A properly maintained a septic system will last for the life time of your home and it will cost you far less then sewer. We recommend that you have your septic tank pumped every 3-5 years for a family of 4 depending on the amount of paper products that go into the tank. More girls in the house means more toilet paper, so if you have 3 girls in the house then you might go every 3 years. If you on a lot of medications you might need to have your tank pumped more often as well. Some medications have a very negative effect on the bacteria in a septic system and they can inhibit the proper break down solids in the tank.
Septic System Tips and Facts
- Water | Don’t put too much water into the septic system;
- Flushing | If you can avoid flushing as often
- Laundry | Stager your laundry days. Washing puts a lot of water through the system. If you do 3 or more loads of laundry in a single day you run the risk of overflowing your drain field and backing up your septic system. We recommend doing fewer loads on more days, vs. more loads on a single day
- What goes down | Do not add extra stuff like; chemicals, sanitary napkins, applicators, tampons, diapers and so on. Keep your flushing to domestic wastewater.
- Garburator | Restrict the use of your garbage disposal – Start a compost pile instead of grinding it all up. The septic system is not designed to handle direct food waste
- Cooking Waste | Do not pour grease or cooking oils down the sink drain.
- My Tank is Full | Your septic tank operates best when it’s about 85% full. This is where it is designed to operate. Water flows through the middle of the tank out into the drain field and solids build up on the top and the bottom of the water. When we pump the tank we remove the solids. After we’ve pumped the tank it should fill back up in about a week.
- Know where things are | Make a diagram showing the location of your tank drainfield. This will make it simplr for you to find it when we come pump it out and it might keep you from building a deck over the tank. It’s never fun to have to cut up someone’s nice deck or patio to pump their tank.
- Riser | We charge by the half hour to dig up a tank. If you are going to stay in the house long term it’s a good idea to Install a riser over the septic tank to simplify access.
- Pump your Tank | Have your tank pumped on a regular basis
- Drainage | Keep surface water away from the tank and drainfield area. The Drain field can only take so much water before it will back up. Don’t add extra water if you don’t have too
- Don’t Drive on it | Fathers day 2007 we built dad an outdoor flushing outhouse. When dad was moving some materials around with the fork lift he drove over our pump tank and one of the front wheels of the fork lift fell into the tank. Lucky the whole rig did not go in and no one was hurt. But it sure makes for a great story and excuse to laugh at dad. Bottom line keep automobiles and heavy equipment off the system.
- Additives | We’ve been doing this for 20 years, in that time we pumped thousands of tanks. We’ve never been able to see a difference in a tank where someone used the additives they bought on late night TV. If you want to make your septic system last longer, use less water, and less paper products. Those two things have the greatest impact on the health of a septic system
- Filters | Newer septic systems have a filter at the outlet that needs to be cleaned on a regular basis. We’d gladly come do this for you for a fee, but in reality you can do it your self. You simply need to uncover the outlook lid. Pull out the filter and spray it clean with a garden house. Not hard, but the smell and the sludge might get to you – your call, you can do it, or we can do it for you.