Willy's Whimsical Wednesday Words of Wisdom

I just realized what everyone is thinking about. Their septic system of course! If your home is connected to a septic tank you should occasionally be thinking about it. Minimal maintenance can save you a bunch of money. They say to pump your tank every two years. Depends on the household. If there are two people living in the home and you are careful I think you can go longer.  Your septic tank is not a garbage disposal. Excessive use of bleach can kill the good bugs in your septic tank. Powdered laundry soap regularly plugs septic lines. It can be five or six hundred bucks to have your tank pumped. Not inspecting your tank can cost you a failed system. We've seen parts of brand new septic systems fail because no one checked the system after it was put into service. When clients purchase a home I regularly try to attend the pumping of the poo. Toys, mirrors. phones, plastic wrappers and worse have been found in septic tanks.Sometimes this can be an indication of the condition of the drainfield.  Are the baffles in place to prevent infiltration into the drainfield? Has the distribution lines been driven on? Your realtor should have a basic knowledge of how a septic system works or at least know who to ask. A septic system can provide 30 years and more of function with a bit of maintenance here and there. If you are on a municipality system you're not off the hook. The box says it's flushable but quite often that is not the case. It will cost you a couple grand to find out that something is NOT flushable.