Septic Tank Maintenance Made Easy

The typical septic tank is usually provided with just three years worth of space for your wastes. By that time, your tank is slowly on its way to hitting the safety boundary. To prevent the solid contents of your sewage from leaking into the drainage system and clogging up the soil, you need to conduct regular septic tank maintenance, which include doing regular check-ups on the system and pumping solids out when needed.

Inspect the tank by looking for depressions or low portions in the soil near where your tank is located, which may be indicative of a collapse in the system. You can also check for effluent break outs which may indicate leaks or an overflowing tank.

You can also hire pumping contractors to pump out your sewage for you and perform routine septic tank maintenance, but you have to monitor the whole process.

To effectively break down the scum layer for better pumping a contractor would likely re-inject some of the pumped scum back into the tank once in a while, and this would all be done through the man-hole located center on top of the tank. In no way should pumping be done through the baffle inspection port, which when damage can cause the system to fail. Damaged baffles should be replaced or repaired instantly.

Cleansing is the last important step. You can easily do this by hosing down the four walls and the bottom of the tank, which will also make it easier for you to do a close inspection. If you see any leaks seal them up immediately.

All these steps, coupled with proper septic tank maintenance, will help you keep your tank functioning for a longer period of time.