If you recently moved from the city to the country and have a septic system in your yard for the first time, it might be wise to find out exactly how to maintain it to keep it running efficiently and properly for many years. There are three main things you will need to do to achieve this, and following these tips will help you avoid problems with your system.
Learn to Use It Properly
The first step is learning how to use the system properly, and this primarily involves knowing what you can put in it and what not to put in it. If you put things in your system that are not good for it, you could end up with blockages in the pipes, and this will lead to problems.
Septic systems are designed to handle waste water, and this includes all the water your home uses. Waste water comes from the sinks, tubs, and toilets in your home, as well as the appliances. Unfortunately, though, people use these items to dispose of things that do not belong in septic systems.
Some things you should never place in your drains are feminine products, diapers, cigarettes, coffee grinds, bones, melon rinds, and cleaning products. All of these items can lead to clogs and other types of problems with your system, so you should avoid putting them into your drains. Your drains can handle water, soap products, and human waste, and those are about the only things your septic can handle.
Avoid Using Too Much Water
If you moved from a house that had city water and sewer, the only reason you may have tried to reduce your water usage was probably to save money on your water bill. With a septic system, there is a different reason to try to conserve water.
Your septic system was set up in a way that it sifts water and solids. The goal is for the solids to remain in the tank, while the liquids flow from the system out into the ground. This setup works great until a homeowner begins using too much water. When this happens, the system cannot keep up with the sifting, and too much water ends up in the tank.
The result of this is that your tank might not be able to hold anything else, simply because it is full of water. The second result is that the system might force water out into the yard before it has actually gone through the entire filtering process. If this happens, you will smell sewer water in your yard. If this continues to happen, the system might also get clogged, and this can turn into a costly type of repair.
To avoid this, try to use water at an even pace, and try not to overuse water. For example, instead of washing three loads of clothes in one day, spread it out to one load per day. Your system can handle one load of laundry a day much easier than three loads all in one day.
Get It Pumped Regularly
The third tip is to get your tank pumped regularly. This is the best type of maintenance you can do for your system, and you can find out from a septic company how often you should do this. The frequency of tank-pumping services depends on the size of your system and the number of people living in your home. For example, a home with a 1,000-gallon tank and four family members should get the system pumped every 2.6 years.
For more information or advice, visit a website such as http://www.sosseptic.net/.
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