What is the Importance of Septic Inspections When Buying a Home

If you’re buying a home that’s not connected to the city’s main sewer system, you might get a septic tank. This is basically a storage tank for all your household wastewater.

The DFW area has many homes with septic tanks, each with its unique set of challenges. But the most common ones are pipe leakage, pest infestation due to water seepage, unpleasant smells, and sewage backup.

Now, why do these issues arise? One of the biggest reasons is the age of the system. If the system has been in place for well over a decade, there’s a chance it will face some issues. Other reasons include sedimentation of fats and rusty lines.

Often these system are underground so there’s no way you can know about the septic tank’s condition on your first visit. You need professional help, i.e., a septic tank inspection, to understand that system’s condition.

So, if you want to know more about septic tanks and why their inspection is so important for home buyers, then this blog is for you.

Working principle of a septic tank

A septic tank is designed on the basis of the number of people living in a home. So more people in your family, the bigger the septic tank. A septic tank usually has two chambers one is called primary chamber and the other one is the secondary chamber. All household waste material drains into the primary chamber through inlet pipe where it decomposes.

After that, the wastewater drains through a baffle in the secondary chamber and out from the chamber through an outlet pipe. A baffle wall controls the sludge flow to meet the wastewater for the outlet.

To maintain the efficiency of the septic tank, it should be pumped every 3 – 5 years to remove all sludge and grease.

With proper maintenance, the life of a septic tank can be extended by 15 to all the way 40 years.

Why should you get a septic inspection?

Realtors can sometimes skip some information about the septic tank, most probably because they don’t inspect it themselves. That information is necessary for the home buyer to make an informed decision. For that, you should get a septic inspection when buying a house. There are a lot of inspection companies that offer this crucial service in the DFW Area, but you need to hire a reliable and affordable septic inspection team like Inspect360. They have a certified and fully equipped team who examine each and everything of your septic tank. 

How long does a septic inspection take?

Usually, a septic inspection takes around 1-3 hours. It may depend on various factors, like the size of a tank, the complexity of the tank, and the accessibility of the components. Here, we define various factors involved in the inspection of your septic tank:

Visualization of a septic tank

A home inspector physically inspects the surrounding area of a septic tank. This is a time taking process to examine the drain field and other leakage issues. For example, if there is excessive grass around the septic tank, there is a possibility of seepage.

Finding the location of the septic tank

Because the septic tank may be covered with dirt or grass over the years, getting an exact location of the septic tank may take some time when it is not properly shown in the drawing. 

Examining the sludge and scum level

A Septic tank inspector examines the level of sludge and scum in the tank using advanced tools for better measurement. This may take some time as there is a build up of years.

Inspecting all the components of the tank

The inspector checks all the components like the baffle wall, cracks inside the tank, inlet, and outlet pipes of the septic tank for a comprehensive inspection.

Checking the drain field

A drain field is a crucial part where wastewater is drained. A professional septic tank inspector takes a look at the drain field and makes sure there is no leakage or any signs of failures. This assessment also take some time.

Who pays for septic inspection when buying a house?

You can discuss your options with your realtor. If you choose a septic inspection company through your realtor, you will discuss the payment with them.

If you find the inspection company on your own, you will be responsible for the inspection. And so you will pay for it.

Final words

A septic tank is a crucial part of the house and you need to extra considerate when buying a home with a septic tank. As it stores all the waste material of a house, it makes different layers over the years. On top is grease, oil, and fatty material layer which is called scum, the mid layer is called effluent, which flows in the drainage field, and the third layer is called sludge, which is the solid part of the waste.

We strongly recommend that if you want to save money and not face any major septic tank problems in the future, get professional septic inspection from a reliable company like Inspect360. Let’s get inspecting.