Preventing Plumbing Problems

Preventing Plumbing Problems

4 Things Your Septic Service Company Does Not Want to See You Flush and Why

by Calvin Simmmons

When you live with a municipal sewer system, everything you flush goes straight to the treatment plant and is never seen again. When you have your residential septic tank pumped, however, everything you ever flushed is still there, buried beneath the muck. There are a few things the team doing the work does not want to encounter. 

1. Floss: Your dentist may recommend flossing after every meal, but he never said to flush the used dental floss. The proper way to dispose of it is in the trash can. Flushing floss (say that five times fast) is detrimental to your septic tank. It can get wound around other objects and create a giant ball of goo. If this happens at your house, the septic guy has to get in the tank and clear it out. 

2. Cleaning Wipes: Surprisingly, disposable wipes marketed as flushable should not be flushed. Like dental floss, they combine with other debris in your system and create what is called a 'fatberg' (like an iceberg, but much more disgusting). These fatbergs can grow over 800 feet long in municipal pipes or fill up the majority of your septic tank. 

3. Cat Litter: Even if it seems like second nature to dispose of cat waste in the toilet, don't. Litter should be disposed of in the trash, especially clumping-style kitty litter. You only have to make the mistake of flushing clumping kitty litter once to know that it can and will clump into a hard ball of pseudo-cement in your pipes. If this clump even makes it to the tank, it will have to be manually removed. The septic service pumping truck cannot remove it thru normal means as it is not designed to pick up something that heavy. 

4. Cigarette Butts: Many people assume wrongly that cigarette butts are biodegradable. Neither the cigarette nor the filter is biodegradable. Not only is it bad for you, but it is also bad for your tank. Cigarette butts will float on top of the sludge and water in your septic tank, clogging the system and leaching chemicals into the groundwater supply. They could also join up with a 'fatberg' and wreak even more havoc. 

A septic tank is not something to neglect, but rather to treat kindly. When you avoid putting harmful things into your septic tank, you can take better care of your whole system. Learn more by contacting residential septic services to learn more.


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About Me

Preventing Plumbing Problems

It isn't always easy to know where to start when it comes to household maintenance, but a few years ago I realized I needed a new septic system. We were having a problem with our drains draining properly, so we turned to some experts for some help. They walked us through every aspect of the plumbing process, and within a few days, we were having a brand new septic tank installed. It was great to see just how much better things ran when the septic was working, and this blog is evidence of how much something like that can help.

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