Strategies to Keep a Septic System Functioning Properly in Brandon FL

by | Jan 12, 2015 | Construction and Maintenance

Having a septic system in Brandon FL on your property is like having your own private waste water treatment plant. Caring for this system includes not putting items down the sewer pipe that clog the screens or accumulate in the tank and cause a need for early pumping. You also mustn’t flush or drain substances that are harmful to the friendly bacteria in the tank. Essentially, this means only draining and flushing human waste and biodegradable toilet paper, a limited amount of food in the garbage disposal, and a reasonable amount of soap for bathing, doing laundry and washing dishes. The discharge from water softener recharging should not go into the septic system because salt is harmful to the bacteria. Avoid the overuse of bleach in the washing machine and in toilet-cleaning products.

Other materials are too stressful for the septic system. Flushing tampons or dental floss down the toilet and pouring cooking oil down the kitchen sink drain are likely to cause problems with the tank, pipes or drain field. Technicians from a company such as Quality Septic Inc. will promptly respond to an emergency call if your system backs up, but it’s certainly best to avoid this unpleasant occurrence. You want to only have the tank pumped and inspected on a limited basis to maintain its proper function, and not because sewage has backed up into the house.

Prevention is the best strategy for keeping a septic system in Brandon FL working properly and never having to deal with backups, or much worse, a failed system component. If you ever need to have the drain field reworked, for example, that is a very expensive project. Keep wastebaskets in the bathrooms so people are reminded not to toss various items into the toilets, and wipe grease out of cooking pans with paper towels before washing those pans. If you have house guests you suspect might flush tampons, hair from the shower trap or cigarette butts, perhaps putting up a friendly note in the bathroom asking them to use the wastebasket would help. Although you don’t want to seem obsessive about the subject, you do want to avoid any costly problems.

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