Septic Tank Maintenance – Save It For Spring Cleaning

Believe it or not your septic system requires regular maintenance and septic tank maintenance is not to be taken lightly. Too many times people think that the septic tank just sits in the ground and quietly does its work, never needing any attention except for the occasional septic pumping. In order for your septic system to work at its optimal efficiency levels you have to maintain it at least a little bit. If the septic system is not properly taken care of there is a good chance that some of the sludge in the septic tank will find its way into drainage fields. This can cause severe environmental damage which I am sure that you do not want your backyard and I am sure the environment does not want it in its backyard either.

The easiest, but also the most costly method of septic tank maintenance, is to pick up the phone and call a septic tank pumping service. If you have a septic tank pumped on a regular basis you should never encounter any problems, but it can become costly because each pumping will cost you a few hundred dollars. The frequency of your pumping depends on various factors and including the number of people that use your septic tank, the size of the septic tank, and the type of soil in the leach field. Clay soils require much more attention and sandy soils and also require more frequent pumping of the septic tank. I had my septic tank pumped a few days ago and the gentleman who was pumping it said that normally a septic tank should be pumped roughly every five years unless there is heavy usage. So if you have an average sized family of four people you could probably use that as your rule of thumb as well. Let’s say the septic tank pumping costs you $250 and you pump every five years that works out to $50 a year that you pay for your sewer service. If you know anyone who is connected to an actual sewer system then you know how much that costs them every year, a well maintained septic tank and septic system is worth its weight in gold.

The reason why you would pump septic tank is to prevent the sludge from building up to levels are high enough for it to escape into the drainage field. When sludge makes its way into the drainage field it causes a lot of problems because normally only gray water is permitted to pass into the drainage field. Sludge passing in the drainage field can lead to septic system failure which can cost tens of thousands to repair.

To help with septic tank maintenance there are lot of commercially available septic tank cleaners which are basically bacteria, proprietary chemicals, or activated enzymes which accelerate the digestion of the human waste in the septic system. There are some people who swear by these products saying that they saved their septic system by using them and other people say that using these septic tank cleaners does not do anything. However, it is a fact that the septic tank cleaners are a lot less expensive than replacing the septic tank or even just pumping it out. As part of your overall septic tank maintenance plan these cleaners could be a viable option.

Another reason we practice good septic tank maintenance is to prevent the effluent from backing up back into our house and coming of the toilets. And we also do not want a bad septic odor making its way through our home and through the neighborhood. Septic tank maintenance is something that you do before you discover that there is a problem with your septic system. If you are encountering septic tank problems there are a lot of resources that can help you and I recommend that you do your research or better yet call a septic tank pumping service and have them come out and inspect your septic system.