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Your septic tank has a thankless job, handling thousands of gallons of wastewater every week. As you might imagine, that necessitates a bit of septic tank cleaning every now and then. But how often is that, and what can you do about it as a homeowner? Good questions. Wilson Services has helped—and septic cleaning for North Jersey homeowners.

Why Septic Tanks Need Cleaning

A typical septic tank holds hundreds, or even thousands, of gallons of waste and wastewater. To understand how it works, picture a layer cake; there’s a bottom layer of sludge, a middle layer of wastewater, and a top layer of scum (oils and fats). Friendly bacteria live in the tank, helping convert the sludge to liquid so it can make its way to a drain field, whereupon the wastewater filters through the soil.

If you don’t clean your tank and get regular septic pumping in North Jersey, you’ll notice a terrible odor in your yard, slow drainage, or even sewage backing up into your home. Since nobody wants that, cleaning is a must.

What to Consider When Cleaning Your Septic Tank

Figuring out how often to clean your septic system can be something of a crapshoot if you’ll pardon the pun. Some components require frequent cleaning; your effluent filter, for instance, should be cleaned every six months, and you can do this yourself with a garden hose (wear gloves and goggles).

But since that’s a mess, and since it’s also a good idea to have your septic system inspected to make sure that it’s still in good working order, it’s best to call for a professional residential septic service. We will evaluate your septic tank size, the size of your household, and how much wastewater your household generates in order to come up with a maintenance and pumping schedule that’s customized to your needs.

Septic Tank Maintenance and Repairs

There are a few reasons not to clean your septic tank. Mind you, we don’t mean that it doesn’t need cleaning and maintenance; it does. However, there’s a lot to be said for having it done professionally.

  • Septic tanks are complex systems that can be fickle, and even fragile. We’ve had to conduct septic tank repairs because a well-intentioned homeowner damaged or broke part of the system.
  • If you’re inexperienced, it’s easy to clean components incorrectly, giving you a false sense of security—and a chance of problems later.
  • Conversely, an experienced septic and sewer service can identify and solve problems a layperson wouldn’t know to look for, or could easily miss.

That isn’t to say you don’t have a part to play in septic safety. Paying attention to fundamentals, including not wasting water, using high-efficiency fixtures and appliances, taking care of what goes down drains and toilets, and keeping the area around your septic tank and drain field clear and clean, are a bigger help than you’d think.

Professional Septic Tank Cleaning in North Jersey

So to recap: have your septic tank pumped every three years on average; we’ll suggest follow-ups based on the size of your home, number of people in your household, and system use. Between visits, do your part to ensure everything runs smoothly, and if you ever need help with septic system maintenance or repairs, don’t ever hesitate to call us at Wilson Services!