You may have heard that garbage disposals can interfere with the functionality of septic tanks. Knowing the truth about the ways in which septic tanks and garbage disposals interact with each other can help you keep your septic tank in good working order.

If you have a garbage disposal, will it interfere with your septic tank?

Under certain circumstances, a garbage disposal can create problems for your septic tank. Your septic tank works by collecting waste water from your home and holding it in a tank. As the water sits in the tank, solids settle to the bottom. A colony of bacteria inside the tank breaks down the solid waste, making more room for waste water.

Septic tanks accumulate solid waste too quickly for the bacteria to break down all of the solid waste on its own, and households with garbage disposals accumulate solid waste
more quickly than they would without the garbage disposal. If the septic tank accumulates solid waste too quickly without a residential septic tank cleaning, this can cause the
septic tank to become clogged.

Can you have a garbage disposal if you have a septic tank?

Yes, you can. There are even garbage disposals that are specifically designed to work with septic tanks. These garbage disposals break down food into pieces that are tiny
enough to decompose quickly, and may also treat the solid waste with bacteria to ensure that the pieces break down more quickly in the tank.

Even if you don’t have a garbage disposal that is specially designed to work with a septic tank, you can still safely use a garbage disposal in your home. The key to using a garbage
disposal and a septic tank together is pumping out the septic tank frequently enough that the solid waste won’t clog the drain field.

How often should you pump your garbage disposal if you have a septic tank?

This depends on the size of your tank and the amount of waste water your home produces each month. Most homeowners can get away with having their tank pumped every 2 to 3 years. However, if your home has a garbage disposal, which produces extra waste water and extra
solid waste each month, your home will likely need your septic tank to be pumped more frequently. The best way to find out how often your septic tank needs to be pumped is to contact a reputable company that pumps out septic tanks. Following the recommendation of your septic tank pumping
company, you should be able to have a septic tank and a garbage disposal at the same time.

If you have recently had your septic tank pumped out because it was backed up, you may be wondering if there is anything you can do to prevent it in the future. Use the following tips to help keep your system working properly and flowing freely.

Do Not Pour Harsh Cleaners Down Your Drains

The bacteria living in your septic tank provide a valuable function, since they break down the waste materials to keep them from building up. However, if you pour harsh chemical cleaners down your household drains, these can kill the bacteria, causing a decrease in the numbers needed to keep the system in balance.

If possible, use natural or homemade cleaners for your home, such as vinegar and baking soda to scrub your drains or lemon juice to remove water spots.

Only Use Toilet Paper Approved For Septic Tanks

When selecting the toilet paper your family uses, look for a label that states it is safe for septic tanks. This type of paper is thin and decomposes more quickly than others, keeping it from lingering too long in your septic tank where it accumulates other waste materials and clogs the system.

However, if you do not have a choice or do not wish to use anything other than your favorite brand, do not flush the paper after using it. Instead, use a scented small trash bag in the bathroom to dispose of it. To keep your bathroom sanitary, remove the bag and replace it with a fresh one each day.

Avoid Using Massive Amounts Of Water At One Time

Try to avoid using massive amounts of water at one time. This can flood the system, throwing off the needed ratio of liquids, waste materials and bacteria. Pouring too much water into the system at once can also stir up the decomposing materials at the bottom of the tank, causing them to clog the sewage pipes.

For example, when washing clothes, do not wash loads back to back. Instead, stagger the times so you are doing one or two loads a day. Also, avoid taking a shower or washing dishes while the clothes are in the washer, as this can cause more water to dump into the septic system.

Along with having your septic tank pumped every few years, using the tips above should help you keep your system from backing up. However, if you notice your sewage lines have become sluggish, you may want to contact a septic service like Ace Sanitation Service to have your tank examined and pumped.

If you’ve never dealt with a septic tank before, you might not have known that it would need to be emptied periodically. Luckily, septic tanks have a way of communicating with you. If you pay close attention, this communication process will let you know when it needs to be emptied. Here are four ways that your septic tank will communicate with you.

Foul Odors From the Drains

When your septic system is working properly, everything you flush through the drains in your home will flow directly to the tank. However, if you don’t empty your tank on time, your drain pipes can fill with debris. When that happens, you’ll start smelling foul, sewage odors coming up through the drain pipes. That will be your first sign that your septic may need servicing.

Strange Sounds From the Toilet

Following the foul odors, your pipes will start gurgling with the excess sewage and wastewater. At this point you may start hearing strange noises coming up through the pipes when you flush the toilet. Those sounds are the sewage trying to fight its way through to the septic tank. These gurgling sounds will come from deep inside the pipes. If you don’t have your septic tank emptied at this point, you’ll start experiencing worse communication from your septic system.

Brown Puddles in the Yard

Once your septic tank has reached full capacity, it will start trying to find additional space for the waste that’s being flushed out of your home. At this point, the seepage pit may be filled to capacity with liquid waste. When that happens, the liquids will have nowhere to go but up. You may notice brown puddles developing over the septic tank and seepage pit. This is a sure sign that your septic tank is so full that it’s about to experience system failure.

Raw Sewage in the Tub

Raw sewage is the final communication your septic tank will send you. When your septic tank has overfilled, raw sewage will be forced to backup into your home. Unfortunately, that means you’ll find that raw sewage floating in your bathtub. You may also find it seeping out from around the base of your toilets. At this point, you’ll need to have your septic tank emptied, your drains cleaned and your bathroom sanitized.

If you have a septic tank, you need to provide it with the proper care. If you’re experiencing any of the communications described above, you should have your septic tank emptied as soon as possible. For proper preventative maintenance, be sure to have your septic tank pumped out at least once every three to five years by a company like Ace Sanitation.

Septic systems can be commonly used by homes that are located in rural settings. However, if you have only recently purchased a home that has this type of system, it can be easy to be fairly uninformed about it, which can lead you to give credit to some potentially misleading notions. After you have these three septic system myths refuted you will be in a better position to avoid issues with these systems.

Myth: You Need To Regularly Use Additives For Your Septic System

In order to work, your septic tank needs to have a healthy population of bacteria. The bacteria will break down any solid organic materials that enter the tank. Unfortunately, some homeowners will assume that this means they should use additives to increase the bacteria population. While this may make logical sense, it is important to note that the septic tank is a carefully balanced ecosystem, and if the bacteria population gets too high, it can lead to it crashing due to there not being enough resources. As a result, you are typically advised to avoid the use of additives as the bacteria in the tank will naturally remain balanced.

Myth: The Rain Can Not Impact Your Septic System’s Performance

It can be easy for homeowners to overlook the impact that rain can have on their home’s septic system. This stems from the fact that the rain can saturate the soil around the drain field. When this occurs, it can be possible for the area of your yard around the drain field to flood, and you may notice that the drains in your home slow or start to backup. If you notice this problem, you may need to have the drain field enlarged as this will help to spread the water over a larger area, which can help to lessen the impact of rain on your system’s performance.

Myth: Having Your Septic System Pumped Will Always Require Having Your Yard Excavated

One of the most important maintenance tasks that you can do for your septic system is to make sure to have it professionally pumped every few years. This is necessary to remove any solid materials that have not decomposed, and failing to do this can result in the system becoming clogged. Unfortunately, some people may avoid this type of work for fear that it will result in large areas of the yard being excavated. Luckily, most modern septic systems are equipped with a hatch that is located close to the surface, which can help to minimize any digging that is needed to reach the septic tank to pump it.

When you flush your toilet, you probably won’t give much thought as to what happens to your waste. Few people really know what goes on inside of their septic systems. Even fewer people understand the crucial role bacteria play in keeping the septic tank in working order. The following sheds a little light on how bacteria help process septic tank waste.

How Bacteria Benefits Your Septic Tank

When people think of “bacteria,” they tend to think of E. coli and other “bad” bacteria that often prove harmful to human beings. But there are also “good” bacteria that are essential for a properly operating septic tank. Septic tanks rely on aerobic and anaerobic bacteria to process waste. The former relies on oxygen and is mostly found in the drain field, while the latter breaks down waste without the need for oxygen.

When organic solid waste enters your septic tank, beneficial bacteria and enzymes go to work breaking down and consuming the solid waste. These microorganisms eventually transform most of the solid waste into a combination of gases and liquids, while leaving indigestible solids to join the bottom of the septic tank as sludge.

The resulting gases and effluent eventually pass into a gravel-lined drain field, which usually contains a biomat filled with more beneficial bacteria. As liquid effluent passes through the biomat, the bacteria within break it down even further before it eventually passes into the water table.

Things That Can Harm Septic Tank Bacteria

Whenever you’re using your toilet, washing clothes or even taking a shower, it pays to know what goes down your drain. The common household products you take for granted can actually have a detrimental effect on the ecosystem within your septic tank system.

For example, caustic drain cleaners can eat away at stubborn clogs, but they can also eat away at the beneficial bacteria in your septic tank. Antibacterial cleaning products, designed to eliminate harmful bacteria on sinks, countertops and toilets, can also do a number on beneficial bacteria. Using these products excessively can lead to septic tank problems.

• Other items that could prove harmful to beneficial bacteria include:
• Non-biodegradable detergents
• Insecticides
• Prescription drugs, antibiotics and strong OTC medications
• Liquid bleach

Using Biological Additives

Many people believe that adding extra bacteria, enzymes or activators through the use of septic tank additives can help their septic systems. However, these additives usually do more harm than good. Adding extra bacteria to your septic tank can easily upset the preexisting balance within the system, making it harder for existing bacteria to efficiently decompose waste. It can also lead to other problems, including clogged drain fields and contaminated ground water.