Preventing Plumbing Problems

Is Your Family's Bathroom And Grooming Habits Slowly Damaging Your Septic System?

4 August 2018 by Calvin Simmmons

Septic systems are a great way to process wastewater, but they are not completely immune to user-created problems. As with how the things you do in the kitchen will affect a septic system's delicate balance, so too can your family's bathroom and grooming habits.

Listed below are common ways homeowners slowly damage their septic systems. Avoid these habits, and in turn you'll avoid unnecessary pump-outs or expensive repair bills.

Taking Excessively Long Showers

If your family members love taking excessively long showers, then it's important to note that this floods the septic tank. As the tank gets flooded with water it can't process as fast as it is coming in, untreated water leaks out the inlets and down through the leach lines. Simply taking shorter showers completely solves this problem.

Flushing Feminine Hygiene Products or "Flushable" Wipes

Even if your favored tampon brand or flushable wipes claim to be septic-safe or biodegradable on their labels, you should never flush them down the toilet. These items often take a long time to break down, and some don't really break down well at all.

Flushing Shed Hair from Your Hairbrush

If you pull the shed hair from your hairbrush or out of your shower's drain and flush it down the toilet, then you need to stop this practice. The flushed hair will wrap itself around the other solids in the tank and can clog the outlets leading to the system's leach lines. Instead of disposing of your hair this way, place it in the trashcan.

Washing Grease and Chemicals Down Drains

Residential septic systems are designed to process only black and gray water and contain bio-digesting bacteria that are easily killed off when excessive amounts of grease or chemicals are introduced into the system. If you kill the bacteria in the tank, then the solids build up and eventuality overfill from the tank. When this happens, your sinks and drains back up with sewage and the tank will have to be professionally pumped out. You can contact a company, like Jarrach Cesspools, for more information.

You can avoid damaging the bio-digesting bacteria by limiting or keeping all of these things out of the septic system:

• cosmetics

• chemicals from hair dye

• greasy hair conditioners

Finally, if you use coconut oil for a lotion alternative or to condition your teeth with oil pulling, then it is vital you never spit it out in the sink or toilet. Coconut oil is a solid at room temperature and will clog your plumbing's pipe and build-up in your septic system. 

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