Simple Septic Maintenance: 7 Tips for Maintaining Your Septic System

Looking for the best septic maintenance tips? Want to keep your home’s septic system in great shape? If you have a septic system at your house, it’s important that you maintain it well and remain mindful of it. You need to take the proper precautions to protect it and to avoid damage that can be costly and difficult to repair.

Luckily, we’re here to help. Below we’ll list seven useful tips that can help you maintain your septic system simply and effectively.

Change Your Water Use Habits

One of the top things you can do to keep your septic system well-maintained is to make sure you’re being efficient with water usage. Adopting better usage habits can go a long way in protecting your septic system. The more that water enters your system, the more chances there will be for problems to occur. Conserving water can help your septic system and can help prevent flooding and other types of damage.  Remember that maintaining your system starts with how you use it. By being mindful of your septic system and by teaching your kids and family to be careful, you’ll make sure that it goes as long as possible without experiencing problems.

Install Efficient Appliances

While adopting great habits is a good start for maintaining your septic system, buying high-efficiency appliances and plumbing fixtures can be helpful as well. Many Energy Star certified appliances will use 50 percent less water, so installing these can help ensure that you’re not using too much from day-to-day. Investing in an energy-efficient washing machine, a dishwasher, showerheads, or other fixtures and appliances can be a great idea. Using these can help saving water to become second nature, ensuring that you keep your system working great for a long time to come.

Be Careful What You Flush

Another way you can protect your septic tank is to make sure you’re only flushing items that are septic-safe. Certain types of toilet paper can be more problematic for a septic system than others, for example. Also be sure that you’re not flushing any items down the toilet that shouldn’t ever be flushed such as sanitary wipes, feminine hygiene products, dental floss, paper towels, cooking grease, and any similar products that can be difficult on a septic system. Disposing waste properly is incredibly important if you want to keep your septic system working well month after month and year after year.

Rethink the Garbage Disposal

If your home has a garbage disposal, you may want to think twice about using it. Garbage disposals and septic systems don’t work very well together, and if you’re using your disposal too often, your septic system can be clogged up or experience damage. Only use the garbage disposal when absolutely necessary. Like with your toilet, aim to avoid putting certain items down it. You’ll want to avoid pouring any cooking grease, fats, coffee grounds, and similar substances down the drain.

Protect Your Drain Field

If you’re trying to keep your septic system in great condition then it’s also important that you maintain your drain field. Always remain aware of where the septic area is located and what you’re doing around it. You should be careful about letting anything sit above the drain field including cars, storage sheds, decks, patio furniture, or other big items and structures. Any extra weight above the drain field or plants with deep roots can cause problems and may damage your septic system. One of the best options for covering a septic system and drain field is grass, although other plants that don’t have deep roots can sometimes be used as well. You may also want to consider investing in a septic riser installation to ensure that maintenance and monitoring will be as easy as possible.

Get Regular Septic System Inspections

It’s also important that you regularly get your septic system inspected and maintained by professionals. Getting your system checked out annually is usually a good idea. To keep your septic system working well, it’s important that you regularly pump the tank. Usually, a tank should be pumped at least every three to five years to keep it working well, but this can vary. A service professional will be able to take a closer look at your system and will be able to tell if there are any problems or if any maintenance needs to be done.

Save All Maintenance Reports

In addition to getting your system maintained and inspected by professionals, it can be very helpful to save any maintenance records or inspection reports that you get. You’ll usually receive detailed reports and records on what happens during an inspection. The report will usually include important details about your system such as if there are any leaks, what the scum levels are, and if there is any damage. Keeping these reports handy can be helpful for professionals when they come to inspect your system and can make their jobs go more smoothly. As a result of using previous inspection reports, they’ll be able to identify potential problems more easily.

Making Use of These Septic Maintenance Tips

While there are a number of things to think about to protect your septic system from damage, septic maintenance doesn’t have to be difficult. You may need to make some changes to the way you use water and the way you think about using the septic system in your home. However, by following the suggestions above you’ll be able to keep your septic tank in great condition for a long time to come. Looking for more tips and advice that can help you improve your home? Explore our blog now to find more interesting articles and guides.