How It Works

How it works.

Septic systems fail. And the reason they fail is the soil in the disposal field clogs up with slime from the bacteria that were once in your digestive system. Yes, the very protective coating that allows anaerobic (unoxygenated) bacteria to do their job in your gut, ultimately ruins the typical septic system.

Such is nature. Until now, you had only two options, both very costly: you could repair or replace your system. The SludgeHammer gives you a third, and better, option.

Microbial remediation.

Dan Wickham, a Ph. D. in biology, worked for many years detoxifying petroleum contaminated soil with the use of micro-organisms. One day he asked the question: can I bring this technology into the homeowner’s back yard.

He experimented with blends of microbes and tried them out in a variety of circulating containers. Eventually, he found a workable combination of hardware and bacteria. Thus was born the Aerobic Bacterial Generator.

Through many prototypes, Dr. Wickham reworked, recalibrated and refined the device and dubbed it the SludgeHammer. It is truly the only effective way to bring the remediating power of aerobic bacteria to your septic system, leach field, and surrounding properties. Costly repair or replacement is the unhappy alternative.

Measurable results come quickly.

Once the SludgeHammer is installed (in either single or two chamber tank), and the air-pump begins circulating the effluent, the processing of waste begins in the tank.

But it doesn't stop there - the microbes migrate to the leach field, where they continue to reproduce and do their cleanup work.

The effluent in your septic tank is oxygenated and circulated through the SludgeHammer at a rate of 25,000 gallons each day. Every ounce of it passes over the coiled lattice of waste-eating microbes.

There are 150 square feet of these dense bacterial colonies within. The digestion of effluent is so complete that there is nothing left to clog the system. Solids and sludge disappear almost overnight. Pumping simply is no longer necessary.

The SludgeHammer Blend bacteria is aggressive. Slime producing anaerobic bacteria simply cannot exist in the environment. They are either digested or starved out before they can begin the journey to your leach field.

And more good news -- the slime-buildup, or biomat, that may already be present in the leach field, will soon disappear. This is particularly significant because the EPA estimates 95% of all septic system failures are the result of biomat clogging.

For a fuller discussion of the biological workings of the SludgeHammer, click on Mother Nature.

Maintenance, the Achilles' heel of ATUs.

The entire category of Advanced Treatment Units has suffered from poor maintenance follow-up. Promising new technologies have come along, battled their way through the regulatory labyrinth, and been installed. Too often, that's the last the homeowner sees of a water treatment professional.

When you have a SludgeHammer installed, you can depend on regular visits while the leach field is in the process of remediation. After the solids have been eliminated, ammonia levels dramatically reduced, and the leach field has dried up, we schedule calendar year visits for cleaning, inspection, and microbe replacement.

You wouldn't buy a car without the facility to take care of it. We’ll bet your property is worth more than your car. SludgeHammer maintenance is a must.

 

 

Mother Nature: The quicker cleaner-upper.

Septic systems are closed systems by design. Other than household wastes, no other material is allowed to enter. No other bacteria may enter the system until the septic effluent enters the soil pores.

Unfortunately for us, every time we flush, the vast majority of bacteria that enter the septic system are anaerobic (without air). It is these bacteria that cause the system to fail. They secrete a coating of slime, scientifically referred to as a mucopolysaccharide. This slime protects the bacteria from stomach acids and enzymes, from other bacteria in our intestines, and from our immune system. And because these bacteria are anaerobic, the slime protects them from oxygen - which is toxic to them.

 

The Creation of Biomat.

The problems occur when these intestinal bacteria, carried along in the effluent from our septic tanks, contact the soil in the disposal field. There, they form a continuous colony over the entire soil surface. This colony is known as biomat. It continues to secrete slime, making the biomat even more impenetrable. Eventually, liquid cannot pass through the biomat at a rate equal to the rate at which liquid comes into the system from the household. The disposal field fails. In fact, 95% of all disposal field failures are caused by biomat clogging.

 

Oxygen, the Healer.

The SludgeHammer solves this problem so simply because it is the most efficient aerator of effluent. With a constant flow of oxygen in the septic tank, the anaerobic intestinal bacteria die. All the while, the SludgeHammer is inoculating the septic tank with powerful SludgeHammer Blend soil bacteria. These microbes colonize a lattice that coils around the core. The more effluent that must be digested, the larger the colony grows. It is entirely self-regulating in this regard.

While they digest the organic material in the septic tank, they begin to multiply and huge numbers of them travel with the highly treated septic tank effluent into the failed disposal field. There, they digest the Biomat that is clogging the soil pores. With the Biomat gone, the soil is free to accept effluent again. The disposal field is restored. As long as the SludgeHammer is operated in the septic tank, the system cannot fail from biomat clogging.