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A new year is a great opportunity for a fresh slate and a lot of people take that opportunity to make New Year’s Resolutions. Among the most popular resolutions are weight loss, healthy diet, regular exercise, paying off debt and making more money. While it’s not exactly at the top of many homeowner’s lists as a New Year is septic system maintenance. While septic systems only have to be pumped out every 3-5 years, maintaining your septic system properly requires a change in the way you approach things like water use, waste and household products. Here are a few things you should consider making changes with in the new year as septic system resolutions:
- Get a better understanding for the structure, location and function of your septic system.
Many homeowners are not aware of the different components of their septic system, where each section is located and how that septic system works. Make sure that you have a good understanding of where your tank and drainfield are located, as well as your cleanout, control panel and other components of your septic system. This blog could prove helpful in your research: What are the components of a septic system?
- Educate yourself on your septic system.
There are a lot of myths surrounding septic systems, as they are often scape goats for local water quality and pollution issues. But the reality is that when properly maintained, they can be much more environmentally friendly that central wastewater facilities. In addition to these myths, the myth of adding additives to your septic system and supplementing with bacteria is another one to stay away from. Your septic system uses a natural biological process and adding chemicals or bacteria will do nothing but disrupt that careful balance. To read more septic system myths, check out this blog.
- Be smarter about your water use.
Your septic system can easily get overloaded when you’re using multiple water resources at once, so it’s important to be sure that you use water efficiently, purchase low flow toilets and fixtures and be sure to run your laundry on a regular schedule. Excessive water use can overload your system and result in complications for you. Making everyday efforts to be more efficient with water use will not only help you maintain your system in the long term, but also help the environment. Learn more about water efficiency here.
- Resolve to flush smarter as well.
Despite labels indicating otherwise, when it comes to septic systems, there are a number of things that shouldn’t be flushed. The short list includes feminine products, diapers, “flushable” wipes and certain types of toilet paper. For a more comprehensive list of what not to flush, check out this blog. Don’t forget about your kitchen and sink drains as well! Chemicals and food solids should be left out of your drains.
This New Year make an effort as a family to change, and set out to start it off right by educating yourself on your septic system, gaining a better understanding for the function of your system, efficiently use your water and maintain your system. Small actions taken on an everyday basis can completely change the how well your system operates and can even decrease the operating costs and increase the life of you’re your septic system.
For more information on your septic system and to access education articles, check out the rest of our blog.
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