How often should you get your septic tank checked?
Question:We bought our house two and a half years ago. They had checked and emptied it before we moved in. I have heard anywhere from every 2 years to 5 years. Does it matter how many people live in a house and use the fixtures on how long till it needs to be checked?
Answers:
It depends on a number of things.
1) do you live in the north or the south septic systems work better in warmer climates due to the bacteria needs at least 75 degrees to keep active.
2) how many people use the system. the more people the closer your pumping should be.
3) do not use bleach or any anti-bacterial soap as this will kill off the needed bacteria.
4) Always keep your plumbing in good working condition and don't put any chemicals in the tank unless you talk to your local health dept. official first. there are a lot of gimmicks on the market to treat septic systems but as a rule get it pumped out every two years or if you notice water on the surface,greener grass or soft wet pumping soil.
No i don't think so
Ewww.
we built our home 2 years ago and are required to get it inspected this year, we live in Wisconsin.
You should have your septic tank pumped out every 2 to 5 years yes.
Yes it does matter how many people live in a house...because more people tend to generate more wastewater. The system that is serving your house was specifically designe for a certain amount of wastewater that will be generated. now if you have more people in the house than say what it is designed for, you are in a sense, overloading your system. Your septic tank will not function as properly because you will be putting too much flow into it and you would run the risk of having "solids" leave the tank and clog up your system down stream from that.
You should make sure your fixures in your house are not leaking because a leaking toilet over time can seriously "overload" your system and cause all kinds of problems. You should at a minimum have your system inspected twice a year by a professional to make sure the system is in working order. You also can inspect your system...look for soft spongy ground, that might have a slight odor, or during the summer months, very thick dark green patches of grass in an otherwise brown landscape...
it's good to have it pumped and checked every year; you don't want to have to call them after the leach lines are clogged and the sewage starts to back up.
Septic tank should be checked every two years to prevent any problems. You can widen that time frame up if you treat your tank with chemicals to help dissolve waste.
If you "treat" the system properly, you can go for years without problems. Checking it will require pumping it out. By not putting things that do not dissolve this can be avoided. Oil, grease and caustic chemicals can kill the bacteria that "eat" the solids in a septic. I had one in Florida for 11 years with no problems or service done to it. Everyone knew what not to put down the drains. 5 years is normal for having one pumped out.
For a family of 5 you should have your tank pumped every 3 to 5 years. Just 2 people in family, maybe 10 - 12 years.
Its far cheaper to pump the tank ($125-$300) than to replace the field lines ($3,000-$10,000). If the tank fills with sediment and it overflows in to the field-then it plugs up and can not be cleaned.
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