Septic Care and Maintenance

Care & Maintenance of your septic system

Well designed and properly installed septic systems, in suitable locations can provide simple and effective onsite treatment for wastewater, but like anything else, they must be properly maintained.  When homeowners don’t know how to care for their systems, expensive failures can result.  The following are recommendations that every homeowner should follow in order to maintain the longevity of their system.

Advisory Comment:

****Sewage contains many pathogens that can be harmful to your health.  Anyone performing maintenance on an on-site sewage disposal system should wear protective eyewear and disposable gloves and should thoroughly wash/disinfect their hands, tools and any objects that may come in contact with sewage.******

Standard System Maintenance:

• Have the system inspected by a qualified service provider to determine if the septic tank needs to be pumped. Pumping frequency can vary depending on use of the septic system.
• Annually inspect the effluent filter (if you have one) in the outlet sanitary T of the septic tank.  Any scum and buildup should be removed.
• Follow the Do’s and Don’ts of proper onsite sewage disposal system maintenance.

Low Pressure Dose System:

• Have the system inspected by a qualified service provider to determine if the septic tank needs to be pumped. Pumping frequency can vary depending on use of the septic system.
• Contact a qualified maintenance specialist to perform a thorough inspection and maintenance of your system annually. The inspection and maintenance should include:

1.      Pump and float alarms should be manually activated to verify proper operation. 

         Note: Make sure an alarm is both visual and audible.

2.      Record the reading on the pump cycle counter.

3.      Clean any scum or buildup on the effluent filter.

4.      Flush the laterals of the disposal field to remove any accumulated scum and reset the lateral head properly.

5.      Inspect monitoring/observation wells for water.  Record date and observations.

6.      Visually inspect the septic tank and pump tank risers, valve box covers and observation well covers for any signs of deterioration or damage.

7.      Visually inspect the disposal field for any signs of deterioration or damage.

• Follow the Do’s and Don’ts of proper onsite sewage disposal system maintenance.

Sand Filter System:

• Have the system inspected by a qualified service provider to determine if the septic tank needs to be pumped. Pumping frequency can vary depending on use of the septic system.
• Contact a qualified sand filter maintenance specialist to perform a thorough inspection and maintenance of your system annually. The inspection and maintenance should include:

1.      Pump and float alarms in the pump tank and sand filter vault should be manually activated to verify proper function.  Make   sure an alarm is both visual and audible.

2.      Control panel should be checked to insure that it is functioning properly and that the timer and settings are consistent with the system design.  The control panel readings for the pumps and alarms should be recorded.

3.      Clean any scum or buildup on the effluent filter.

4.      Flush the laterals of the sand filter bed and disposal field to remove any accumulated scum.

5.      Inspect monitoring/observation wells in the sand filter bed and disposal field for water.  Record date and observations.

6.      Visually inspect the septic tank, pump tank and sand filter risers, valve box covers and observation well covers for any signs of deterioration or damage.

7.      Visually inspect the sand filter bed for any signs of deterioration or damage.

8.      Visually inspect the disposal field for any signs of deterioration or damage.

• Follow the Do’s and Don’ts of proper onsite sewage disposal system maintenance.