A septic system is a necessity if you live in a rural area or can’t connect to the local sewerage district. When you have a septic system, you need to make sure that it is properly maintained. The better you maintain it, the longer your system will last. If you aren’t familiar with a septic system, you may not be familiar with what you should do to keep your system in good shape and working properly.
Pump It Regularly
Your septic tankwill eventually fill up. The wastewater will eventually work its way out of the tank and into the drain field, but the solids don’t. The bacteria in the tank will digest the solids, which generates a sludge. That sludge builds up, and will eventually eliminate any free space in the tank. Pumping the tank out will get rid of that sludge and empty out your tank. In general, you should get your tank pumped out every 3-5 years unless you use a lot of water or have a lot of people using the tank. If you aren’t sure how often you should have your tank pumped out, you can ask a septic pumping company to evaluate your tank and let you know a good schedule.
Watch What Goes Down the Drain
Your septic tank can’t handle everything that you could flush or run down the drain. There are some things that you shouldn’t put in your tank. Basically, you should only put septic-safe toilet paper and human waste in the tank. Human waste does include water from laundry, dishwashing, and showering/bathing. You should never flush so-called flushable wipes, because they don’t break down and will just clog your septic tank. You should also make sure to keep grease and oil out of your tank because they can create floating islands of grease that block the pipes of the tank.
Avoid Trees in Your Drain Field
Your drain field can be really attractive to trees because it provides easily accessible water and nutrients. However, tree roots can cause a lot of damage to your drain field. The roots can damage the pipes running from your septic tank to the drain field. You don’t want anything other than grass growing over the drain field, because grass won’t put down long, damaging roots. Having only grass on top of the drain field and septic tank will make it much easier to do regular maintenance and any necessary repairs. You can also use the grass to detect leaks in your septic system because it will be greener and more lush over the leaky area.
A septic tank is the best way to handle wastewater if you don’t live near a sanitary water district. When you have a septic tank, you need to take care of it so that it won’t stop working in the middle of the night. Doing just a few things will help you maintain your tank and save you money in the long run, since you can help avoid repairs.
Published by: Khy Talara
