Spring is coming up on us quickly and now is a good time to do a little maintenance on your septic system. If you live in a rural area you most likely have a septic system instead of a sewer connection, taking care of your system is not difficult if you follow some basic guidelines.
For a family of four with a 1000 gallon tank experts say yours should be pumped after 3-5 years of full time use, some can go longer but this would be the general rule to keep your system running smoothly. Do not ever attempt to open the septic tank yourself the gases and bacteria are extremely dangerous.
Things to remember inside the house would be to never use the toilet as a garbage disposal, you should never flush things like cat litter, cigarette butts and filters, paper towels, or facial tissues as these will clog your system a lot faster than you would imagine. Do not over use heavy cleaners as this kills bacteria in the septic system so the solids do not break down as well.
Never pour grease down the drain, this is a good thing to remember even if you do not have a septic system, grease can clog the drains and with your septic system it can clog the drainfield making it impossible for the soil able to absorb liquids, if this happens you may need new pipes and a new drainfield.
If you have a garbage disposal in the home remember to use it wisely, these can double the amount of solids being added to the septic tank, if you can when picking a garbage disposal chose a top of the line that will grind food into tiny particles that would be easier on the system.
Try not to overload the system by checking the faucets and toilets for leaks, waiting until your dishwasher is full before running, using aerators on faucets to help lower water consumption, and reduce water levels when doing small loads of laundry.
Check out some products that KSCDirect has to offer from Hercules Chemical Co. to use inside your home to keep your system running smoothly.
Now that you have checked everything inside your home, lets take a look at what you can do outside the home.
When thinking about your landscaping make sure you are planting trees and shrubs at least 100 feet away from your septic system. Divert all excess water away from the drainfield such as rain gutters and any other landscaping you have put in, a soggy drainfield will not absorb and neutralize liquid waste.
Never drive over your drainfield, you should either build a structure over it or cover it with concrete or asphalt and never plant grass on the drainfield to minimize soil erosion.
And finally always properly dispose of any hazardous chemicals such as varnish, paint thinners, motor oils, gasoline and other similar chemicals, these can ruin your system and are very hazardous to ground water.
If you keep these basic things in mind your septic system should run smoothly for years to come.
