Got A Septic Tank? 2 Tips To Take Care Of It This Spring
If you have a septic tank, not taking proper care of it can result in a big mess inside your home, such as overflowing toilets that leave a lot of contaminated water on your bathroom floor. Now that spring has arrived, you will be doing much more outside. There are some things that you could do that could harm your septic tank. Below are two of these things so you will not do them and keep your septic tank working properly.
Planting Trees
If you are planning to plant trees this spring you need to be careful that you do not plant them close to your drain field. This is because the roots of the trees are drawn towards the septic pipes because of the moisture. As the roots grow stronger they can crack the pipes and even cause them to burst.
There are trees that are especially harmful because they have deep, invasive roots. Some of these trees include:
- Birch
- Cypress
- Beech
- Maple
- Elm
- Poplar
- Willow
- Sycamore
If you still want to plant trees in your yard, small ornamental trees would work well. No matter what you plant make sure the tree is far enough away from the drain field. In most cases, a tree's roots will extend out as far as the width of the crown of the tree. For example, if the crown gets 30 feet then you should plant the tree 30 feet from the drain field.
Driving Over the Drain Field
Make it a point not to drive on your drain field. This is especially true when the soil is wet. Each time you drive over the drain field it weakens the area and causes the soil to compact over the septic system. If you have to drive over it once or twice this is not a problem, and using your lawnmower over the drain field poses no risk.
If you have any kind of landscaping or construction done this spring or think your neighbor or someone else may accidentally drive over the drain field, put a fence around it to prevent this from happening. If you do not do this, you are looking at a repair bill of a few thousand dollars.
Talk with a plumbing supply company about these two things, as well as other things you can do to keep your septic tank working well for you. You should also set up a schedule with them to maintain your tank, as it will need to be pumped and cleaned periodically.
