How To Ensure Your Septic Tank Lasts For As Long As Possible
if you are one of the many hundreds of thousands of American households who use a septic tank of one kind or another then you know just how fickle they can be. Whether this is your first year in a house with only septic tanks or your hundredth, there are a few things that everyone needs to know to ensure that the septic tank lasts as long as it should. While some of these might sound obvious, you would be shocked at how often they are the root cause of an issue with someone's septic tank, so it is important to repeat them all the same.
Do Not Flush Garbage In Your Septic Tank
While you might be able to get away with flushing some small amounts of garbage in cities with connected plumbing, that cannot be said about septic tanks. Whether you are used to flushing baby wipes or bandaids, tampons, or pads down your toilet you need to stop doing that immediately. Not only are these impossible for the septic tank to try and sanitize and dispose of, but they can cause major build-ups and even crack the septic tank itself if you are not careful. Only use your toilet for what it is meant for.
Use Professional Septic Tank Pumping
Your septic tank needs to be cleaned and pumped every couple of years, sometimes much sooner than that, depending on its size and how many people live in your house. Never miss a scheduled septic tank pumping or you risk your entire plumbing system collapsing at any moment and then you will have also forfeited your warranty and any kind of recourse. It can be annoying to organize, but the consequences for not doing this are much, much worse and can cost you a lot of money and time without a usable toilet.
Do Not Use A Garbage Disposal
Some households that use a septic tank system will also come with a garbage disposal unit. That is a bad idea for the reasons listed above but it is one that often goes unnoticed through no fault of their own. They just assume that because they have a garbage disposal unit, like so many other households, they can use it normally when that is really not the case. Unless you want to be paying more money for even more frequent septic tank pumping you should avoid this feature like the plague.
For more information, contact a company like Gator Well & Septic.
