Your plumbing system is made up of two sub-systems: your clean water line and your sewage line. Your clean water line is the one responsible for supplying your home with potable drinking water that comes out of your faucets and showers. Your sewage line, on the other hand, is the one responsible for the disposal of wastewater that you produce whenever you use your plumbing. From your drain pipes, sewage will go straight to the public sewer system where your home is connected to or your own septic tank if you have one.

The septic tank is a large container, made from fiberglass, concrete or plastic material, that’s buried underground. Its main purpose is to hold sewage for it to be decomposed before it is drained into the leaching field. Now what one must understand is that the septic tank also requires proper care and maintenance. It is not something that is installed, used and neglected because once it cracks or overflows, you’ll surely get into a lot of trouble.

With this being said, let me share some helpful tips that will prolong the life of your septic tank and ensure that it is at its optimum condition.

1. Conserve water. Your septic tank’s capacity depends on its size but the bottom line is that it can only hold so much wastewater at a time. Conserving water will lessen the amount of sewage that goes into the tank therefore allowing liquid waste to decompose more efficiently.

2. Choose the correct load size when you’re using your washing machine. If you only need to clean a shirt or two, just wash them manually. You can also schedule your laundry day once a week to save water.

3. Don’t flush anything down the toilet that should not be flushed down there in the first place. Disposing sanitary napkin, cigarette butts, diapers and other foreign objects through the bowl will result to drainage pipe clogging.

4. When getting rid of drain clogs, avoid using chemical cleaners. They might clear the blockages right away but they’ll harm your pipes and your septic tank in the long run, too.

5. Avoid the construction of a pool, another building or structure near or on the spot where your tank is buried. Also refrain from parking vehicles on or near the area as well.

6. If you have a garbage disposal system, use it sparingly. Refrain from grinding stringy food items, coffee grounds, rice, pasta or greasy food items in it.

7. Never dispose chemicals such as automotive coolant, paint, varnish, thinners and even gasoline through your drains. They are harmful to groundwater.

8. Plant trees away from the septic tank area.

9. Make sure that water is led away from the area where your septic tank is installed. Remember that a soggy drain field will negatively affect the decomposition of sewage water inside the tank.

10. Have the tank pumped regularly. To prevent overflowing and to keep the tank in prime condition, regular pumping is recommended.

Follow these tips to prolong the life of your septic tank and care for your drainage system, too.