3 Important Maintenance Steps For The Owners Of Septic Tank Systems

Do you own a home that has a septic tank instead of a city sewer hookup? Have you nearly forgotten that the septic tank is there? Although owning a septic tank isn't terribly difficult, there's a good chance that, if you've nearly forgotten that it exists, you haven't been doing the proper maintenance that it needs. Without proper maintenance, your septic tank may become damaged or stop functioning properly, forcing you to replace it sooner than you would otherwise have to. Here are some things that you should do as soon as possible if you haven't already been doing them.

Septic tank cleaning: You should never wait for your septic tank to start smelling foul or for your drains to become backed up before you call a septic tank cleaning company. A full septic tank can start allowing bio-solids into the leach field, creating clogs and potentially ruining the leach field itself. It's going to be less expensive in the long run to have your tank pumped out a few months early than to wait and pump it out a few months late. Waiting and allowing bio-solids to enter the leach field has the potential to result in an expensive relocation of the entire septic tank setup.

Tank additives: You can find septic tank additives being sold by several brands. Your septic tank cleaning company may even have a brand that they sell or recommend for your climate. Although different brands may have slightly different levels of effectiveness, the end result is more or less the same. The additive will contain a mixture of various beneficial bacteria and enzymes that will help to break up the sewage waste that enters your septic tank. A more efficient breakdown of this waste will allow you to go for a longer period of time before needing to have the tank pumped out.

Line inspection: While it's not something that needs to be done on a yearly basis, sewer line inspection isn't just something that needs to be performed on a city sewer line. An inspection once a decade or so will confirm whether or not the line connecting your house to the septic tank is in good condition or if it's started to decay. A damaged or collapsing sewer line can cause many of the same symptoms as a system that's in need of a septic tank cleaning. If you've had your tank cleaned out relatively recently and you're having issues, there's a good chance that the trouble lies with the line and not the tank.

For more information, contact companies like AAA Pumping Service.

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