Established 1953

Present Owner: Floyd E. Hertzfeld Sr., Since 1960

Septic Do's & Dont's

DO

• DO have your system inspected annually.
• DO conserve water by taking shorter showers.
• DO fix dripping faucets.
• DO turn off water while brushing your teeth or washing dishes.
• DO compost your garbage instead of using a garbage disposal.
• DO learn the location of your septic system and drain field. Keep a sketch of it handy for service visits.
• DO keep a record of pumping, inspections and other maintenance.
• Do set up a pumping schedule so that any problems with the system can be found early and fixed before they become larger and more expensive.  If the outlet baffle falls off, waste will automatically flow into the drain field blocking the drain field pipes and preventing water from flowing out. When this happens it could be a disaster.
• Do become knowledgeable about your septic system. Ask us any questions and we will be glad to answer them to the best of our knowledge.
• Do check for any leaking faucets or shower heads. This adds constant water into your tank besides every day water usage. Filling your tank with too much water, again causes strain on the drain field drainage.

DON'T

• DON'T allow anyone to drive or park over any part of the system.
• DON'T pour harsh chemicals down the drain.
• DON'T flush cat litter, cigarette butts, or coffee grounds.
• DON'T dump the following nonperishable or poisons. They can kill the beneficial bacteria that treat your wastewater.
• Non-degradable: Grease, disposable diapers, baby wipes feminine hygiene products, plastics, etc.
• Poisons: gasoline, oil, paint, paints thinner, pesticides, antifreeze, etc.
• Don’t add yeast, baking soda, store bought septic chemicals, and bleach. The natural bacteria in your tank lives at a certain pH level. The bacteria eat waste and it is separated into water and solids. If you change the pH level of the bacteria it will die, and will not separate the water and solids and your tank will fill up and also produce a septic smell. Yeast does not provide the needed bacteria in your tank. It simply ferments what is in there. Baking soda changes the pH level in the tank, thereby killing the bacteria. Store bought septic chemicals can also change the pH level and do not provide “live bacteria” to your tank. Bleach can change the pH level if used in large quantities, used sparingly; it will not affect the bacteria. If there is no bacteria left in your tank.
• Don’t flush any combination of the following down the toilet: hair, diapers, baby wipes, wipes of any kind, cigarette butts, condoms, sanitary napkins, tampons, paper towel, table napkins, cat litter, paint, grease, oil or any type of chemical. All of these are not digestible by the bacteria. They will all float on the top of the tank and will clog the tank, blocking the outlet baffle to your leach field, possibly entering your leach field and will produce expensive problems. Frank’s Septic suggests that products that say they are safe for septic systems and are biodegradable also not be flushed down the toilet. Some products that are biodegradable need sunlight to break down. There is no sunlight in a septic tank, and therefore the product will not break down.
• Don’t do an excessive amount of laundry all in one day. This will over load the tank with water and thereby overload the leach field. There is a higher tendency to back up into the house because the water can only drain from the leach field at a certain rate to not saturate the ground. Space the laundry out over the week instead.
• Don’t use laundry detergent high in phosphorous. Powder detergent tends to clump together and can cause a blockage in the pipes. Liquid detergent is better.
• Don’t flush large amounts of toilet paper down the toilet. Children tend to do this more often. Large amounts can cause a blockage in the pipes as well as in the inlet baffle to the tank, causing back ups into the house. Children should also be told not to flush toys down the toilet as well.
• Don’t build any decks, additions, sheds, other buildings or driveways over the septic tank. This will prevent access to the tank and ultimately, if the tank needs to be replaced, it can not.

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