3 helpful tips to keep your septic tank in great shape this summer
With summer right around the corner, most homeowners are looking forward to vacation, cookouts, and spending time around the pool with family and friends.
Most certainly aren’t thinking about their home’s septic tank, but in order to ensure you don’t wind up with a septic emergency on your hands this summer that will truly disrupt all the fun, it is important to ensure you are doing what needs to be done to keep yours in good working order. The summer months can put a bit more strain than usual on septic systems, particularly if you are one of the homeowners that likes to entertain guests frequently during the summer months.
To help ensure that you have everything you need to keep your septic system from experiencing a disaster this summer, our team of professionals have taken the time to put together this short list of helpful tips you can follow to help reduce strain on your system and potentially avoid a septic disaster over the coming months.
KNOW WHAT CAN BE FLUSHED
One of the most common problems that lead to massive issues with septic tanks over time is homeowners and guests who flush things that have no business going down the drain. Your septic system works best when you only introduce items and materials that are able to easily decompose, as solid items will more quickly fill up your tank, leading to need more frequent pumping, and might even clog or damage your system, resulting in a real mess that can ruin any plans you might have had very quickly. As a general rule of thumb when determining what is safe to put down the drain, and what isn’t, if it isn’t toilet paper, and didn’t go through your mouth at some point, it doesn’t have any business getting flushed. This includes a number of commonly flushed items like disposable wipes, feminine hygiene products, Kleenex, paper towels, cotton swabs, dental floss, and much more. Ensuring that you, your family, and your home guests are one the same page about what can and can’t be flushed down your drains can go a long way in helping you avoid a septic disaster this summer.
ENSURE VEHICLES ARE PARKED AWAY FROM YOUR TANK
As a homeowner, it is always a good idea to know where your septic tank is located on your property you can can ensure that people know to park their vehicles elsewhere. The only kind of traffic that is acceptable on the area where you septic tank is located is foot traffic and lawn mowers. The pressure that results from parking vehicles, boats, motor homes, and even the riding of smaller vehicles like 4-wheelers can apply a great deal of pressure to the surrounding soil, which can eventually compact the soil and damage pipes or your septic tank itself. Not only is this an expensive issue to correct, but it will most certainly ruin any gatherings that you might have had planned.
GET YOUR SYSTEM PUMPED BEFORE ANY LARGE EVENTS
Another important factor to keep track of when it comes to your septic tank is the last time you had it pumped out. If it has been more than three years, or if you aren’t actually sure, you are likely overdue, and before you host that big family get-together, it might be a good idea to go ahead and do it. The last thing you want during the middle of your summer party is for your septic tank to start fouling up your yard with a smelly mess that you could have prevented by having the professionals come in and pump your system a couple of days before the party started. Regularly having your system pumped out can greatly reduce the likelihood of system failure, helping you to avoid the need for expensive repairs, as well as providing you with peace of mind in the knowledge that your system has what it needs for proper function.