This past week at euroloo, we were contacted by the YMCA in Bridgewater. They required quite an urgent septic tank empty. They inquired as to whether or not we could help them the following day, which turned out to be a Saturday. They also wanted us there on the Monday too as it desperately needed doing. As always, we did our very best to get to them as requested and emptied their tank. The reason it was such an urgent case was down to it being in a busy and popular centre. The YMCA in Bridgewater holds a lot of activities for people and as a result, it fills up fast but this is obviously a rather special case. We didn’t disappoint and as usual had a very happy customer once the septic tank emptying in Bridgewater had been completed.

What we did realise though is that often, many customers aren’t aware of just how often it needs emptying. Unfortunately, the majority of the time we only get a call when it’s in desperate need, so let’s clear this up look at it shall we?

It would seem that everyone has an opinion about it and nearly every single one is different. Answers range from “it never needs emptying” all the way to “it’s self cleaning” and “the Environment Agency suggest once in a while”. As you can imagine, such varying answers just won’t do.

A septic tanks needs emptying for the simple fact, despite what many may have said, they are not self-cleaning. The frequency of cleaning however will depend greatly on the number of people using the tank as well as the size of the tank itself. A typical domestic tank will be around 2600 – 3000 litres in volume and with the average person creating around 110g of excrement each day (give or take), this means in a year the average adult will create around 40kg of solid waste. The majority of human waste has what’s called a near neutral buoyancy meaning it needs a day or two in the tank before it’ll drop down and gather as sludge. Basic math highlights the fact that one person produces roughly 1.5% of solids within the tank over the course of a year. Tests within the septic tank field show when solids go above 8%, the digestive processes begin to head toward a lower pH level, which can lead to problems with disposal. The majority of treatment plants (where your waste gets taken) are designed to work their very best with a solids feed of approximately 5%. 8% would therefore cause some adverse reactions.

So looking at a family of four producing around 160kg of solid waste each and every year, this works out at about 6% of a 2600 litre tank. This shows that your average residential septic tank should be emptied once a year. Here at euroloo, we recommend septic tanks are emptied yearly too. You can take advantage of this service by filling out our Annual Septic Tank Emptying form right here. For more information, please do contact us on 0800 61 22 515 or send an email to sales@euroloo.com.