Tips To Avoid Septic Backups Over The Holidays
Hosting friends and family over the holidays, while extremely rewarding, places a significant strain on your plumbing and septic system. An influx of guests in your house can result in more water usage than your system is accustomed to, leading to a higher likelihood of clogged drains and septic backups over time.
The last thing you want is for your septic system to back up while you are hosting for the holidays. To protect your residential septic tank from clogs and backups, our expert septic tank plumbers at Jones Plumbing & Septic Services have compiled a short list of tips and tricks to share with your guests this upcoming holiday season.
Watch What Goes Down Your Drains
Before setting them loose in your kitchen, it is a good idea to let your guests know what is safe to put down your drains and what is not. Even in homes without septic systems, it is never a good idea to put grease, oil, fats, or large food scraps down the drain, even if there is a garbage disposal system installed in your sink. Instead, grease, oil, and fats should be set aside to cool before being disposed of in the trash, alongside any leftover pieces of food.
It is also important to tell your guests that they should not flush anything other than toilet paper to avoid overwhelming your septic system. Wipes, feminine hygiene products, and paper towels don't break down in water and can damage your septic system when flushed.
Limit Water Usage
To protect your drain field from becoming oversaturated, encourage guests to minimize and spread out their water usage during their stay. A sudden spike in showers, laundry, and dishwashing will flood your septic system with more water than it was designed to accommodate, resulting in an overfilled septic tank and increasing your risk of a complete septic backup.Protect Your Drain Field
While parking a car over your drain field typically will not impact the function of your septic system, excess water usage during the holiday season may make it worthwhile to avoid parking or placing heavy objects over your drain field. Cars or other heavy objects will compress the soil over your drain field over time, making your drain field less effective at filtering wastewater. An ineffective drain field will cause backups in your septic tank, and eventually your entire septic system.
Schedule a Preventive Maintenance Visit
Jones Plumbing & Septic Services recommends receiving regular septic system maintenance to pinpoint and resolve issues before they result in complete septic backups. If you are planning to host this holiday season, scheduling a septic cleaning service in advance is a great way to proactively protect your septic system from becoming overwhelmed.
To avoid costly emergency septic services this holiday season, call your local septic company in advance! Jones Plumbing & Septic Services offers affordable drain field and septic services in the North Central Florida area that will get you and your home through the holiday season unscathed. Contact us to learn more today!