Save Money on Septic Expenses by Managing Water Use

When you are on septic, instead of public sewer, anytime you run water in the house, that water runs through the plumbing and into the septic tank. Every ounce of water that comes in from the house will push the same amount of water out to the drain field. As we covered in ARE SEPTIC TANK ADDITIVES NECESSARY? there's two layers of solids in the septic tank (see image). The middle part of the of the septic tank is where the cleanest water is. On the back side of the tank you have an outlet device. The outlet device goes into that middle part of the of the tank and allows the cleanest layer of water to go out to the drain field. The two layers of solids remain in the tank until you have your tank pumped (by Double Flush Septic, of course).

As that water is coming into the tank it's going to start to churn. The water in the tank starts making a circular motion and those solids from the top start mixing into the middle. More water, more churning and the solids from the bottom also get mixed into the middle. When the household is doing multiple loads of laundry, showering and running the dishwasher at the same time, solids in the middle zone get pushed out to the drainfield. This leads to increased septic expenses such as:

lowering the life of your drain field
needing to get a new septic system sooner
also requiring more septic tank pumping and septic repairs like filter cleaning and replacement

#1 Tip to Reduce Septic Expenses: Manage Laundry Habits

It's best to spread the loads out throughout the week than having a "laundry day". If you're doing two loads in a day, it is better to do a load of laundry in the morning and one later at night. The more you can spread the loads of laundry out the more you can protect the drain field by keeping that middle part of the septic tank is as clean as possible.
Convert to a high efficiency washer. It makes an enormous difference by using a lot less water.

#2 Tip to Reduce Septic Expenses: Showering

Do you have household members taking long showers and you're worried they might be hurting the septic system? Although one 30 minute shower is not going to have a big impact, if you have two people taking shower for 30 minutes while running the dishwasher or laundry - definite danger zone.
Try to keep showers to one at a time.
Try not to showers while laundry machine is dumping water into the septic tank.

#3 Tip to Reduce Septic Expenses: Optimize Dish Washing

Most dishwashers are water efficient, but it is still best not to run the dishwasher while showering, doing laundry or putting strain on the septic.

For more tips on maintaining the health of your septic system, pumping, cleaning, inspecting or repairing your septic tank, call or text us at (330)391-5551.