Septic System Maintenance: An Introduction

A septic system installation collects wastewater from homes that lack a main sewer line connection. After the installation, take appropriate maintenance practices for your septic system to thrive. These practices include efficient water usage, proper drain field maintenance, and proper waste disposal. You also need to pump and inspect your septic system frequently.

Read on for the mistakes you need to avoid for your septic system installation to function properly.

1. Toilet Misuse

What you flush down your toilet affects how your septic system functions. Only flush items that are septic-safe. Find below a list of items you shouldn't flush down your toilet:

• Any toilet paper not labeled septic safe

• Baby wipes

• Feminine hygiene items and products

• Diapers

In addition, don't flush cat litter in the drains even when it has a flushable label. Your cats' waste may contain parasites that upset your septic tank's bacterial activities. Also, the waste has microorganisms that can affect your health. Flushing your cat's waste in the toilet without the proper protective gear may expose you to harmful cat waste microorganisms.

Your septic system floods or clogs when you flush the wrong items down the drains. The best way to avoid this mistake is always to have spare septic-safe toilet paper. Don't settle for other paper towels that harm your septic system installation.

2. Poor Drain Management

Your drains are not passageways for every waste in your home. If you do DIY construction projects, ensure careful disposal of construction waste material like concrete. Keep the construction waste from patched walls and other concrete projects away from the sinks. Your construction waste clogs your septic system drains. The concrete will also dry off on your items and destroy them if improperly disposed of.

You should also not dump grease in sinks because the fats and oils can solidify and clog your septic system. Let the oils cool after you cook and put them in a separate container instead of dumping them down the drains.

Note that most cleaning chemicals harm the microbial activities of your septic tank. Your septic system will fail to break down the waste if overwhelmed by chemicals. Therefore, stop pouring your cleaning water down septic drains unless you use bio-friendly washing chemicals.

Conclusion

Major septic system issues prove costly to manage. You can easily evade these costs by avoiding the above common mistakes. You should also regularly contact septic system installation, care, and management professionals for regular septic system inspection to avoid emergencies.

For more information, contact a company such as Metroplex Royal Flush LLC.