also be rainwater from a downpipe that drains into the foul system. Why a cesspool fills so fast in East Sussex explains how to tell which.
Smells in summer
Warm weather makes smells more noticeable, and a cesspit that seemed fine in spring can smell in July without being any fuller. A smell around the cover alone may just mean a worn seal. A smell with slow drains, or in the house, is more telling. What to do if you notice smells helps you narrow it down.
Lets and changeover days
If the property is a holiday let, the signs can arrive all at once in the middle of a busy week, with guests who would not recognise them. Do not rely on them to tell you. Empty on a schedule set around the bookings, ideally just before the busiest weeks.
Why acting early costs less
An empty booked when the first signs appear is a routine visit at a routine price. The same empty a week later, after the tank has gone over, comes as an emergency callout with a clean up, and the overflow may have reached a ditch. Some of the low ground in East Sussex sits in or drains towards protected sites, the Pevensey Levels and the Rye Bay coast among them, so an overflow there is a pollution incident the owner is responsible for. What happens if a cesspool overflows covers the consequences.
What to do the moment you notice
Cut water use straight away. No washing machine or dishwasher, short showers, as little flushing as possible. Then book an empty. Do not lift the cover to look inside, and never lean or climb in, because the gases in a cesspit can overcome a person quickly.
Booking an empty
Our cesspit and cesspool work in East Sussex runs from the coast to the High Weald, with regular slots that stop the signs appearing in the first place. KP Cesspool Services has over twenty years' experience, and you can read our reviews on Checkatrade. Call 01233 720725, email kpcesspoolservices@hotmail.com, or contact us.
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