Waste pipe query

bloo

Hi,

Could someone please let me know the correct waste pipe plumbing for bathroom sink/baths.

My house has a septic tank, the toilet waste pipes flow into this, but the waste pipes from the sinks are plumbed to flow out into the same drains as the rain water guttering. I had initially thought that we had all the rain water and waste flowing into the septic tank, but on having the tank emptied and inflow pipes cleaned today it looks like only the waste from the toilet is going to the tank. So i presume all other water is going into soak aways, if thats what they are!

thanks

Luckysasha

Normally only rain and surface water goes to soakaways. Toilets , sinks , dishwasher, washing machine etc (also known as foul and grey water) must go to the septic tank

bloo

Thanks for that. That would make sense!

Is there any way to tell if the other drains around the house are soakaways? I presume they are and I don't see any other pipes running into the tank but it would be good to confirm it.

I had better change those waste water pipes then.

Luckysasha

Only way to confirm this is to run a hosepipe to each drain and see if the water drains to the septic tank. If nothing appears in the tank after 10 mins or so you can safely presume there draining to soak pits