Why cesspool cleaning is necessary

Cesspool cleaning is imperative to make sure that your cesspool does not collapse or overflow. It's necessary because if the solid wastes accumulate and do not properly leech out, they could create a barrier to all waste, which could cause a collapse which could injure people around the cesspool, or overflow, causing pollution and other health problems.

A cesspool is a large pit in which feces or urine is disposed of. This system is older than the sewer system and is traditionally dug down into the earth and is usually cylindrical in nature. It resembles a well, except that bodily fluids are disposed of into it.

The way that a cesspool works is that the walls are lined with brick or stone that is loose-fitting. This way the liquids were able to absorb out into the soil when the conditions of the soil allowed it. The solid wastes decayed and composted slowly at the bottom, and as they built up, they also would sometimes leak out into the soil.

The problem arises when the solids build up too much and don't get reincorporated into the surrounding earth. When they build up, it often slows down or halts completely the liquids from draining into the surrounding soil. It is at this point when a cesspool cleaning is needed.

The reason that the waste does not pollute very much is because the soil around it acts to cleanse the bad parts of the waste. But if a cesspool is dug down deep enough or near an underground water source, the pollutants from the refuse could go straight into the water source without having a chance to be cleansed by the earth. Because of this possible contamination, if you have a cesspool and are thinking of also creating a well, the well has to be dug far away from the cesspool so that the pollutants do not contaminate the water that will be pulled from the well.

Today, cesspools might be lined with concrete with their sides perforated with drain field piping. This extends below the level of the intake connection (where the bodily waste comes into the cesspool) to facilitate the drainage of the cesspool. Often there will be a cleanout pipe extending above the ground to help with the cesspool cleaning.

Another reason that cesspool cleaning is necessary is that because cesspools are not enclosed, they are vulnerable to overflowing when there is a heavy rain or lots of liquid because of snow melting. If the cesspool is stopped up, then the addition of all of that extra liquid could cause it to back up and overflow, which will lead to disgusting pollutants to be spewed all around the pool. Another vulnerable point is tree roots breaking into the system, which could also cause the whole thing to either fall in and hurt people around it or overflow. So making sure that your cesspool is in working condition and not blocked if paramount.