Septic System Maintenance

Septic system can be defined as a household sewage treatment system, often found in places that are far away from the sewage treatments build by the government or local corporations. More than twenty percent of the population residing in North America, still relies on septic systems.

The word 'septic' in 'septic system' is the anaerobic bacterial activity that develops in the septic tank and which further leads to decomposition of the waste material present in it. It is necessary to perform a regular maintenance check on the septic system as many such waste materials are released into the tank which do not decompose and start piling up if not removed regularly. If such a thing happens, the system does not work properly causing many health and environmental problems. However, to avoid such things, you must know some of the septic system maintenance procedures.

How to Maintain a Septic System?
To avoid any septic tank problems and to make it work properly, implement the following maintenance procedures:

• Pump the contents of the septic after some years. Preferably, let a professional to do this for you, as some techniques are best known by these people. But supervise and monitor the work as he might require your help. If you fail to pump the septic tank regularly, some solid materials which did not decompose would flow to the absorption area, leading to clogging and finally resulting into the collapse of the whole system. Therefore, pumping is suggested as it proves to be less expensive than replacing the absorption area.
• If you have a lot of laundry wastes released out of your house daily or on a regular basis, have another system installed for it. By doing this, you reduce the waste laid in your main septic system.
• Avoid planting trees near the septic system. Even while installing a septic system, see that it is away from the trees. The reason behind this is that tree roots might disrupt the working of the system by blocking the absorption lines.
• Other household wastes such as those produced out of kitchen cleaning and domestic chemical wastes do not have any adverse effect on the system if released in normal amounts. However, excess of it would definitely damage the system. Therefore, keep a check on the release of such materials.
• Avoid disposing things such as diapers, sanitary napkins, plastic, etc into the system. The purpose behind this is that such things do not decompose and they remain in the system for a long time, thus choking it.
• Avoid the use of additives in the septic system. They might lead to system failure and also add to ground water pollution.
• Last but not the least, clean the septic tank. Cleaning would not only serve the basic purpose but also give a better view of the whole tank and you could also find out the leakages, if any. Seal all such leakages.

Septic System Maintenance - Safety Measures
The most important thing to be remembered about septic system maintenance is to avoid getting down in the tank yourself. Let a professional do this, as there are many harmful gases and chemicals in the tank that your body is not used to.

Septic system maintenance is really not that difficult! You would not require to perform frequent maintenance if you take the precautionary measures. Remember, maintaining a septic system is less expensive than installing a new one, so maintain it properly and the septic system would serve your household for a long time.