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 Don’t
add yeast, baking soda, store bought septic
chemicals, and bleach. The natural bacteria in
your tank lives at a certain pH level. The
bacteria eats waste and it is separated into
water and solids. If you change the pH level of
the bacteria it will die, and will not separate
the water and solids and your tank will fill up
and also produce a septic smell. Yeast does not
provide the needed bacteria in your tank. It
simply ferments what is in there. Baking soda
changes the pH level in the tank, thereby
killing the bacteria. Store bought septic
chemicals can also change the pH level and do
not provide “live bacteria” to your tank. Bleach
can change the pH level if used in large
quantities, used sparingly, it will not affect
the bacteria. |
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Don’t flush any combination of the following
down the toilet: hair, diapers, baby wipes,
wipes of any kind, cigarette butts, condoms,
sanitary napkins, tampons, paper towel, table
napkins, cat litter, paint, grease, oil or any
type of chemical. All of these are not
digestible by the bacteria. They will all float
on the top of the tank and will clog the tank,
blocking the outlet baffle to your leach field,
possibly entering your leach field and will
produce expensive problems. JCL Septic Service
suggests that products that say they are safe
for septic systems and are biodegradable also
not be flushed down the toilet. Some products
that are biodegradable need sunlight to break
down. There is no sunlight in a septic tank, and
therefore the product will not break down. |
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Don’t do an excessive amount of laundry all in
one day. This will over load the tank with water
and thereby overload the leach field. There is a
higher tendency to back up into the house
because the water can only drain from the leach
field at a certain rate to not saturate the
ground. Space the laundry out over the week
instead. |
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Don’t use laundry detergent high in phosphorous.
Powder detergent tends to clump together and can
cause a blockage in the pipes. Liquid detergent
is better. |
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Don’t flush large amounts of toilet paper down
the toilet. Children tend to do this more often.
Large amounts can cause a blockage in the pipes
as well as in the inlet baffle to the tank,
causing back ups into the house. Children should
also be told not to flush toys down the toilet
as well. |
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Don’t build any decks, additions, sheds, other
buildings or driveways over the septic tank.
This will prevent access to the tank and
ultimately, if the tank needs to be replaced, it
can not. |
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Do
set up a pumping schedule so that any problems
with the system can be found early and fixed
before they become larger and more expensive
problems. If the outlet baffle falls off, waste
will automatically flow into the leach field
thereby clogging the leach field pipes and
preventing water from flowing out. The field
will eventually fail if this is not fixed. |
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Do become knowledgeable about your septic
system. Ask us any questions and we will be glad
to answer them to the best of our knowledge. |
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Do
check for any leaking faucets or shower heads.
This adds constant water into your tank besides
every day water usage. Filling your tank with
too much water, again causes strain on the leach
field drainage. |
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Do
call JCL Septic Service if your toilets, sinks or
showers begin to drain slowly, or start making
gurgling sounds, or if you begin smelling
sewage, it may mean your tank needs to be pumped
and/or there is the beginning of a blockage in
the pipes that needs to be removed. |
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