The life of your septic system depends on your care and maintenance.


The single most important thing you can do for your septic system is pump your septic tank on a schedule.  I have seen scores of septic systems destroyed by tanks going too long without pumping.  We've all heard the story about some magical tank that never needed pumping.  If the truth be known, that tank just drained into the creek. 

As solids slowly fill your tank, the effective size of your tank shrinks.  A tank designed to provide two days of waste water treatment at peak flow, may only provide treatment for an hour when packed completely full.  When this happens, primary treatment of your waste water diminishes to nothing and untreated sewage plugs the soil in your drain field.
It's always smart to provide the proper care your septic system needs.  Use the chart above as a good beginning guideline as to when to pump your septic tank.  You will be safe hiring one of our Trusted Pumpers for your septic tank pumping needs.  Let your Trusted Pumper 'fine tune' your pumping schedule based on their observation of your actual usage.

Protect your infrastructure.

                         Septic Tanks:
                        Drain Fields:
  • Don't drive on your drain field. (Mowing the lawn is fine.)
  • Don't pen livestock on your drain field.
  • Don't heavily irrigate over your drain field.
  • Never flood irrigate over your drain field.
  • Don't pave or gravel over your drain field.
  • Don't put a pool on your drain field.
  • Don't allow trees near your drain field.

Things that kill septic systems:

  • Don't allow water softener brine to discharge into your drain plumbing/septic tank(regardless of what the water softener guy tells you).
  • Reverse Osmosis water softeners kill septic systems.  If your water is that bad, use Desert Springs Bottled Water. (Great People, the Best Water!)
  • Besides toilet paper, don't flush anything that didn't go through you first, especially anything 'flushable'.  Your pumper will find everything you flushed.
  • Baby wipes (or any other kind of wipes) need to go in the diaper pail, not the septic tank. (I find this problem a lot more at Grandma and Grandpa's house.)
  • Feminine hygiene products must not go into the septic tank.
  • Regularly check for leaky toilets.  About 80% of bad drain fields I find, will have a leaking toilet in the home or business.  Replace your toilet flappers yearly.
  • Don't use liquid fabric softener.  Use dryer sheets instead.  Liquid fabric softener can turn your tank to a milkshake (the bad kind).
  • Don't use any kind of septic tank additive.  Additives interfere with the bacteria in the septic tank.  The money you save will pay for the proper pumping.
  • If anyone in the home is undergoing short term chemotherapy treatment (6 months or less), pump the tank immediately after the treatment is done.
  • If anyone in the home is undergoing long term chemotherapy treatment (over 6 months), pump the tank every 6 months during treatment.
  • If anyone is undergoing radioactive isotope treatments, they must not use the septic system.  Have a portable restroom delivered. (one of the fancy ones)
  • Showers draining into the septic system are OK for radioactive isotope patients.  More frequent pumping is suggested.
  • Don't flush unused medication into the septic system.
  • Don't pour grease or oil down the drain, ever.
  • Don't use bath oils (like the stuff you often get in a gift basket)
  • Don't use powdered soaps in anything draining into the septic system.
  • Don't put paint of any kind down the drain.
  • Don't run partial loads of laundry.
  • Long showers and large frequent baths can shorten the life of your septic system.
  • Anti-bacterial soaps can be dangerous to septic systems and should be used sparingly.