Sewage sump pumps and what goes into maintaining them
Sewage sump pumps have a very different purpose than your typical, at-home basement sump pump. Traditional pumps are merely designed to directly storm water from your home. By in large, they’re not equipped to handle solids.
Sewage sump pumps however- work with your septic system to help handle the discharge of wastewater from your home. There are two primary kinds of pumps for you to know about. There are:
Grinder pumps
Grinder pumps are also known to some as sewage ejector pumps. You’ll usually find them either outside a home or in a home basement. When your plumbing is at a lower grade than your septic tank or sewage line you’ll need one in order for your wastewater system to operate efficiently. Even in situations where there’s equal grading, these pumps might need to be in place in order to get an ideal flow away from your home. These pumps help to grind up toilet waste and turn it into blackwater and pump it either into your septic tank or out into sewage circulation.
Effluent pumps
Effluent pumps are more septic-based pumps and you’ll find them installed in the septic tank’s last chamber. Their job is to essentially move effluent to your system’s drainfield. In the overwhelming number of cases, they’re actually required whenever the drainfield is located higher than a system holding tank.
Maintaining them
Lucky for you, sewage sump pumps don’t really require a ton of maintenance. They last around 7 years or so and the best way you can take care of them is two fold. First, it’s just by being responsible and mindful of what you’re throwing down the drain. Don’t treat toilets like garbage disposals. Try to keep things like kitty lottery, floss, wipes and feminine hygiene products down the drain. They can wreck a pump and when they get to your tank they can accumulate and eventually cause a potential system failure.
The second way is through digital control panels. The panels can house controls over your septic or wastewater system – and almost always come with some sort of failure indicators. Others can get pretty complex and help to identify potential issues with your septic tank or pump before they become significant, costly issues.
If you’d like to learn more about sump pumps and the digital control panels that help to control them, give us a call today and we’ll be happy to provide you with a free consultation. Until then – good luck!
