The holidays are just around the corner, and that means your home is about to experience one of its busiest and most strenuous seasons of the entire year. Cooler weather combined with increased activity and reliance on your most important systems means a number of problems tend to rear their heads during this period, and virtually no part of your home is immune. This includes your septic system—one of the most important features of your home, and one of the most frustrating should something go wrong.

What Happens to Septic Systems During the Holidays?

The holidays are a time where people gather with their friends, families, and loved ones, and that means a lot of added strain on home plumbing. With extra people staying under one roof, that means more showers, more toilet flushes, and more use of your septic tank system. Combined with the kids being out of school for a holiday break and extra hours indoors due to cooler weather and shorter daylight hours, it’s easy to see why your water and drain lines are prone to issues during this period.

However, your plumbing problems come from more than just your bathrooms. Kitchens also see added use, particularly when preparing several larger meals for holiday feasts. When so much cooking is going on, it isn’t uncommon for people to take shortcuts and avoid following some of the procedures they would otherwise stick to, such as throwing grease away rather than dumping it down the drain. These substances then coagulate in drain lines, creating a fatty, sticky grime that can clog drains and cause immense damage to septic systems. Food waste can back up a septic tank, jam up a leach field, and create a potentially serious plumbing emergency that nobody wants to deal with when they have guests.

Tips for Preventing a Septic Emergency

Avoiding a problem during this critical period isn’t impossible. In fact, with a few simple preparation methods and some extra precautions, you can keep your septic system in great condition this entire holiday season.

Talk to Your Guests About Your Septic Tank System

The overwhelming majority of people who come from urban and suburban settings likely live in a home with a connection to a public sewer system. This comes with a number of benefits, including not having to be as careful with what goes down the drain. Because the sewage system is designed to handle a lot of different types of waste, many people don’t realize that operating a septic system requires a little bit of extra care and caution.

Talk to your guests and let them know you are on a septic tank system so they are aware and pay extra attention. Have them stagger out water-intensive tasks like loads of laundry, showers, and doing the dishes in order to avoid overloading your septic system with a deluge of wastewater.

Be Conscious of What Goes Down the Drain

Septic systems are not built to handle food waste in the same way a standard sewage connection would be, and thus food waste needs to be monitored particularly carefully. Pouring grease or fat down the drain is almost never a good idea, but it’s particularly bad when it comes to septic systems that are not built to handle it at all. It’s also important to avoid flushing other things, including diapers, paper towels, and feminine products that can severely damage a septic system and ruin the careful balance of processing bacteria in your septic containment tank.

Prepare Your Septic Tank

If you know you’re going to be having a large number of guests over to your home, it’s a good idea to prepare in advance by maintaining your septic system. Scheduling an inspection is a good way to make sure your tank is ready to handle the heavy workload that lies ahead, and that you aren’t hit with any nasty surprises that can quickly spiral out of control in a period of high demand. If your septic system is approaching its capacity, scheduling a pumping service will ensure that your tank is ready to handle the added strain of the holidays.

Schedule your tank pumping service with the team at The Plumbing Experts! Dial (864) 210-3127 today for an appointment.