Interior And Exterior Septic System Care And Maintenance

When you're used to your home being on sewer, you'll be used to not worrying about what happens to the water once it goes down your plumbing pipes unless you happen to have a clog or issues with tree branches down in the pipes. But, when you move into a place with a septic tank, then you will have more things to think about because you will need to provide the septic system with some maintenance and take some extra steps to protect it. Here are some tips for interior care and exterior care and maintenance of your septic tank.

Interior care of your septic tank

When you're inside the house, it can be easy to forget you are on septic unless you neglect it, at which point you can end up with a very foul smelling reminder that it needs proper care, as well as something just as bad as backing up in your drains!

Most people should already know not to flush anything except bodily excrement and fluids and toilet paper down the toilet. However, some people still try to get by with things like cotton balls, cigarette butts, and unwanted medications. Some things really seem harmless, such as coffee grounds or cat feces with just a little bit of cat litter on them.

However, when you're on septic, you'll really need to be sure none of these things or other things ever get flushed. Some bring about the chance of clogs in many different areas and others, like medications, will throw off the important balance in the septic tank.

You even want to conserve more water. The more water that goes down the drains, the sooner you are going to have to have the septic system drained and this is something that you would like to do less often if possible.

Exterior maintenance of your septic system

Learn where the septic tank is and mark the area off, letting everyone know where it is in order to prevent heavy things from driving over it or being placed on top of it. You don't have to worry about walking on the area, but you don't want any types of machinery, vehicles, or things like Jacuzzies or above-ground pools put there.

Find out when your septic system was last pumped and find out what the recommended time period is before it should be pumped again. Make sure you have this done. The first time, you may want to see if it needs to be pumped a little earlier, since your water usage may differ greatly from the previous tenants and this would mean you might need it pumped more often. Once you know how long you can go, then you'll just have to remember to make the appointment every couple years or so.

For more information, visit websites such as http://sullivanseptic.net.