If you’re living in a rural area, there is a high possibility that you have a septic system. The video shows how this system functions.

The system collects and treats wastewater coming from your house. Wastewater is unclean water that goes down your toilets, showers, and sinks.


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This water is directed to the septic system. The system consists of a storage tank containing microorganisms. The tank is connected to a network of drainpipes in a leaching bed.

Wastewater flows into the tank’s first compartment. The solids settle to the bottom, and the scum made of soap and grease rises to the top. In between is the liquid layer. A screen stops the scum from flowing to the leaching bed. Regular maintenance needs to be done to pump out the scum. Systems built after 2006 require an effluent filter to trap and decompose remaining particles in the second compartment and stop them from flowing to the bed.

The drainpipes in the leaching bed are made of perforated polyvinyl chloride. The pipes disperse the effluent from the tank into the soil. Bacteria continue to break down the effluent and the wastewater is further filtered by the stone and sand surrounding the pipes and the soil.

If you have a septic tank, be sure to get it pumped by experts every three to five years.

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