One of the downsides about owning a home is keeping up with the maintenance. But, it’s often a small price to pay for the comfort of staying in your own place and owning a piece of property.
However, when an issue comes up, especially when it’s smelly in nature, it can be incredibly unpleasant.
Aside from the unpleasant odors, issues with your septic tank can also lead to potential health risks and the inability to use the bathroom in your own home.
However, you can easily get ahead of things and repair your septic tank. To help you out, here are a few tips for prepare for septic tank repairs.
Understand Your Septic System
For starters, you need to understand how your septic system works.
Basically, your septic tank collects and treats wastewater from your home. That includes everything you flush down the toilet to whatever goes down the drain.
The solid waste settles at the bottom of the tank, which forms a sludge. The oils and grease float to the top as scum. The liquid easily flows in the middle flows out to the drain field, where it gets further treated by the soil.
Understanding the basic process helps you recognize when something’s wrong and prepares you for discussions with professionals.
Locate Your Septic Tank
Before you can get any repairs on your septic tank, you need to find out where it is located on your property.
Unless your built the home yourself or had some work done on the septic tank previously, you probably don’t know where the septic tank is buried on your property.
If you are unsure, you can look into your property records or contact your local health department to get an idea.
Knowing exactly where it is can save time when the repair team arrives and helps avoid unnecessary digging in your yard.
Schedule Regular Inspections
If your septic tank is acting up, maybe you haven’t carried out any maintenance for quite some time.
Ideally, you should have your septic system inspected every three to five years. During these inspections, the experts can identify any problems before they become major issues.
With regular inspections, you can save money and prevent inconvenient emergencies.
So, if you haven’t scheduled an inspection recently, now might be the perfect time to do so.
Plan for Temporary Waste Management
One of the biggest problems that comes up is what to do about your bathroom needs. If your septic tank is acting up, your toilets are probably not workinh, which is why you need a plan for temporary waste management.
One solution is to rent a porta potty for yourself and your family. It is a sanitary option for your household and, this way, the repair crew can work without interruption.
Make sure to plan ahead and have a porta potty delivered before the repair begins.
Clear the Area
Finally, for the repair team to work properly, you need to make sure that the area around your septic tank is clear. If you have nay obstacles like garden furniture, a swing set, or maybe a parked car, get them out of the way early on.
If you have some plants or shrubs growing a bit too much around that area, you should consider trimming them to make things easier for the repair team.
