Decide on the Right Septic System for Your Home

A septic tank is never going to be the focal center of your décor, set the mood in a room, or make a lovely accent for your yard. It is, however, a vital piece of equipment for your home if you live in an area without sewers. A septic system allows you to control the waste products from your home in a safe and sanitary manner while keeping it all out of view and pleasant. There are some things to know in order to make the best decisions for your selection of a good septic system for your property.

Make sure the zoning in your area allows use of septic systems.

Find out what regulations exist for your land in regard to septic system placement. Besides local restrictions, the EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, has regulations regarding where tanks drain or “soakaway,” as well as drainage that is illegal.

Determine what type of leech field is right for you. Most properties are fine with a conventional leech field made of a dug out section of land, bedded with rock for filtering, and lined with perforated piping coming from the septic tank. This allows the liquid waste to filter out into the ground before it gets to the water table below. Another type uses solid piping to move the liquid waste to a designated area before changing to perforated hose. This is useful if your septic tank is too close to the water table, or several shared properties close together all use one main leech field. More advanced strategies may be necessary and require the advice of a professional to perform properly.

Pick the right size septic system for the number of people in the household. Because the solid wastes remain in the tank, separating to the bottom while the water floats out, septic tanks require regular pumping to keep them functioning properly. However, the first step in maintaining proper function without having to pump the tank out more than the suggested bi-annual cleaning, get the right size. Local regulations may determine the minimum size capacity allowed. Other methods of choosing are how much water your household uses per day, or the number of bedrooms in your home. A healthy septic system should be able to hold twice as much water (in any form) as the household puts out per day.

Use the bedroom computation to choose the right size based on the number of people living in the home. One to two bedrooms uses a 750 gallon tank, three bedrooms a 1000 gallon tank, four bedrooms a 1200 gallon tank, and five to six bedrooms a 1500 gallon tank. While 750 gallons would be plenty for a small home, it may not be big enough to meet local minimums so be careful before buying this size tank.