Septic Tank Treatment

Many of you may be asking what in the world do we mean by a septic tank treatment and do I need one for my septic system? Well, here is a short story that will explain.

Having lived in rural areas most of our lives, our family has had a lot of experience with the blessings and frustrations of using septic tanks. If you have had septic tanks/systems rather than city sewage, then you have likely had similar experiences to our own.

One day you come up from  the basement to hear the kids screeching non-intelligible gibberish from the vicinity of the bathroom. Pushing open the door you see wastewater all over the floor and still more water flowing from the toilet which appears to be stuffed to it's limit with toilet paper.

Or perhaps like my sister's family, you inherited a lovely old farmhouse with a septic system as old as your Great Grandfather's Grandfather. Never been pumped out, no idea where the drain field is, and pretty frequent problems with clogged drains.

I don't know about you, but we didn't particularly look forward to these sorts of events involving the septic tank, rental of long black snakes, and hours of back-breaking digging. Thus, we were always in the market for the miracle septic fixer-upper. You know, the septic tank treatment that will "end your septic worries forever". Trying the newest quick fix septic tank additive seemed a little like my cousin's list of boyfriends, 'never ending'.

After 30 years and some 15 odd homes with septic tanks, and having spent more time 'in the trenches' so to speak, than you could count, we moved to a piece of property where we installed a new septic system. Not having started from scratch in many years, we decided to do everything as perfect as possible with this one and began researching and calling the professionals.

Enzymes And Bacteria

In the course of talking to various septic people we came across an older fellow who passed on what has seemed to be a real gem of knowledge about septic tanks. He said that there are many products out there you can pay big bucks for, but most of them only work if everything in the septic system is pretty much okay anyway. However, he had found something simple and fairly inexpensive that would keep a new system at it's best and also help a problem septic tank (if it wasn't so bad off that it needed pumped out that is).

He said that septic tank treatments such as the addition of enzymes or bacteria (microbes) similar to those used in camping toilets and RVs to keep them working, would help in the home as well. This kind of additive can help to promote good bacteria and aid in faster decomposition of the biodegradeable wastes in the system. Basically the stuff keeps the guts of the septic tank as healthy as possible.

A septic tank treatment of enzymes or bacteria comes in packets or even systems that release a measured dose into your toilet regularly. They are usually inexpensive and can sometimes be found locally or easily ordered online. You have to check the enzyme  products carefully though to be sure they do not contain fragrances and harsh chemicals, which can harm the beneficial bacteria, and ruin the benefit of the enzymes.

I honestly wonder why we never thought of this before. We have long been aware of how enzymes and good bacteria are needed to consume other bacteria and to decompose matter. Anyway, we now put the purchase of septic tank treatments on our regular list of things to do as we believe enzymes are helping our septic tank and saving us lots of problems and expensive repairs.

Of course it is still inevitable that one day our septic tank will require pumping, as most of them do. In the meantime, we have chosen to use a septic tank treatment in order to do what we can to save ourselves aggravation, money, and labor.