Dealing With Stay-At-Home Orders? How To Protect Your Septic System During The Lock-Down

If you and your family are stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, take care of your septic system. You and your family will be using your septic system more often than usual. That extra use may lead to unexpected septic problems. This is especially true if you're not practising safe septic system procedures. Here are four steps that will protect your septic system while you're on lock-down.

Reduce Your Shower Times

If you and your family are home for at least the next few weeks, you may be putting more strain on your septic system. Extra trips to the bathroom and extra dishes to clean can cause problems for your septic system. One way to protect your septic system is to reduce your shower times. This is especially important while you're home on lock-down. The reduced shower times will slow down the flow of water to your septic tank.

Stagger Your Laundry Days

If you and your family are at home for the duration of the stay-at-home orders, you may be seeing more dirty laundry than usual. If you're used to doing laundry one or two days a week, make some changes. When too many loads of laundry are done in one day, too much pressure builds up on your septic system. To reduce the risk of septic backups and overflows, stagger your laundry days. Instead of one or two big laundry days each week, do one or two loads of laundry each day. That way, your septic tank isn't inundated with water.

Watch What You Flush

If you're like many, you weren't able to stockpile enough toilet paper. If that's the case, you may be looking for alternative materials. Many people have resorted to paper towels, facial tissue and baby wipes. These items spell disaster for your septic system. In fact, if you've resorted to using those materials, your septic may backup. If that happens, you may end up with raw sewage in your bathroom. If you do need to resort to those types of materials, don't flush them down the toilet. Instead, dispose of them safely and hygienically. Place a small wastebasket next to your toilets and empty the contents several times a day. Be sure to sanitize the wastebasket at least once a day.

Call For Service

If your septic system gives you trouble while you're at home due to stay-at-home orders, call for service. You might think that you should wait until the current virus conditions have been resolved, but that's not the case. Septic issues can put you and your family at risk for other health risks including E. coli, encephalitis, and giardiasis. If you experience problems with your septic system during this health crisis, don't postpone service.

To learn more about septic system maintenance, contact a company like Linn Septic Service near you.

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