Watch Out For These Septic System Problems

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Maintaining Your Septic System To Keep It Working Properly

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The septic system on your property only has one job, and it needs to be correctly maintained to do that job effectively. Septic system inspections can be part of the maintenance required for your septic system, but daily care is also critical to ensuring you will not need septic system pumping prematurely.

Daily Upkeep

For most homes, daily septic system care involves the normal use of the septic system on the property. Take care not to put grease or oils down the drain, don't flush anything other than toilet paper, and keep foreign objects out of the drains. If care is taken, the septic system on your property can run flawlessly for years, and a septic system inspection can be done every once in a while to make sure there are no problems.

The care of the system does not require additives and special treatments. In fact, those can damage the system and cause problems that you would not have otherwise. Just use the system wisely, and you may not need any extra services for a long time.

Septic Pumping Services

Septic systems work by breaking down the solids in the system into liquids that leech off in the drain field, but not all the material in the system can break down. No matter how well the system is maintained, eventually, sludge will settle in the bottom, and septic tank pumping will be necessary. 

A working system should only need pumping every three to five years, but a large system with little use may even go longer. The amount of material that settles in the tank can be related to the system's use, so a system designed for a four-bedroom home that only one or two people are living in could be underused and just not filling up very quickly.

This is common in homes with families after the children move out and mom and dad are the only ones still living in the home. Alternatively, the opposite can be the case if more people move into the house and the system can become overwhelmed and need pumping more often than expected.

Septic System Inspections

If you feel there is a problem with your septic system, you can have it inspected by a septic system contractor. The septic system inspection can not be completed until the tank has been pumped and cleaned, but once the tank is empty, the inspector can get a look inside the tank to make sure there is no damage to worry about.

The septic system inspection should also include checking the sewer line, the tank baffles, the drain field, and any other components of your system. Once the inspection is complete, the contractor will let you know if there are any issues and if you need to have any septic system repairs on your system.

Visit a site like http://www.southernsanitarysystems.com to learn more.


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