There are two types of septic tanks – septic tanks connected to a public drain and septic tanks without any drain.Septictanksconnectedtoadrainshouldbecleaned every week and septic tanks without drains should be manually drained and cleaned as per the procedure given below.The size of the septic tank depends on the number of toilets in the hospital. Depending on the size, a septic tankcanstorealargequantityofsewageandsewagewater. Thus cleaning is necessary to prevent bad odour and breeding of cockroaches.
Equipment and supplies
-Stick broom
-Bleaching powder
-Nuvon or any other insecticide
-Iron rod, cotton
-Mug, bucket
-Hosepipe
-Water
Method of cleaning a septic tank connected to a public drain
-The cleaner must wear gloves and galoshes when cleaning the septic tank
-Attach a hosepipe to a tap and make a path for the water to flow into the tank
-Remove the lid of the tank and spray water to rinse the lid
-Splash water into the tank with the help of the hosepipe
-Sprinkle bleaching powder into the tank
-Using the stick broom, scrub vigorously to clean all the edges and corners of the tank and remove any moss that has formed
-Wash the tank with water
-Place nuvon into the tank
-Close the tank (Fig. 13.1)
Method of placing nuvon in the tank
-Nuvon is an insecticide, which kills cockroaches and other insects
-Mix 100ml of Nuvon in a cupful of water.
-Take an iron rod about 1 foot in length
-Attach a one-inch piece of cotton firmly to one end of the rod
-Dip the cotton in the Nuvon solution
-Bend the rod into a hook and place it in a corner of the tank
Method of cleaning a septic tank not connected to a public drain
-Watercollectedintheupperportionofthetankshould be manually removed once a month using buckets
-Waste and excreta should be removed once a year. The Sanitary department of the Municipal Corporation comes and does this using a suction pump
-Clean the tank using the procedure given above
-Place Nuvon in the tank using the above procedure
For a demonstration on cleaning the sceptic tank, please watch the video of the CD.
Student exercise
Answer the following
1. Why do we need to clean a septic tank? How is it done?
