The right maintenance for your septic tank is incredibly important in order for it to continue working properly. Ignoring these simple maintenance tasks can result in your tank overflowing, leaching unclean water into the ground around your home. Not only will this smell bad, but it can be hazardous both to your own health and to the environment. Unclean wastewater can even reach the groundwater, which could cause outbreaks of certain kinds of diseases. Septic systems are relatively simple to care for and require little–if any–interaction on a regular basis. That doesn’t mean you should ignore them, though! Not caring for your septic system will result in a frantic call to your local septic tank pumping companies. Here is your guide about how to care for your septic tank system.
How To Maintain Your Septic Tank Properly
B & B Pumping
How To Care For Your Septic Tank
Arrange for an annual inspection.
One of the most important things you can do for your septic tank is to prevent an issue from happening in the first place. This is really an area of your home where “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” The best preventative measure you can take is by calling your local septic tank pumping companies and asking them for an annual inspection of your system. This inspection is a great way to identify minor issues with your system and correct them before they become major (and expensive!) problems. During an annual inspection, someone from the septic tank pumping companies will:
- Make sure your inspection ports and manholes are uncovered. It’s easy to forget to keep these clean, but it’s important. Avoid planting a lot of trees of shrubbery around these access points, as the plants could be destroyed if the septic tank needs to be accessed in a hurry later in.
- Ensure that all systems are correctly flowing into the tank. This includes toilets, sinks, and washers that are in your home. Making sure these mechanisms are working correctly and sending all of their waste water into your septic tank will save you a lot of hassle in the future.
- Measure the layers inside of the tank. We’ve discussed in previous blogs that one of the things that make your septic system work is that different the wastewater forms into different layers. How much there is of each layer is an important thing to know, as the sludge layer will need to be pumped out when it gets too high in order to avoid any back flow into the leaching area.
- Inspect the tank and the area around it. They’ll make sure that it appears that the drainage is working correctly and there doesn’t appear to be any leaks from inside of the tank that you need to be concerned about fixing.
Get your tank pumped when necessary.
How often you need to have one of the local septic tank pumping companies come out to your property will depend on a couple factors:
- The size of your tank
- How many people live in your home
- Your water usage
The smaller the tank, the more people, and the more water you use, the more often you’ll need to have your tank pumped. For most tanks, pumping them every few years is sufficient. If you have a garbage disposal, though, you will want to have your tank pumped on an annual basis as these devices are notorious for clogging up septic tanks due to the increased amount of organic matter entering the tank. This is another reason annual inspections are so important; they’ll help you judge how full your tank is and when you should have it pumped out next.
Work with a trusted septic tank pumping company.
If you live in a home that has a septic tank, it’s a good idea to have the number of a trusted septic tank pumping company on hand. These companies can provide you with inspection, maintenance, and pumping services that will keep your tank working perfectly. If you do run into any issues with your septic tank, you’ll know exactly who to trust. B&B Pumping is located in Azle and we’d love to be your trusted septic tank company. We also work on septic tanks throughout Fort Worth, Decatur, Azle, Haslet, and Weatherford. Feel free to take a look at our service area and give us a call to schedule an appointment.