Tree root damage to a septic tank?
All sorts of things can happen to septic tanks that stop them working. Things that you might not have even thought about - for example, tree root damage to a septic tank. It's hard to believe that roots from trees or shrubs can be strong enough to grow through the walls of a septic tank - or to apply enough pressure to the outside of a tank to cause the walls to buckle or split.
Septic tanks can either be made of bricks, or constructed of GRP - which is glass reinforced plastic. They are pretty sturdy structures, especially given the pressures they can encounter underground. But tree roots can be pretty persistent things, and we have seen many cases in which they have either grown through the septic tank itself, or caused some serious damage to the walls of the tank from the outside. It's a problem because it affects the way in which the septic tank works, often because the holes or splits caused by the roots can allow the water in the ground to enter into the tank. The effect of this can be the 'churning up' of the contents of the septic tank (not a thought to dwell on if you're eating your lunch) when they should otherwise be separated into distinct layers or zones. This in turn means that the wrong kind of waste can leave the tank and clog up any soakaway system it might be connected to, causing all kinds of soakaway problems.
Have you ever wondered what tree root damage to a septic tank looks like?
No? We don't believe you, so here are a couple of pictures (sorry):
And don't worry, they are tree roots in the second picture, not a hedgehog that's found himself in a most unfortunate place!
We pride ourselves on the very positive feedback we receive from our customers, so we thought we should share a lovely testimonial we have just received in which we helped a customer with tree root damage to a septic tank:
'Dealing with UKDP has been completely hassle free from start to finish. Not only were we kept informed of progress of our claim at regular intervals, Rob was extremely supportive and very effective in settling our claim in a very short space of time prior to completion on our house sale. I couldn't thank UKDP enough and would not hesitate in recommending their services to any of my friends or colleagues'.
- K Howarth, Surrey
Luckily, this type of septic tank problem is usually covered by your buildings insurance. Most people aren't aware that you don't need specific septic tank insurance in place, because often there will be cover provided by your existing buildings insurance.
The team at UKDP are the only UK specialist in managing insurance claims for damaged septic tanks, sewage treatment plants or cesspits, and we manage everything on behalf of our customers at no extra cost to them.
If you think you might have tree root damage to your septic tank, or any other kind of damage, give our team a call today on 0800 028 9903.
From carrying out a thorough septic tank inspection to meeting with your insurer at your property, we will take the stress away and get everything back to full working order as soon as possible. It's all part of what makes us different.
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Sam's career prior to UKDP was spent in the marketing and service industries, so she is focused on making sure we look after our customers – and getting the UKDP message out there! Sam has overall responsibility for business operations and for delivering the best customer service we can.
