Know the location: As a home owner it’s important to know the location of your septic system. By doing this you can save yourself money by providing exact locations quickly for plumbers on site.

Check the tanks a minimum of every 3 years: This is done by lifting the inspection cap on the tanks. By doing this you can gauge how full they are and in the event of a drain blockage if you know your tanks are full then pumping them out is usually an easy fix instead of relying on a plumber to do the exact same thing and tell you “your tanks are full they need to be pumped out”.

Keep heavy vehicles off leach drains and tanks: You can do this by knowing where they are. The old brick leach drains and non-trafficable tank lids in particular aren’t built for any sort of heavy load so driving on these can cause collapses which will limit the effectiveness of the system and need to be repaired or replaced.

Monitor the area around your system: Water logged and soggy soil around leach and septic systems indicates the system could be full or blocked. Sunken areas of soil can also indicate a collapsed lid or leach drain section.

Take note of smells of sewer: This can be associated with overflowing and a full or blocked system.

Get your tanks pumped out: Do this every 3 to 4 years it will help you in maintaining an efficient system.

Switch your diverter over: This is a valve in the ground that diverts water into one of the two leech drains. By regularly switching between the two drains, by turning the valve, will ensure your ground doesn’t become water logged and a soggy mess.

Limit the amount of grease, oil and fat through your system: There are 3 layers in a septic system, bottom layer known as a sludge layer. This is made up of sewage waste that hasn’t broken down. The middle layer a combination of liquids and broken down solids and the top layer know as the scum layer. This is where grease and fats and everything lighter than water end up. If this layer becomes too thick it can clog the outlet pipe, not allowing water to leach into the drainage system and can even end up pushing through the outlet of the tank entering the leach drains and clogging the system.

Leave a Comment