Septic tank: a year-round calendar
A septic tank does not ask for much, but it asks for it regularly. One line for the whole year, and four moments when you need to do things differently.
Maintenance fits in one line: one dose a week, at bedtime, into the toilet. The rest of this article covers the moments when that line is no longer enough. There are only a few, and they are predictable.
All year round
On Sunday evening, pour the dose into the toilet and flush. Overnight, with no water flowing, the bacteria settle in instead of being washed away.
One dose for 1 to 4 people, two for 5 to 8 people, three for more than 8.
A fixed day works better than ‘whenever I remember’. Regularity is everything.
The four moments when things change
Back from holiday
With nothing coming in for three weeks, the bacteria have dropped off. Double the dose for the first week.
After emptying
The tank is empty, bacteria included. One box of Septic tank unblocker, flush twice, then the activator one week later.
Your household changes
A baby, a parent moving in, tenants: the dose follows the number of people, not habit.
Winter
Cold slows the bacteria down. Nothing extra to do, but January is when a fragile tank shows its weaknesses.
Three signs that call for more than a dose
- Drainage slows down throughout the house: it is the tank, not a sink. Septic tank unblocker.
- An odour rises or lingers above the inspection cover: Septic tank emergency, odours are treated in 24 h.
- The tank backs up: Septic tank emergency, and a septic tank emptying service if nothing improves within a few days.
What maintenance does not replace
Emptying. Maintenance makes it less frequent, it does not do away with it. Write down the date of the last one: it is the first thing the emptying service will ask you, and nobody ever remembers.
The doses for our products are on their packaging, and that is what counts. If swallowed or splashed, call the Poison Centre on +32 70 245 245 and keep the packaging to hand.
