Your septic system is a core component of your home’s plumbing, carrying away waste, even during heavy usage. However, if you’re neglecting regular maintenance, you’re not doing this system any favors. Ultimately, you’ll cost yourself money, possibly damage your landscape, and more.

Backups in Your Home

When the wastewater has nowhere to go outside, the tank will fill, and sewage may back up into your home through the toilets and drains. Not only is this a mess for you to clean up and can damage parts of your home, but it’s also a health hazard.

For this reason, having your septic tank pumped regularly is essential. A septic specialist can examine the tank during a routine inspection to determine when pumping is necessary. As a general rule, you want your septic tank pumped every three to five years.

Solids in Your Leach Bed

Another issue that can arise if you don’t schedule routine pumpings is solid waste entering your leach bed. Other forms of neglect may cause this as well, such as flushing non-biodegradable materials, including sanitary products, paper towels, and wet wipes. Your system can’t break these items down, resulting in a buildup that may cause waste to enter your drain field.

Damaged or Clogged Distribution Pipes

Whenever you don’t have a professional inspect your system routinely and schedule regular pumpings, the distribution pipes may clog, leading to poor drainage or wastewater backing up into your home. If the pipes become damaged, the solid and liquid waste can’t pass through normally, and you may experience a leak, or worse.

A septic professional can detect a damaged pipe and replace it. The specialist can also provide occasional flushings to prevent clogs by eliminating sludge before it can accumulate.

A Soggy Yard

Your drain field can’t absorb all the water when you’re overwhelming your system regularly or have poor soil percolation, clogs, or obstructions. With these concerns, the water may build up in your leach bed, making your yard soggy. It could also cause foul odors.

Damage to Your Landscape

Whenever you have too much water in your drain field, you may harm the grass growing there. It could die because the excess water will rob it of vital nutrients and prevent it from receiving adequate oxygen for growth.

You could put your household members at risk from contaminant exposure, damage your landscape, and cost yourself a great deal in repairs. That’s not considering any downtime you may have if you can’t shower and use your toilet like normal, because you’ll need to have it repaired first. Contact Straight Flush Septic in Winston-Salem, NC to schedule septic maintenance services today.