Trees are beautiful to look at but they wreak havoc on a septic system. If you have trees near your system you should keep a close eye on the system.  Roots are always trying to find that water source.  What better a source of water than your septic system!!  If you have trees check your septic tank at least once a year.  Once roots enter the system they are very hard to control and will cause blockages that could cause you 1,000's of dollars!!!  If you have a root issue call your septic professional, they'll have the answers.  Here is a picture just taken of roots totally blocking the inlet side of the tank.  The tank was buried and the lids hadn't been opened in 10 years!!   

When they follow these operation and maintenance rules, homeowners will be happier and you’ll have fewer emergency calls.

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I get a lot of questions regarding educating homeowners about their onsite systems. One thing that we recommended in Minnesota was that every new system installed should come with an owner’s manual covering general operation and maintenance requirements for their system. As an installer or service provider, this is something that you should provide for your clients.

It is always amazing how homeowners will seek out the most unqualified (relative, friend, etc.) persons for advice on caring for their onsite systems rather than asking a septic service professional. In my opinion, the more you work with your clients, the better off we all are in the industry in terms of dispelling false, misleading or old wives’ tales about system operation. In that spirit, I will offer a top 10 set of tips for homeowners, hoping this leads to further discussion of the topic among professionals in your area. We’ll break up the tips, starting with the first batch this month, and continue in next month’s column. Here we go:

1. Give your customers a diagram showing the components of their system and indicating the location of these components on their lot. If there are pumps, show where they and any high-water alarms are located. Be clear about telling them not to enter any tanks or parts of the system to investigate a problem, and explain they should not use the manual override for the system unless specifically told to by a professional. Of course, in addition to having your contact information clearly marked on the manual you provide, place a sticker with your contact information in a conspicuous place on the system in case there is a problem.

2. Spell out the design capacity for the homeowner. They should know that how much water and how they use that water can have a large impact on how long the system will last. Here is where this gets a little controversial. I have not met a homeowner yet who feels they use too much water. In fact, I worked with a person awhile back that maintained quite strongly that they used very little water. When a water meter was installed to check the daily flow, it turned out they were using roughly twice the average daily flow. This overuse will eventually cause hydraulic failure in the soil treatment area. However, most homeowners have no way of knowing how much water they use other than their uninformed guesses.

This is why some of my colleagues and I have advocated for installation of water meters so the homeowner and you as the service provider can determine water usage. If there is a pump tank and a pump in the system, a cycle counter can be used to see how many times the pump kicks in. Using the count number, you can provide them with a table showing how many gallons are used compared to the daily flow maximum. If they see the counts are showing excessive usage, they should contact you to investigate. Either additional water is infiltrating into the system or the usage is a reflection of their actual use.

3. Explain that water usage habits can have an impact on the performance of their septic systems over time. Their laundry schedule, for example, can have a major impact on how well their onsite system works. First, the homeowner should purchase lower-flow clothes washers, usually front loading, however most washers now let the user set water levels when not doing full loads. Often both husband and wife work outside the home, which leaves chores such as laundry being bunched up on the days they have off.

Doing multiple loads of wash one after another can put a significant amount of stress on a septic system. It is much better to spread the laundry loads out during the week. For dishwashing, recommend looking for lower-flow products and only running the dishwasher with a full load or using a small-load setting when appropriate to conserve water.

4. Tell homeowners that regular maintenance is key to system longevity. Share the maintenance intervals for each part of their system and explain that a septic service professional should be called on to provide those services. This starts with having the septic tank pumped regularly. My rule of thumb is that a 1,000-gallon tank will require cleaning every two to three years for a family of four or five. I also recommend homeowners avoid using a garbage disposal. It adds more water to the system and adds solids that are difficult to break down in the tank. It also means the tank will need to be pumped every year or more frequently. Tools are available for homeowners to estimate the necessary cleaning frequency based on their usage. Encourage them to keep a regular maintenance schedule or at least request a regular inspection of solids accumulation in the tank to ensure it will be cleaned when needed.

5. Warn the homeowner to avoid flushing items that can compromise the performance of their septic system. I mentioned the garbage disposal, but there are many things homeowners try to dispose of in their septic system that do not belong. In the past we talked about cigarette butts, personal hygiene products or condoms. Now numerous other products, some even being marketed as “septic safe,” are clogging various parts of the system. These include all types of baby wipes, antibacterial cleaning wipes and makeup cleaning wipes. Fortunately, effluent screens are often required today at the septic tank outlet to trap these products before they can impact other parts of the system. But homeowners should be informed that none of these are appropriate for disposal in the septic system.

Many of our customers ask "should I add anything to the septic tank every month or once in a while?"   The fact is that there was a lot of scientific work done in determining how your septic system will work. I hope this explanation will help in understanding this concern.

The whole purpose for you having a septic system is to do something with the wastewater that leaves your house before it goes into the ground water and it becomes drinking water.  Your system is a personally owned treatment plant right on your property. It has been designed with occupancy use and long term retention for treatment in mind. It's size in both the septic tank and absorption field has been designed to do just that. 

Your tank will accept the wastewater from your house and then go to work.  What is really happening is that the bacteria "bugs" start doing what they do to breakdown the organic waste and send it to the absorption field where more bacteria continue to break it down and then the soil further helps take out disease causing pathogens, heavy metals and contaminants. Then into water used for drinking it goes. 

So, should we put a ton of additional things into our tank to help aid in this process?  The answer is yes and no. If your system is being used day to day by a couple or full family then the answer is "NO". If the system receives little use like a vacation home or by a single person then we say "YES". In a system under normal use,  adding  bacteria to the millions going into the tank already will do two things:  Cause many bacteria to die off because of lack of food, and you will throw $$$ away that is better spent somewhere else.  If you do find the need to add bacteria to a little used system then call a septic professional for advice.  Do NOT put raw food, dead animals, manure or other crazy things into the tank.  Those things will only cause major issues inside.  

Remember, keep your system going strong it will probably last a long time with little effort.  Pump it out every 3 to 4 years and don't put garbage down your drains.  As always for full system septic service in Montrose & Delta counties, you can give us a call for advice! 970-323-8703




Ken

Your home has a septic system!
What do I do now?

This is a homeowners guide for having and maintaining a septic system.  It's just a quick “what it is, where it's at and what to do” helper prepared for you by AAA Septic and Drain.  So here we go!

Your septic system is designed to take the wastewater that leaves your home and treat it, then release it back into the ground water below where it is used by us once again.  That's right that wastewater becomes usable water for drinking and other uses after its treated by your system and that's why it's important for us to take care of it and keep it working well.

The typical septic system consists of a couple of different parts.  The pipe underground that leaves your house, the septic tank in your yard and the absorption field that is out there after your septic tank.  Depending on certain circumstances you may also have a pump, a filter and maybe some pipes (inspection ports) sticking up out of the ground in the absorption field.  All of these parts are very important and you need to be aware of where they are on your property so that they don't get damaged and so you know where they are if you come across an issue.  REMEMBER: please don't drive vehicles (other than a lawn tractor), pasture animals or dig in any of the immediate areas of any of your septic system parts!

Your septic system is out there in your yard.  A lot of homes will have a drawing on file with the county Environmental Health Department showing you where all the parts to your septic system are along with measurements from your house to where they are.  This drawing is called an “As Built” and you may have one in the paperwork from your house closing or if you had a septic inspection done when purchasing the home.  Your septic tank 8 feet to 10 feet long, 4 feet to 5 feet wide and about 5 feet deep.  It will be buried in the ground deep enough so that there is enough fall for water to travel to the tank from your house with ease.  Your absorption field is going to be pretty large usually covering an area of about 1000 to 1400 square feet.  It can be as little as 2 feet to 3 feet under the surface of the ground. 

Now that you know what it is and where its at, what do you have to do to take care of this system?  Most people that have never lived in a house with a septic system get a little intimidated or forget it's there all together.  It's really quite simple to take care of and it costs you much less to take care of compared to someone in the city paying a sewer fee.

 Before we tell you what to do and what not to do, we'll give you a basic biology explanation about what's going on inside the system. Think of your septic system as something that is ALIVE, because it very well is!  Millions of bacteria are working inside your septic tank and in your absorption field.  The bacteria breakdown the ORGANIC matter that enters your system and in doing so treat the wastewater before getting to the ground water.  When the bacteria are healthy the wastewater is being cleansed of disease causing pathogens, contaminants and heavy metals.  The bacteria in the system work slow and that is the reason for the parts of the septic system being as big as they are.  The sizing allows the bacteria to treat the wastewater for the length of time needed before it percolates down through the soil in the absorption field.  The bacteria in your system comes from YOU!  They start inside your intestines then make their way to the system by way of your drain lines.

Now, while healthy bacteria are taking care of the ORGANIC matter inside your system, what happens to the INORGANIC matter (toilet paper, grease, soaps, fats, and anything else that didn't go through your body)?  All the INORGANIC matter settles out in the septic tank and becomes thick floating scum or heavy sludge on the bottom leaving a layer of water in between where the bacteria is living.  The scum and sludge continuously build decreasing the size of the water layer over time.

So what do you have to do to keep this septic system healthy and as trouble free as we can?  Here is a very easy phrase to remember: Nothing, with the exception of toilet paper, that didn't go through your body first should go down the drain!!  We know that is easier said than done.  We use soap, wash clothes, brush our teeth, wash dirty dishes and basically live normal.  That's why every 3 to 4 years you should have your septic tank pumped out and start over.  Those scum and sludge layers in there will be getting pretty thick and squeezing out the living space for the bacteria.  Thick scum can cause backup issues and wind up in the house and thick sludgy water can lead to premature failure of your absorption field. 

That about sums up what to do.  Here are a few don'ts.....Don't use a garbage disposal with a septic system, don't use any acid based cleaners (acid kills things that are alive), Easy on bleach and other house cleaning products (they also kill the bacteria), don't use your toilet as a garbage can, and don't waste your money on adding things into your septic system, your body puts enough bacteria into it to sustain the bacteria numbers. 

We hope this makes it easier for you to understand your septic system. 
For complete septic service in Montrose, Delta counties and beyond, Please give us a call if you have any questions about your septic system, need service, certified inspections a repair or an installation.  970-323-8703

Winter time in western Colorado seems to be a very problematic time to septic system owners.  Mostly due to need of pumping and periodic inspection. Here in Montrose, Delta, and Ouray counties we can take care of that before it happens.  If you don't want to be outside digging or prepping the lids, we can do that for you. We provide "on the money" locating as well as excavation services.  Call us before Santa arrives!  For Septic tank service in Delta, Montrose, & Ouray Counties, Call 970-323-8703

There is not much time left in Western Colorado to have work done on a septic system before winter weather will make things difficult.  Basic septic tank service in Montrose & Delta counties can be done in just about any weather, but installation or extensive repairs are more difficult when the soil is frozen.  So get it done soon if you know it needs done.  AAA Septic & Drain is one of the Western Slope's best complete septic system service companies.  We have the training, experience, and equipment to handle anything septic related.  We service the whole septic system, from your home to the leach field.  For Septic system service in Delta county, Call 970-323-8703 Now!

The average household septic system should be inspected at least every three years by a septic service professional. Household septic tanks are typically pumped every three to five years. Alternative systems with electrical float switches, pumps, or mechanical components should be inspected more often, generally once a year. A service contract is important since alternative systems have mechanized parts.

Four major factors influence the frequency of septic pumping:

• Household size
• Total wastewater generated
• Volume of solids in wastewater
• Septic tank size

Service provider coming? Here is what you need to know.When you call a septic service provider, he or she will inspect for leaks and examine the scum and sludge layers in your septic tank.

A lot of people don't understand or know what a septic tank looks like or how big it is. These diagrams show the layout and typical components for a 1000 and 1250 gallon tank. These tanks are the most common residential septic tank size. These tanks are made right here in Olathe, Colorado.  Throughout  the western slope of Colorado these tanks are the ones we see when doing septic pumping.  AAA Septic and Drain knows the septic business inside and out.  For septic tank pumping in Montrose, Delta, or Telluride call an expert today.  (970)323-8703.