Taking Care of Your Septic Tank

If you use a septic tank, it is important that you keep a close eye on just how much water is being used inside your home. On average, it can hold approximately one thousand gallons of water. This may sound like a lot of water but after just a few days of washing clothes, flushing the toilet, showers, and running the dishwasher can cause the tank to fill rapidly. If it becomes too full too fast an abundance of water will flow out into your drainage field, which is where the waste water goes to be held. Eventually it is filtered into the ground through pipes that are perforated. Normally this is a process that works efficiently because the water will usually drain slow enough to filter itself out before you add more water. If the drainage field gets more than it can handle you may that your yard is beginning to appear flooded.

By keeping track of all repairs and maintenance done on the tank this will let you know if and when more work is needed. It also helps to enforce any warranties on any work that you have had done. Companies who install septic tanks encourage homeowners to create a written log of all professional work they have had done.

You also need to ensure that you are having the tank pumped out regularly, even if you are keeping the water at bay. The reason is that the waste materials are still accumulating near the bottom of the tank and must be pumped out periodically to prevent it from filling up too fast. On average it should be emptied and pumped once every three to five years unless there is a problem with the septic tank that requires it to be pumped sooner.

Pay attention to the drainage field and clean the aerator pump is something else you need to routinely do. If you are a new homeowner and do not know when it was last pumped you should make sure that you do those two things. Generally the drainage field will have risers from the ground next to the aerator pump. To clean it you need to shut off the power to the pump before removing it, and then spray it clean with a garden hose.

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