Good Practises
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You should review the wastes that enter into the system.
- Avoid using waste disposal units to chop up and dispose of vegetable peelings and wastes such as coffee grounds. As you know these take a very long time to compost and take even longer to decompose in water. Vegetable materials are unlikely to degrade within a septic tank. They add to the bulk and increase the emptying frequency.
- Avoid excess use of chemicals such as bleaches, Milton nappy disinfectant and other strong cleaning chemicals. If the products' purpose is to kill bacteria in your house, they may also affect bacteria in your tank.
- Do not use your system to dispose of any chemicals, e.g. medicines, paint brush cleaners, white spirit, turpentine, creosote, paint products, photographic chemicals, motor oil, anti-freeze, brake fluid, weedkillers, insecticides, fungicides and other gardening chemicals, etc.
- Do not use caustic or proprietary drain cleaners. These all adversely affect the system and can cause noxious smells. Eventually they will be released from the tank into the soakaway causing damage to the bacteria in the soil. These chemicals may also damage the submerged ball within some tank designs, allowing the release of solids and smells.
- Do not allow excessive amounts of grease, cooking oils and fats to enter the system. These do not readily degrade, and partial degradation may produce nasty smells.
- Do not allow nappies, sanitary towels, rags, soft toys, etc. into the drainage system. Disposable nappies and sanitary towels (which do not cause problems in municipal systems) do not degrade in the septic tank and add to the sludge volume. They cause problems if they block the drains.
- Do not allow excess water to enter the system. In periods of heavy rainfall, the volume of water shed from a roof or sealed surface can totally overwhelm the capacity of the tank and flush out solids and unclarified effluent. Disconnect all surface water sources.
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