Have you just moved into a place that has a septic tank? Is this the first time that you'll have a septic tank instead of being hooked up to a city sewer line? If you've never had a septic tank before, you'll need to remember that it's slightly different than a city sewer line. You'll need to keep a watchful eye out for potential issues and put a stop to them before anything serious occurs. Here are some important care tips so that your septic system stays healthy and functional:

Have it cleaned out: Before you even move into your new house, it's a good idea to have a septic tank cleaning service come out to empty your tank. Unless the previous homeowners can show you a receipt that says that the tank was pumped out in the last couple months, you have no idea when it was last cleaned. Having it cleaned out now will give you a start date so that you can keep track of how long it takes your household between cleanings. Every household is going to be different, even with identically sized tanks, so keeping track of cleaning dates can be important.

Avoid harsh chemicals: Various household chemicals can kill off the beneficial bacteria in your septic tank that process waste. Without sufficient beneficial bacteria, you'll need to have a septic tank cleaning performed more often than you otherwise would. Ideally, you should not be using bleach or any other harsh chemicals to clean out your toilets and sinks, as these can definitely have an adverse effect on the contents of your septic tank. If you temporarily forget or can't find any other chemicals that will work for a particular job, your local septic tank company should be able to recommend or to sell you a product that will restore the bacterial balance of your septic tank.

Avoid doing too much laundry: Most washing machines will add a lot of wastewater into your septic tank. Compared to the water that's already within the tank, this greywater will be relatively sterile. Too much of this water at once will wind up flushing much of the good bacteria out of your septic tank and into your drain field. If you do this every week, your tank will have a hard time recovering and you'll be shortening the time between each septic tank cleaning. If you can't afford a high-efficiency washing machine that only uses a few gallons of water per load, the cheapest solution is to be staggering your loads of laundry. Instead of doing three loads of laundry on Saturday, you might instead do one load each on Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday. This will give your septic tank more time to process the waste water and to recover between loads of laundry.

Talk with a professional septic tank cleaning company or click this link for more information. 

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