Aerobic System Maintenance for Bethlehem Homes
If your home in Bethlehem has an aerobic septic system, it depends on an aerator, controls and often a disinfection step to work correctly. When any of those fail, the system can smell, alarm or discharge poorly treated water.
Request a call and a local company that knows aerobic units can inspect and service yours.
Inside an aerobic treatment unit
Most units have three stages: pretreatment, aeration and clarification, followed by disinfection and dispersal. The aerator runs much of the day, and an alarm warns of high water or equipment failure. Each part has to work for the system to treat water properly.
What a maintenance visit looks like
On a maintenance visit the technician listens to and checks the aerator, clears the air lines and diffusers, tests the alarm and timer, and looks at the color and clarity of the water in each chamber. They measure sludge, top off or check the disinfection unit, and leave a written record of what they found and fixed.
Common aerobic system alarms
Alarms usually signal high water in a pump tank or a problem with the aerator. Causes include a failed compressor, a tripped breaker, a stuck float, a failed pump or more water entering than the system can handle. Silence the alarm, reduce water use and call for service rather than ignoring it.
A service schedule for aerobic units
Aerobic units are not set and forget systems. Many permits and maintenance contracts call for a visit every four to six months, plus pumping of the pretreatment tank every few years. Households that run a lot of laundry or have many people may need visits more often to keep the unit treating water properly.
Signs your aerobic system needs attention
Watch for a sewage or rotten egg smell, an aerator that is silent, cloudy or foul-smelling discharge, spray heads that do not run, and alarms. Soggy areas near the spray field can also point to a problem.
What to ask before signing a service contract
Before you sign, ask how many visits a year are included, whether parts and chlorine are covered, and how fast they respond to an alarm. Ask if they file any inspection reports your county requires on your behalf, and whether they are certified to work on your brand of aerobic unit.
Aerobic system components, from tank to yard
From the house outward, an aerobic system usually has a trash or pretreatment tank, an aeration chamber with a compressor, a clarifier, a disinfection unit and a pump tank that feeds spray heads or drip lines. A control panel ties it together and sounds the alarm when something stops working.
Simple habits that help
Spread laundry through the week, fix running toilets quickly and keep grease out of the kitchen drain. These habits keep the load on the system steady. If you will be away from your Bethlehem home for a long time, ask your service company whether the unit should keep running while you are gone.
Aerobic units in Northampton County
Aerobic systems are common in parts of Northampton County where the soil cannot handle a conventional drain field. Because they rely on power, air and moving parts, they need regular attention from a company that services them. Homeowners in Bethlehem and nearby towns such as Freemansburg, Fountain Hill, Hellertown often keep a maintenance contract in place for that reason.
Why Bethlehem conditions matter for aerobic systems
Most mapped soils near Bethlehem are rated very limited for septic absorption, which is one reason aerobic units are used here. The cleaner water they produce is easier on difficult soil, as long as the unit is serviced. About 49 inches of precipitation a year can overload spray fields and let water into tanks, so keep an eye on alarms after storms. About 2 months below freezing make a sheltered, working aerator important, since treatment slows when the unit gets too cold.
Local conditions in Bethlehem that affect aerobic septic service
Among the mapped soils within about two miles of central Bethlehem, the USDA soil survey rates 84% as very limited for septic absorption fields, 9% as somewhat limited and 7% as not limited. The most common drainage class is well drained. Soils like these often call for careful system design, such as a larger drain field, a mound or another engineered system, and a site evaluation before any new installation or replacement.
Bethlehem averages about 49 inches of precipitation a year, and June is usually the wettest month. Average temperatures stay below freezing for about 2 months a year, with January averaging 27°F, so tank lids and shallow lines benefit from a layer of snow or mulch rather than being cleared bare.
Sources: USDA NRCS Soil Survey (SSURGO), Soil Data Access; NASA POWER long-term climatology. Soil ratings describe mapped soil types near the city center and do not replace a site evaluation of your property.
What the soil around Bethlehem means for aerobic septic service
By drainage class, the USDA soil survey maps the land around Bethlehem as 70% well drained, 16% moderately well drained, 7% excessively drained, 6% poorly drained, 1% somewhat excessively drained. Aerobic systems are often used where soil is too limited for a conventional field; around Bethlehem, 84% of the soil is rated very limited.
Source: USDA NRCS Soil Survey (SSURGO), Soil Data Access
Septic companies near Bethlehem
These are the septic companies in our directory closest to Bethlehem, with straight-line distance. Call any of them directly, or send one request and we will pass it to the best match.
- Henry Yeska & Son Inc, Nazareth, PA, 7.3 mi
- Yeska Henry Inc Sewerage Service, Nazareth, PA, 7.3 mi
- Schmick Richard R Inc Septic, Coopersburg, PA, 7.5 mi
- Brad S Nicholas Septic Tank, Kintnersville, PA, 11.0 mi
- Dotter's Septic Service LLC, Northampton, PA, 11.1 mi
- Kratzer Septic Service, Bath, PA, 12.6 mi
Aerobic Septic Service in nearby towns
We also cover aerobic septic service in these towns near Bethlehem:
- Freemansburg, 1.5 mi
- Fountain Hill, 2.2 mi
- Hellertown, 3.5 mi
- Catasauqua, 5.2 mi
- North Catasauqua, 6.1 mi
- Allentown, 6.2 mi
About Bethlehem, PA
Bethlehem is in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. About 78,300 people live there, across 19.1 square miles of land (about 4,096 per square mile).
Aerobic Septic Service questions in Bethlehem
- Do aerobic systems need to be pumped?
- Yes. The pretreatment tank and sometimes other chambers still collect solids and need periodic pumping, usually less often than a conventional tank.
- Can I turn off my aerator to save power?
- No. Without air, the bacteria that treat the water die off, and the system can smell and discharge poorly treated water.
- Is a service contract required?
- In many areas, yes, especially after the first years. Check with the Northampton County health department to see what applies in Bethlehem.
- Is SepticTank.com the company that services my system?
- No. SepticTank.com connects you with an independent local septic company that serves Bethlehem. That company performs the service and sets its prices.