Skip to main content

WHAT ARE LEACH LINES AND WHEN SHOULD THEY BE REPLACED?

 septic leach field

Photo: Martin Septic

If your home has an onsite wastewater management system or septic system, it means there is a leach field attached to that septic system. Leach lines (also known as leach field, percolation bed, leach bed, or filter bed) occupy the final phase of your home’s sewage treatment system.

What are leach lines, what do they do, what can go wrong with them, and how do you know when it is time to replace your leach lines? To understand leach lines, you first need to understand how septic systems work.

HOW SEPTIC SYSTEMS WORK

Septic systems or onsite wastewater management systems do the same thing as municipal waste systems. The difference is the septic system is situated in your home and serves the needs of your house, says Mike Dunfee Property Management, unlike the public waste system which serves the entire city.

The purpose of the septic system is to capture wastewater from your home and render it harmless by killing the pathogens in it. That water is then returned to the environment as clean, safe water. Here is how the septic system does this:

  • Graywater from sinks, showers, and bathtubs, along with liquid and solid waste from the toilet enter the sewer pipe to be transported to an underground septic tank.
  • In the first compartment of the septic tank, heavy waste materials settle to the bottom, while lighter materials like oil and grease rise to the surface to form a layer of scum.
  • The liquid in the waste or effluent passes through a series of baffles and screens, designed to keep out solids and scum before it reaches the back compartment of the septic tank.
  • From the back compartment, the effluent flows through an effluent filter to enter the leach lines after being partially treated.

septic leach lines

WHAT ARE LEACH LINES?

Leach lines are a system of perforated pipes that disperse processed wastewater into the soil so that soil bacteria can complete the treatment process by converting wastewater into groundwater. These pipes are buried in the ground and distribute the effluent into as wide an area as possible.

Leach lines are usually made of PVC pipes with small holes for water to trickle through. The pipes are laid in a bed of gravel and sand; modern systems may be covered with plastic septic chambers. Effluents entering the system sit in the soil long enough to be fully treated before percolating downwards.

Leach lines are the final step in your home’s wastewater management system. If for any reason the leach field fails, the entire septic system for that home has failed. 

What can cause a leach field to fail and how do you know when this happens?

WHY LEACH LINES FAIL

Leach lines typically have a life expectancy of 15-25 years, but a leach field that is properly maintained can last as long as 25-30 years. Conversely, a leach field may fail well before the 15-year mark if it is not cared for. 

Some reasons for leach field failure include:

  • Overwhelming the leach lines through excessive use of water. Leach fields are only able to handle a certain amount of water. If this limit is exceeded, the field will fail.
  • Poor septic tank maintenance allows sludge and floating scum to find their way into the leach lines, thereby blocking them.
  • Raising the soil level above what is specified for the proper functioning of the leach field. This leads to soil compaction and prevents evaporation.
  • Planting trees and landscaping shrubs close to or on the leach field.
  • Driving heavy vehicles over a leach field.

SIGNS THAT YOUR LEACH LINES HAVE FAILED

Even though the leach lines are buried in the ground, there are ways to tell if the system has failed. The following are telltale signs that your leach field has failed or is nearing failure. The more of these signs you see, the more severe the problems with the leach field.

  • Standing water in the yard: If you find wet spots on the leach field, you have reason to be worried. Puddles in a leach field mean the lines cannot handle the volume of water.
  • Sewage odor: If there is a persistent smell of sewage inside and around the house, it means the system is broken. The essence of a septic system is that you should never encounter the waste from your home.
  • Presence of slime: If you spot a black slimy substance on the surface of the leach field, you have a major problem. Call for septic services immediately.
  • Slow drains: The drains in your home are running slower. Slow drains that persist for more than a week are an indication of problems with your septic system.

Excessive plant growth: If you find that grass or plants on one area of the leach field are growing faster or looking greener than those on other parts of the field, it is time to have a local plumber take a look.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

SIGNS YOU HAVE TREE ROOTS IN YOUR SEWER PIPES

  Out of all the problems you can have with your sewer pipes, roots growing into them is one of the most frustrating. After all, if caught on time, the problem is relatively easy to solve. Yet it can be hard to attribute the issues you are having to such a unique predicament, so it is hard to take timely action. The only possible way to avoid spending a lot more money than necessary is to possess the required knowledge. To that end, we have prepared a list of signs you have tree roots in your sewer pipes! WEAK WATER PRESSURE The first of the signs you have tree roots in your sewer pipes is the weakening in your water pressure. Now, this will not happen suddenly. It will not be a cut-off where one day everything is fine, and the next, your water is barely trickling out of the faucet. It will be a gradual weakening over what could be weeks or even months, depending on the speed of root growth. If you notice such a thing happening to you, it is best to look into a  plumbing cost ...

Suspicious Sewer Odors

It is common for sewer odor to reside within sewer systems. However, when a sewer pipe becomes full or the sewer changes its underground elevation, it can aggravate waste water. This aggravated waste water allows sewer odors to build up so heavily that it can escape to the outside world. Sewer odors can escape through several different places. Some of these places include, but are not limited to: Vents Floor drains Utility Sinks Connection points Openings in pipeline Maintenance covers Sewer odors do not typically enter homes because plumbing traps create a tight water seal at several points of entry. Sewer odors and gases are also exhausted outdoors through plumbing system vents. Sewer odors become a problem when the water that resides in your trap has evaporated. One trap that commonly dries out in homes is a floor drain. This occurs more often when the floor drain is located near a hot water heater or heating system. What are Sewer Odors? It comes as no surprise that sewer gases s...

Emergency Plumbing

When you need an  emergency service , you want to be sure that the  emergency plumber  you are calling can handle the job. We know how to handle a  plumbing emergency  because we have years of experience taking care of our customers that are in trouble. We know how to diagnose a problem quickly and efficiently. We have all of the tools and experience needed to make us your one stop shop. A plumbing emergency does not mean a quick fix that will need more repair work later. We know that the last thing you want to do after we leave is make another appointment to finish your  emergency plumbing  job. That is why we make sure that every certified plumber we send out is equipped with the parts he will need to get the job done. If we do need to order a part, we get it fast and put a temporary solution in place that will prevent further damage to your home. In an emergency, you do not need to talk to a plumbing company that prioritizes jobs based on close prox...