Summer Water Usage Mistakes That Overload Septic Tanks

Running Too Much Laundry in a Single Day

The common pitfall many households face during the summer months involves doing laundry one load after another throughout the day. The parties, the beach towels, and changing wardrobes that come with summer will inevitably lead to six, eight, or even more loads within a brief period. Doing too much laundry at once results in a large amount of water that enters the septic system within a very short span. The water may overwhelm the natural treatment process of the septic system since there will be insufficient time for sludge and other particles to settle and for proper distribution of the effluent in the drain field. An easy solution to this problem is to space out the number of loads on different days.

Overusing Outdoor Water That Saturates the Drain Field

Irrigation, backyard sprinklers, and recreational activities involving the application of excessive water over the soil covering the drain field constitute a significant danger during the summer months. With the soil above the drain field being excessively saturated with water, there is no place for the septic tank effluent to drain to. This results in sewage surfacing and potentially leads to other issues. One should pay attention to the location where irrigation pipes and sprinklers direct water in order to prevent any risks.

Getting the System Ready for Visitors

With the arrival of summer and a bunch of visitors in the house, you might see an increase in the consumption of water, often by two or three times. With the septic tank already almost filled up before the arrival of guests, it is inevitable for the system to experience additional stress due to increased showers, additional flushes in toilets, and even additional usage of dishwashers. A great idea that homeowners can think about is scheduling septic tank pumping prior to the arrival of their visitors for a lengthy vacation. The summer season would be perfect for setting up the septic cleaning process, especially if it has not been serviced for three years.

Ignoring the Early Signs of System Strain

It’s easy to dismiss any initial signs of strain in the septic system during summer. Sinks taking longer than usual to drain, strange sounds coming from some of your fixtures, and subtle odors from your yard can all be chalked up to heat or busy days. However, these are the initial warning signs from your system telling you something needs to be done. Getting an on-the-spot septic inspection by our experts gives us time to diagnose what’s happening in your system before it worsens. A timely septic installation of new system parts may prevent future strain on the system.

Call A1 Septic today for your professional septic service or your septic pumping, and allow our septic company to help you ensure that your septic system receives the septic maintenance and septic inspection it needs to run strong all summer long.