Top Ten Septic Tips    TOP TEN SEPTIC SYSTEM TIPS FOR HOMEOWNERS

  1. Pump your septic tank every 2 – 5 years, depending how heavily the system is used. Insist that the pumper clean your septic tank through the manhole in the center of the top of your septic tank, rather than the inspection ports above the inlet and outlet baffles.
  1. If you use a garbage disposal, pump more frequently- or better yet, compost your kitchen scraps. Disposals lead to buildup of grease especially from meat and bones, and insoluble vegetable solids.
  1. Keep Kitchen greases OUT of the septic system. It is not easily broken down and can clog your drain field.  There are NO available solvents to dissolve these oils that are legal to the groundwater.
  1. Space out your laundry loads and wash only full loads. The average load of laundry uses 47 gallons of water. One load per day rather than 7 loads on Saturday makes a big difference to your septic tank. Also, front loading washers use less water than top loaders.
  1. Install low usage water fixtures.  Showerheads (2.5 gallons/minute), toilets (1.6 gallons), dishwashers (5.3 gallons, and washing machines (14 gallons).. By installing fixtures such as these, the average family can reduce the amount of water entering the septic system by 20,000 gallons per year!
  1. Install a septic tank outlet filter in your tank. These generally sell for $100 to $200 depending upon brand and model. They catch small floating particles and lightweight solids, such as hair, before they can make it out to the disposal area and cause trouble. Some models are also designed to capture suspended grease.
  1. Use liquid laundry detergent. Powdered laundry detergents use clay as a ‘carrier’. This clay can hasten the buildup of solids in the septic tank and potentially plug the disposal area.
  1. Minimize the amount of household cleaners (bleach, harsh cleansers) and similar toxic substances.
  1. Do not use disinfecting toilet bowl cleaners, such as those containing bleach or acid compounds. The continuous slow release of these chemicals into the septic system kills the micro-organisms which treat your waste water.
  1. You do not need to put special additives into your septic system. In fact, some do more harm than good. Those which advertise that they will remove solids from your tank usually do. The problem is that the solids exit the tank and end up in the disposal field. Once there, the solids seal off the disposal area, and the system malfunctions. Also, although it hurts nothing, it is not necessary to “seed” a new system with yeast, etc. Normal human waste contains enough bacteria for the septic tank, and other microbes are already present in the soil and stones of the disposal area.