2 Garbage Disposal Mistakes To Avoid When You Have A Septic System
If you have a garbage disposal installed in your kitchen sink, you may be in the habit of using it to reduce the amount of food waste you have to throw away. However, if you have a septic system, making the following mistakes while using your garbage disposal could lead to you having to have it pumped out more often:
Pouring Grease Down the Drain
Before you had a garbage disposal, you probably knew that pouring grease down your drains would clog up the pipes. However, you may feel that pouring it through the disposal breaks it up enough that the grease will not harm the system.
Even if the grease goes through the garbage disposal, it does not thin out or break up. And, not only can it potentially clog up your septic line, but the grease can also make your septic tank overflow faster.
Because the fats in the grease do not break down easily over time, it can start to build up inside the septic tank. It also coats other solid waste materials, delaying their breakdown and decomposition by bacteria. Eventually, the fat and waste will build up to the point that your tank will overflow.
Grinding Up Large Amounts of Food
Another bad habit you may have fallen into while using your garbage disposal is grinding up large amounts of food instead of throwing it away. When you clean out your refrigerator and find a bowl half full of old food, you may simply rinse the food out into the sink and flush it down the disposal.
However, your septic tank was only designed to handle human waste and gray water from your sinks and washing machine. When you add large amounts of food into the mixture, the excess mass will fill up the tank faster. The food can also throw off the delicate balance of bacterial growth inside your tank.
While beneficial bacteria are an important part of breaking down the solid waste material inside a septic system, the food may introduce other forms of bacteria that would compete and kill off the bacteria necessary for the system. Without this bacteria, the human waste would build, causing your tank to overflow.
Avoid the above mistakes while using your garbage disposal can help you maintain your septic system and increase the intervals at which you have to have it pumped. However, if you notice that your drains are slowing down, contact a septic pumping service before your system clogs up completely.
Contact a company like Economy Septic Service for more information and assistance.