3 Long-Term Benefits Of Following A Regular Septic Pumping Schedule

Keeping up with pumping your septic tank has one incredibly important benefit: it prevents your septic system from backing up and flooding your home with sewage. The EPA's recommended schedule for routine septic tank pumping provides a good guide for most homes, helping you keep your tank's waste levels within acceptable levels.

However, maintaining your septic tank isn't just about short-term benefits. Failing to follow a proper septic tank pumping schedule can have serious long-term consequences, potentially leading to failures that can be costly or even environmentally damaging. Here are three of the long-term benefits and savings you'll see by keeping up with routine septic system pumping.  

1. Increase Your Drainfield's Service Life

Most people think of their septic tank as the most important part of a septic system, but the drainfield does the heavy lifting. Septic tanks are effectively holding and sorting areas where waste from your home naturally separates into sludge, effluent (liquid), and grease layers. This separation is necessary since your drainfield can only deal with liquid waste.

Over time, your tank will become filled with grease and sludge, eventually reaching a point where this waste can enter the drainfield. Non-liquid waste entering the drainfield can clog pipes, kill beneficial bacteria, and cause serious damage while drastically reducing the field's lifespan. Routine tank pumping helps to prevent these situations, extending the life of your entire system.

2. Reduce Environmental Cleanup Risks

Septic systems are an environmentally-friendly method of dealing with waste on-site without requiring a municipal sewer connection. Unfortunately, the environmental benefits of these systems only apply while waste remains safely contained in your tank and plumbing. Only liquid effluent should exit the system and only into the drainfield where the soil and filtering media can properly decontaminate it.

Serious septic system failures can result in sewage leaks or system backups that can flood your lawn and create potentially expensive issues. Depending on the local laws and ordinances, you may need to take special (and potentially costly) steps to deal with these problems. Pumping your system out on a regular schedule can help you avoid these problems, keeping your system clean and safe.

3. Minimize Future Pumping Costs

If you avoid flushing inappropriate items into your septic system and keep up with routine pumping, then regular maintenance for your septic tank should be relatively straightforward. In most cases, a professional pumping crew can pump out your tank relatively quickly, ensuring your system remains in good working order with minimal cost and disruption.

However, deferring septic system maintenance can allow your tank to become overfilled, potentially even clogging the baffles or plumbing. Pumping a severely clogged tank can take much longer and cost more money, so it's cheaper over the long run to stay on top of your tank maintenance and follow a regular pumping and cleaning schedule.

If you need residential septic tank pumping, call a septic system contractor in your area. 


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