Maintaining Your Leech Drains
Is your home still connected to a septic tank? Does the Water Corporation’s deep sewage system not run through your area yet? If your home’s wastewater runs to a septic tank on your property, you will have leech drains; large drainage channels running from your septic tank that carry your wastewater from your septic tank into the surrounding soil. These channels are essential for your household plumbing and need to be maintained to ensure not only your families comfort, but also the integrity of your plumbing and insurance requirements.
Maintaining your leech drains is like maintaining your normal plumbing drains and pipes in your home, the only difference being that there will usually a septic tank and then one or more leech drains where the pipework from your home drains into. Follow these tips to keep your leech drains running smoothly:
- Watch What You Put Down the Sink
- Ensuring Your Septic is Active
- Tree Roots
- Change Your Drains Over
- Listen To Your Plumbing
Watch What You Put Down the Sink
Whatever you put down the sink, toilet or drains in your home will travel to your leech drains. Fat, soaps and thick substances that do not dissolve in water will become lodged in your leech drains and form ‘plugs’, effectively diminishing the efficiency of your drains by preventing the water from draining out. Keep these substances out of the pipes by disposing of them alternatively.
Ensure Your Septic Tank Is Active
Adding enzymes to your septic tank allows it to dissolve and process the wastewater more effectively, allowing for less chance of blockage in your leech drains.
Tree Roots
Ensure trees and plants with evasive roots are not too close to your leech drains. Root systems are notorious for weaving into the holes of concrete drains, or running down the sides of the more porous, mesh-type leech drains and providing a thick barrier that waste water cannot escape through.
Change Your Drains Over
If you have more than 1 leech drain it is a general rule of thumb is to change your leech drains over every 12 months, however if you have a large family, you may want to do it more often. This swap gives one drain the chance to rest while the other takes over the drainage duties, allowing the ground to dry out a bit and more efficient evacuation from the leech drain. If you only have 1 leech and are having issues you may need to consider getting a 2nd leech drain added. Speak to Mainline Plumbing and Cheap Hot Water and Gas about your options.
Listen To Your Plumbing
Just as you will find with household plumbing pipes and drains, leech drains do not respond well when clogged with debris, oils, fats and soaps. Gurgling toilets, slow to drain sinks and drains and a large amount of water coming up from the diverter tap are all signs that your septic tank is full and your leech drains are not working to their full capacity.
Who Can Help With Your Leech Drain Maintenance?
The team at Mainline Plumbing and Cheap Hot Water and Gas are experts in the plumbing industry, with over 30 years’ experience in the South West. For all your enquiries regarding all things plumbing, hot water and gas, call the trusted name in plumbing on 9791 1608 (Bunbury) or 9759 1317 (Dunsborough) for a free quote today.
Have you heard all the benefits about converting to 
Have you received a call to act letter from the Water Corporation? Or do you already know that the deep sewerage lines run through your neighbourhood but your home is still connected to your own septic tank? Older homes will sometimes still operate on their own septic, newer homes are generally connected to the deep sewerage automatically when the estate is built (unless your new home is in a remote location or in an area where deep sewerage has not been established).
Once you know you are able to connect to the deep sewerage and understand the process, your next, and final call, is to Mainline Plumbing and Cheap Hot Water and Gas. They will take care of all the details in regard to your sewerage conversion and will work with you to choose a time convenient to you and your family.
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It’s not just about the bad smell when your toilet and drains are blocked, but the damage it can cause if not fixed sooner than later. Plumbers have the correct tools and equipment to clear out blocked drains quickly and safely, without ending up with water all over the floor of your home or having to reach your own arms into a smelly drain.
Who Can I Call When I Have A Plumbing Emergency?
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Need Help With Your Plumbing?
Is your home a bit older and still connected to its’ own septic tank?
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One of the biggest, and sneakiest wasters of water in your home is your toilet. Water is a precious resource that needs to be conserved and used wisely and as many of us know, water leaks lead to big water bills. You may have only one, or you may have 2 or 3, but that sneaky little necessity that sits so unsuspectingly in your bathroom or laundry (or even in a room of its own) can be costing you more money than you think.
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Call your Plumber Immediately
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Ask any parent and they’ll tell you that a lot more than what’s suitable goes into the toilet. Substantial amounts of toilet paper or non-flushable items, as well as things that some might think are good to flush but are definitely not (baby wipes, paper towel, sanitary products, nappies), cause clogging of the drains that can become big problems further down the line if not rectified quickly. Older toilets are typically low flow and can experience significantly more blockages than newer models.
Sounds In Other Drains When Flushing
With the vast amount of information on the internet, many people are choosing to DIY a significant number of their household repairs. From fixing the guttering to servicing your car, more and more people are attempting their own fix it jobs, often with disastrous results. There is a reason tradesmen train for so long in their chosen trade and as home and business owners, we need to take advantage of the skilled and diverse workforce we have to choose from when it comes to finding a professional to install, repair or maintain our investments, no matter how small.
Correct Tools and Safety Equipment
Any major changes with your plumbing fixtures, water supply, septic/sewerage, you must be law call a licenced plumber. For any gas works you need a plumber who also has a gas fitter’s licence.
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Have you noticed nasty smells coming from the garden? A wet patch or super green grass above your septic tank? Is the water draining slowly and your pipes smell bad? These can all be signs that there is a problem with your septic tank; more than likely it is too full. Resist the urge to pour any kind of chemicals or cleaning agents down the drains in an attempt to dissolve the wastewater; call your licensed plumber.