septic additives

Septic tank preventive maintenance is the subject of this article. In a brood of five females, you have always been the responsible one. You were the eldest son in a huge way, you assumed the role of a guy so that you would be able to take care of your sisters and protect them when your parents were not around. It was a hard thing to do. As you grew up, you became very intimidating to every man you met. This resulted to a non-existent love life. But being tough had its advantages. One of them was being able to get things fixed around the house and being able to know more things about electronics and the septic system.

Your sisters usually ran to you or called you if they had problems with their plumbing or septic system. You wore not a septic expert but when the problem was too big for you to handle, you told them to call the real guys in. One of the things that you always educated your sisters about was proper septic tank preventive maintenance. If they knew a great deal about it, then they would be able to save a lot of money.

Many homeowners are surprised at the amount of money that they have to prepare when their entire septic system fails. A new septic system could cost up to 30,000 USD. With this, your sisters were grateful that you always made time for them whenever they needed your help. Septic tank preventive maintenance is always beneficial.

The following are the basic things that you have told your sisters: 

a)       You should just allow the ordinary wastewater and biodegradable tissue paper to enter your septic tank. Avoid dumping kitchen grease, cigarette butts, tobacco buts, sanitary napkins, tampons, car grease, and diapers into the tank. These are known as non-biodegradable materials. As you know, these cannot be broken down by the resident bacteria in the tank. These substances just stay in the tank until the time they completely clog block the incoming wastewater or get dispersed into the drain field. This is a common cause of septic tank failure.

b)       Leaks or damages in the plumbing and fixtures should be repaired or replaced immediately. The leaks contribute to the backing up of wastewater.

c)       Never allow vehicles to drive over or park on your septic tank area. Relocate your construction projects away from your septic tank area. These cause the soil to be compacted over the septic tank. Soil compaction causes damage to the tank and also to the drain field.

d)       Know the exact location of the septic tank so that you may prevent damaging it through the planting of trees, parking of vehicles, and performing construction. You could do this by asking the help of the department that issued the permit for your septic system to be installed. Find out for yourself by tracing the dry or soggy grass areas on your yard. These indicate the location of the drain field and the septic tank. It will be much faster if you ask the help of your septic expert. He could charge you extra for that.

e)       A septic expert should regularly inspect the tank before any treatment is done to it. Inspection is needed to see if there are any damages in the tank, if there are any trees or hardwood plants on or around the tank, and id the level of sludge in the tank is normal.

f)        Only color safe oxygen bleach should be used

g)       A schedule for your septic tank’s preventive maintenance should be maintained

h)       The septic expert should perform the following septic treatments:

1. Activator, restores the normal population of the resident bacteria
2. Porosity restorer, restores tanks, drain fields, and dry wells
3. Regular pump outs
4. Septic maintainer, improves septic tank function, quickly digests paper/detergents, protects drains, and stop septic odors

Even if it took forever for you to meet the love of your life, it was all worth it. You were proud to be there for your sisters even if it was about household technicalities. Septic tank preventive maintenance will save homeowners thousands overtime.

What is a septic system and how do they work is a common question asked by many new homeowners. It’s not a yes or no question. It is something that you have to know a great deal about to elaborate the presented term. If you don’t have access to the city or town’s sewage system, you have a septic system installed in your property to take care of your wastewater production. It is has been known to be a very effective means to collect, treat, and dispose of the produced sewage in suburban and rural households.

Wastewater is called as such because of the filth, contaminants, and pathogens that will definitely cause a health and environmental havoc in the surrounding system. With the help of the septic system, the wastewater is treated and purified before it is safely returned to the environment. Two main components make the system efficient—the septic tank and the drain field.

The septic tanks size is determined and built according to the number of people that it has to accommodate. When the wastewater is collected in the tank, the pre-treatment already starts. Here, three layers are formed—scum layer (top—lightweight solid particles), effluent (clear liquid layer), and sludge (bottom—heavyweight solid particles). At the bottom part, the anaerobic bacteria take action and digest the solid wastes.

The drain field then received the clear, pre-treated effluent from the tank. There are up to 5 trenches installed in this area. These trenches have lateral lines that are perforated to enable the dispersion of the effluent. A d-box or a distribution box is also situated here to allow equal distribution of the treated effluent. The drain field or leach field is also known as the soil absorption field or nitrification field. It also has the aerobic bacteria and the biomat that purify the pre-treated effluent before it reaches the nearby lakes, estuaries, ponds, or rivers.

What is a septic system? The function of the septic system actually depends on the soil that you have around your home. If the soil you have has a good percolation rate and could effectively purify the effluent, then the septic system could serve your household well. But if the soil in your property is not capable of performing the effluent purification and distribution, then a health and sanitation problem is bound to happen. When the soil isn’t right for the septic system, the drains and toilets will back up and the groundwater will be contaminated. The type of soil should be bright red, yellow, or brown with gray spots. This is known to be very wet soil. The texture should be just right—not too clayey or sandy to the feel. To know if your soil is really fit for the septic system, you should ask the help of your environment health professional or sanitation professional so that a proper inspection may be conducted.

To have a septic system installed in your property, there should be a permit issued by the local health department. It must be understood that proper maintenance and care should be given to the septic system:

• Lessen your daily water load
• Do not dump non-biodegradable materials or grease into the system (only wastewater should be present in the system
• Install a dry well to take care of the grey water (helps lessen the septic water load)
• Know the exact location of your septic system
• Keep construction activities and vehicles away from the system area
• Adhere to the regular pump out schedule
• Avoid planting gardens or trees over or around the septic system area

The homeowner’s main responsibility is to maintain the regular pump out sessions with the help of the septic expert. You have to discuss the living situation in your home so that a stable pump out schedule can be established. Biological or bacterial treatments could also be used to enhance or improve the performance of the resident septic bacteria. Aeration could also be performed. This process increases the number of aerobic bacteria that helps break down even the smallest solid waste particles. We hope we helped you in determining what is a septic system?