What can I do to prolong the life of my septic system (mound, conventional, in-ground pressure or at-grade)?
• Do not dispose of fats, greases, or cooking oils down any household drain. The oils and greases will plug the soil pores and ultimately prevent the water from percolating into the soil. • Minimize your water usage to prevent overloading of the system. A leaking plumbing fixture may add hundreds of gallons of water per day to the system. Run the dishwasher and washing machine only for full loads. Doing all the clothes washing in one day may overload the septic system. It is referred to as “surge loading” when you run six loads on Saturday and none the other days. • Do not use a garbage disposal or at least minimize its use or design your septic system to accommodate it. Using the garbage disposal to dispose of bones, coffee grounds, coarse fruit or vegetable peelings or other products that are slow to biodegrade will cause the septic tank to fill much more quickly and require more maintenance to the system. • Do not dispose of automotive fluids, painting products or pesticides down th
