When you are in negotiations to buy a new house, one of the things that you do is a home inspection. The home inspection checks out the house to see if there are any leaks, vermin infestation, or if the house has any structural problems. However, one thing that can get missed on home inspections is the septic tank. You want to know that you won't have to replace the septic tank immediately. There are a couple of different tests that can be done to check the system.
Dye Test
A dye test is a good first test for your septic system. It is non-invasive and very easy to do. It consists of putting some dye in the tank itself. The dye is usually fluorescent so that it can be seen easily when it comes out the other side. The dye then flows through septic system. It takes a few days for the dye to go all the way through the tank and out into the leach field. After 3 or 4 days, a person from the septic company should come out and walk the property. They should be able to see evidence of the dye. What the person walking your property will learn from this test is where the field is, its exact size, and how quickly fluids are draining into the field.
Open Pit Test
An open pit test is much more invasive and will give you a much bigger range of information. The way that this test works is that a septic tank company will first come out and pump out the septic tank. Since inspecting the inside of the tank is part of the test, it will need to be emptied. After the tank has been emptied, it gets uncovered. The tank won't be completely excavated, just uncovered enough to see the size of the tank. Then the septic company tech will put a camera into the tank. That will let them see what the state of the inside of the tank is.
For example, does it have any holes or damage that could cause potential problems? The camera will also be able to get you the exact inner dimensions of the tank. You need to know these because tanks really are based on usage. If you are going to have a large family or a lot of usage, you need to have a big tank. If you need to get a new tank, this would be a good time to look at buying it. You may be able to negotiate with the current owners to split the cost of a replacement tank.
Making sure that you get the septic system of any home that you might be interested in buying is important. You want to know that you aren't going to in for thousands of dollars of repair work immediately. Make sure you have a septic company like Lemeta Pumping & Thawing do the inspections so that you know it's done right.
