Septic Tank Vents for Dummies

Venting a septic tank

Not everyone on the Antisocial Network staff grew up in a big city like New Orleans, or even a bedroom community – a few of them actually grew up in the country. That suggests that they, unlike eHow.com's Ashton Daigle, are familiar with septic tanks as opposed to municipal sewers. In other words, they would probably have known better than to say what Ashton did in his HomeSteady.com article, "How to Install a Vent for a Septic Tank."

Like fellow eHowian Lacy Enderson before him, Daigle was confused by the question, and immediately focused on residential plumbing systems. No one with knowledge of plumbing would ever think that a house might not have a plumbing vent, but Ashton jumped to that ridiculous conclusion right off the bat, managing to misinform his readers in the process:

"Vents are needed for toilets to drain because they provide air and a vacuum which is needed to actually flush your toilet. Because toilets will not drain properly without septic tank vents, these vents are installed when the home is being constructed. This also allows easier access to sewer lines and the inside of walls where your vent will run..."

...which leads us to ask, why would you need to install a vent if they're already there? Oh, and Ashton? the drain-waste vent vent doesn't "provide... a vacuum which is needed to actually flush your toilet," it prevents a vacuum by allowing air circulation in the soil stack. If there were a vacuum in the system, it would drain slowly or not at all.

Based on Daigle's final instruction,

"Coat the area with waterproof sealant and replace any lost shingles where the vent hole was cut..."

...it's obvious that Ashton thinks you'd do this after the home is finished. Only if you're adding on to the plumbing system would this be necessary, since the vent pipe is already there in a completed house!

Where Daigle went wrong, as did Enderson in her version of trying to answer a similar question, was that he confused "septic tank" with "septic system." We're pretty sure the OQ actually wanted to know how to add a vent to a septic tank buried in the yard, not vent the sewer system in his or her house. Most septic tanks aren't vented, but some are – whether or not a tank is vented depends on the design of the septic system and leach field, as well as the percolation rate in the field. We think that if septic tank owners are curious about venting a septic tank, they should consult a professional about venting the tank, not a Dumbass of the Day like Daigle.

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