Significance of Septic tank maintenance

Rural life style has its advantage for those who wish to avoid the hustle and bustle of a more urban environment. But you need to sacrifice some of the facilities which mean that certain services aren’t readily available including access to a municipal sewage system. In these cases a self contained waste management system or septic system is needed and the most important part of this system is septic tank. Regular maintenance is an important part of keeping the tank and the system in a good working condition.

Most of us may be wondering why septic tank maintenance is so essential if you are currently own or thinking of buying a home with a septic system. As the system may be used, sludge, grease and other solids build up in the tank and failure to pump it out can lead to a clogged up system.

Backups and overflows will be the result of clogged up system that will cause damage not only to your home but also to the environment. This will also cause damage to the system which leads to expensive repairs or in some cases replacement may be required. If it tends to create environmental damage, home/property owner is responsible for any damage and have to face criminal charges and fines.

If you are aware of what a septic tank is you can see why maintaining is important. As the name implies it is a tank that collects everything that is put down homes drains and toilets. Septic tank consists of openings at both ends; one to accept the waste water which is connected to the house and the other allows the liquids to flow into the drain field. By settling all the solid wastes to the bottom it will fill up sooner or later.

Septic tank maintenance includes two parts, pumping/ cleaning and what gets put into it. Depending upon on the system and how it is used determines how often the system needs to be cleaned. First you have to find out how big the tank is, as there are varied capacities of the tank ranging from 1000 to 1500 gallon. The second factor depends upon the amount of usage the system gets or how many people are consistently using it, or is there is a washing machine and how often is it run, what about a dish washer and is it run daily.

A general rule of thumb is if there are one or two people the tank needs maintenance every 4 to 5 years, in case of 3 to 4 people cleaning will require for every 2 to 3 years. For a large families or a system that gets excessive usage the pumping out and cleaning may be required for every 1 to 2 years.

The maintenance schedule of any septic tank will depends upon what gets flushed down the toilet and flows down the sink drains. Sewage and water are the primary things which are dealt by the septic systems and anything else that gets into them can cause problems. Paper towels, cotton balls, sanitary napkins, or any other solid materials that are slow to degrade or are non biodegradable causing the tank to fill up faster than normal which leads to clogs that requires repair or replacement.

Any septic tank maintenance requires a full system inspection which is the most essential part which should be done every time the tank is pumped out by the pumping service. It will add some extra cost to the on-site visit but it is well worth the cost when you consider how much the system repairs and replacement can cost.