The Secret to Living With a Small Septic System

A growing family or the addition of occupants to your home can lead to an unpleasant discovery.

You are reaching the capacity of your septic system!
What should you do?
Well, as usual, there is no reason to panic.

Causes: Here’s Why It Happens

Every septic system is sized for a maximum user load, which is based on the size of your home and the number of bedrooms in it.
The building code of Pennsylvania requires a 900-gallon tank at a minimum, for homes with up to three bedrooms, with a 100-gallon increase in tank size required for every additional bedroom. However, for large families in smaller houses or for homes with special features such as hot tubs, these minimum requirements may not be enough.

When you add more people or more water-using appliances to the household, your septic capacity may start to back up and overflow.

Strategy: 10 Tips for Life With a Small Septic System

1. Re-evaluate Your Pumping Schedule: Check with a professional to plan a new pumping schedule. If more frequent pumping is not too cost-prohibitive, you may be able to solve your problem this way, especially if you have plans to move within the next few years.
2. Spread Out Water Usage: Space out activities like laundry, showers, and dish washing throughout the week instead of allowing them to concentrate at one time, in order to avoid overloading your smaller system.
3. Conserve Water: Make water conservation your top priority when you choose appliances and fixtures, picking low-flow toilets and efficient washing machines, to reduce water usage. Check regularly for any water leaks and fix them promptly.
4. Limit Garbage Disposal Use: You may have to discontinue the use of your garbage disposal system, since garbage disposals introduce excess organic matter into the septic system.
5. Schedule Regular Inspections: In addition to more frequent pumping, you may want to consider more inspections. This will allow a professional to catch any issues much sooner.
6. Install a Septic Filter: Installing a septic filter in the outlet pipe of your tank will catch small particles and prevent them from clogging the drain field.
7. Educate Household Members: Make sure that everyone in your household understands the importance of saving water and following best septic system practices.
8. Install a Second Tank:  If you have room near your existing tank, you can have a second smaller tank installed and hooked up to the first tank via a sewer line. This is perfectly legal and can save you the cost of removing your old tank.
9. Upgrade as Necessary: If your septic system continues to struggle over an extended period of time, you should consider replacing the entire system with a larger, more modern tank and drain field.
10. Emergency Backup Plan: In the unlikely event of a septic system failure, have an emergency backup plan in place. These plans usually involve obtaining quick access to portable toilets or a temporary sewage hookup.

With all of these steps, maintain records of your activities for future reference.

It’s Possible!

Living with a small septic system is possible!

It simply requires careful management and attention from the entire household to ensure that costly problems are avoided.

Follow these tips and you will prolong the lifespan of your septic system, prevent costly repairs, and protect the environment.

Need help with your septic system?

Contact RenewSource today for all of your septic system needs!