Why Drain Cleaning Is Critical For Septic System Owners

How do you ensure your home's plumbing system provides you many years of trouble-free service? Surprisingly, the answer is often to take care of your drains. While leaky pipes are frustrating, clogged drains can create far more extensive and more costly messes. A drain system that backs up into your home can cause significant water damage, especially if it involves sewage water.

If you own a septic system, then maintaining your drains is even more crucial. Septic systems are more vulnerable to improper drain usage than municipal sewer lines, and septic owners must bear the costs of failure. Learning a bit about how to manage drain cleaning for your septic system can help you avoid these potentially expensive issues.

What Makes Septic Systems Special?

City sewer lines carry waste far away from your home to municipal or privately run treatment plants. In other words, you don't need to worry about what happens to your wastewater once it moves away from your property. With a septic system, anything you flush down your drains may come to haunt you in the future.

It's critical to remember that your septic tank contains a varied microbiome, with many tiny organisms living their entire lives within its waters. These helpers break down waste and help ensure your system runs smoothly, but they're also very vulnerable. Chemicals and even food that you flush into your tank can disturb this ecosystem and impact your system's operation.

Disruptions to a septic tank's microbiome can also have implications for other parts of the system. Since effluent eventually makes its way into your drainfield, problems can percolate out and affect the various bacteria that populate your leaching field. Over time, these bacteria may die, or anaerobic bacteria may replace them, clogging your drainfield and leading to incredibly costly repairs.

How Can Professional Drain Cleaning Help?

If one of your drains clogs, you may want to reach for over-the-counter chemical cleaners. Unfortunately, these cleaners can damage your pipes, and they're rarely appropriate for septic systems. In some cases, using them may wreak havoc on your system's microbiome, killing many of the creatures you rely upon for healthy wastewater disposal.

When dealing with clogged drains in a septic system household, you should always use the gentlest methods available. If you can't solve the problem with a plunger or other septic-safe do-it-yourself cleaners, it's time to call in a professional. Professional drain cleaners will bring appropriate tools to clear your drain while leaving your septic system intact and healthy.

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