Warning Signs of a Failing Septic System
Slow drains, odors, and wet spots over the field — and which of those is a pump-out versus a bigger problem.
Three signals are worth a call. They are not all the same job.
1. Slow drains throughout the house
One clogged sink is plumbing. Every drain slow, toilets that gurgle, showers that back up — that is often a full tank or a restricted outlet. Pumping and a look at the lid is the first move. How often to pump.
2. Sewage odor near the tank or field
A lid that is not seated, a tank that is over-full, or effluent at the surface. Not “the yard just smells like a farm.”
3. A wet or extra-green stripe over the field
That is the field talking. Pumping the tank may relieve it for a week and then it comes back. That is not a cleaning problem. Drainfield wet spots.
What to do while you wait
Stop putting water into the system. Keep people and pets off standing water and off an open or sunken lid. Emergency vs can-wait.
Sewage indoors is an emergency. Call 630-739-6907 — someone answers at night.