If you use a septic system, you’ve probably heard horror stories about how doing laundry caused catastrophic flooding. Today, most septic systems can effectively handle the wastewater produced by your washing machine. However, if you’re not careful, you could end up with a serious problem with your septic system.
Throwing an extra dose of laundry detergent in with a load may not seem like a big deal, but excessive detergent is linked to issues with septic systems. Septic systems rely on good bacteria to process waste, and since most laundry detergents include cleansing chemicals, too much can destroy the critical bacteria in your tank. Only use the recommended amount of detergent when you do a load of laundry.
You should also clean out your washing machine’s lint trap on a regular basis. If this filter gets clogged, lint clumps can make their way into your septic system. This can result in serious clogging if this lint gets trapped in one of your septic lines.
Most importantly, don’t do multiple loads of laundry on the same day. If too much wastewater flows into your home’s septic tank all at once, the wastewater may make its way into the drain field before it has been properly processed.
We want to help you keep your home’s septic system in good condition, and we’d be happy to give you more helpful maintenance tips. We can also help if you need to repair your system, so give us a call today.