Septic Tank Servicing in Kent and East Sussex

When servicing is worth it

Slow drains, gurgling pipes, smells around the tank or unusually green grass over the drainage field all say the same thing. Something in the system is not moving as it should. Servicing finds out which part before it becomes a failure.

It is also worth doing when you have moved into a property with a tank nobody can tell you about, before you sell, and after a wet winter on low ground, when a drainage field is under the most strain. Signs your septic tank needs servicing lists the warning signs in full. If a buyer or their lender wants the condition in writing, a septic tank survey gives them a report.

What a service covers

We lift every cover and look at the chambers, the inlet and outlet, the dip pipes that stop floating solids leaving the tank, and the baffle between the chambers. We check the depth of the sludge and the crust, look for cracks and for groundwater getting in, and walk the drainage field for wet patches, lush grass or standing water.

You get a straight account of the condition and what, if anything, needs doing, with a price for it. What a tank service actually includes goes through a visit in more detail.

The faults that turn up most

Collapsed or missing dip pipes letting solids straight through to the drainage field. Cracked chambers taking on groundwater and filling the tank with clean water. Roots into the pipework. Blocked or saturated drainage fields. Most of these have small early signs and much larger late ones, which is the whole case for looking. The most common causes of septic tank failure explains each one.

Smells, slow drains and wet ground

A smell is the fault people notice first, and it does not always mean the tank. A dry trap, a failed seal or a blocked vent can smell just as bad. Our guide to what to do if you notice smells helps you narrow it down before anyone comes out. Water pooling over the drainage field is more serious, because the rules treat a system that is not in good working order as one that must be repaired.

Your duty as the owner

Under the General Binding Rules, a septic tank has to be maintained by someone competent, in line with the manufacturer's instructions, and repaired or replaced if it is not in good working order. Keep a record of every service and empty. If you sell, you must give the buyer a written description of the system with its maintenance records, and a service history is the easiest way to have one ready.

Every make of tank

We service every common make and age of septic tank, from old brick built chambers to modern units. Klargester tanks are among the most widely installed in the country, and Klargester septic tank servicing in Kent covers what those particular units need.

Keeping it healthy between visits

Keep wipes, sanitary products, cooking fat and heavy bleach out of the system, because all four upset the bacteria a septic tank relies on. Fix dripping taps and leaking cisterns, as clean water going into the tank is capacity you have paid to have removed. Then keep to a regular septic tank empty. How to reduce the risk of blocked drains and tanks has the rest.