System Longevity: Simple Habits That Make a Big Difference

In this episode, we walk through what really impacts the longevity of an onsite system from a homeowner’s perspective. We cover simple habits, smart installation choices, and the maintenance practices that can make a system last longer—or fail early if ignored. We also highlight common mistakes and red flags to watch out for so you can protect your investment and avoid costly issues.

If you have comments or questions about our podcast, you can reach us through this link. To discuss a project or talk to one of our engineers, call 800-348-9843.

Transcript

00;00;09;26 - 00;00;39;00

Hello and welcome to Make it Clear. A conversational podcast about all things related to water and wastewater. I'm your host, Angela Bounds, and I'm joined by my co-host Shawn Rapp. In each episode, we'll tackle a relevant topic with facts and expert opinions and make things clear. 

Angela: Hello, and thank you for joining us again. Today, Shawn and I are going to talk about system longevity.

00;00;39;02 - 00;01;05;27

And today we really want to talk about things just the two of us from a homeowners perspective. So we've talked a lot about design and how to design systems, how to install systems, how to maintain systems. But from a homeowner’s perspective, how do you… how do you make sure that your system lasts? 

Shawn: Yeah, this is a huge investment.

00;01;05;27 - 00;01;30;04

These things, you know, they’re $20,000 to $30,000 in some cases, sometimes more, depending on what you need. And you want them to last. 

Angela: Yes, you want it… you want it to last. You don't want it going… you know, you don't want to have to replace it anytime soon. You want to last as long as possible. So like what…

00;01;30;06 - 00;02;08;02

I guess what we want to talk about is what are homeowners empowered to do themselves aside from yearly maintenance. What can they do? What can they affect. Right? What can you as homeowners do or what can you as installers, developers, service providers? What can you encourage your customers to do to increase the longevity of their system? 

Shawn: Yeah, because in all honesty, it's really easy to do or to form habits that can destroy a system in five years or less.

00;02;08;03 - 00;02;41;05

Angela: Yeah. These are not… they're not crazy. They're not crazy things. But they are things that I think the average person maybe just doesn't give a lot of thought to. And I shouldn't say maybe gives a lot of thought but if you if you never had, if you never lived in a house with an on-site system, whether it's just a tank or a secondary treatment system, if you've never had that experience, how are you going to know?

00;02;41;07 - 00;03;07;25

Right? How are you going to know? Like, I think I talked about this not too long ago, but I moved into a house in the country. It's on five acres. There's a sand filter and a garbage disposal. And my children know. They're like, we don't use the garbage disposal. Like, no, we actually don't. But they know, like… but obviously somebody else didn't.

00;03;07;29 - 00;03;47;25

So let's, let's go through and just let's talk about it. All right. So from the beginning of the process, if you are involved in building a home, you can affect change, right? Yeah. As Shawn says, get it right from day one. Right? Involve yourself in the installation. Ask these questions of your installer. Right? You need to make sure that you pick somebody that is a professional with proper certification.

00;03;47;26 - 00;04;14;13

I think we've all run into situations where somebody may say that they're qualified for something and they are not necessarily qualified. So… 

Shawn: Another thing would be choosing the right system for your, for your site. You know, you got to make sure that the soil evals come back and then you get a chance to look at them, make sure it's the right system for the soil.

00;04;14;15 - 00;04;34;18

What about requesting references? This is something I didn't think about before, but request references that are for systems that are more than five years old. Because systems take a little while to get established. But see if you can talk to some people that this installer has worked with before. It's not a bad idea.

Angela: To see if they've had any hiccups.

00;04;34;20 - 00;05;07;13

Like, were their lines installed properly? Were their, you know, the line from their house, was it installed properly? Have they had any problems? Did they… did their tank end up leaking? Like ask for those recommendations. And references. And make sure that you verify with the local health department what is required of your system. Sometimes you get a letter that says what's needed.

00;05;07;16 - 00;05;33;21

But if you don't you can verify with your health department what's needed on that lot. 

Shawn: Yeah, absolutely. 

Angela: Yeah. Make sure the system is sized appropriately. 

Shawn: That's a big one. Yeah. 

Angela: Yeah. We've been talking about this a little bit recently. There are a lot of people. Not a lot. That's a misstatement. We have seen situations where systems have been undersized.

00;05;33;22 - 00;05;59;28

I was just talking about this in a meeting yesterday. So we've seen these systems where they are undersized and just verify. Make sure that the system is sized appropriately per your state's regulations. You know how many bedrooms you have. You can find that information out. 

Shawn: Yep. Make sure the tank is sized properly for that size home and all of that.

00;05;59;29 - 00;06;26;07

The occupancy…. 

Angela: Yep. And same thing with the drain field. Make sure the drain field is designed appropriately for your soil type. Right? Make sure that you've used quality materials. You can, you can get references, you can do research on all of the products that go into your system. 

Shawn: And not just the materials. Make sure it's a reputable manufacturer as well.

00;06;26;08 - 00;06;55;17

Angela: Right. Right. Please trust us when we say if somebody says you don't need an access riser, don't listen to them. If you take nothing else away from this today. If somebody tells you that you don't need an access riser, trust that in the next few years you will need an access riser. And then you got to pay somebody to dig up what you've got and

00;06;55;19 - 00;07;19;21

put one on because… 

Angela: So now you're paying for somebody to excavate and get down in there. Well first they have to find it. And then they have to dig it. Right? And then they have to get down in there and fix it because there's no access riser. Please get access risers. And please protect those access risers with a Tank Shield or a Guardian.

00;07;19;23 - 00;07;41;19

Shawn: Yes. Last thing we want is accidents in the tank. 

Angela: Yes. It is a small investment. For what it could save you. So, proper grading and surface water diversion away from the tank as well. It really is. Yeah. You don't want ponding on top of it.

Shawn: No. And some people may question why that's an important thing for longevity.

00;07;41;21 - 00;08;07;28

But if you're constantly, during the rainy seasons, overloading your system hydraulically, that's going to shorten the lifespan of your system dramatically. So the best thing you can do is to slope your terrain away from access risers and away from your drain field. All that stuff. Yeah. 

Angela: Yes, absolutely. All right. So let's talk a little bit about documentation. What you should keep.

00;08;08;01 - 00;08;29;21

Keep your as-builts. So one of the best things when I moved into this house, the plans are here. 

Shawn: Oh nice. 

Angela: I have my as-builts. I have the I actually have the home plans. So the design plans. And I was thrilled to get them because then you know where stuff is. 

Shawn: Absolutely. Yeah. 

Angela: Right? You know what it was designed…

00;08;29;22 - 00;08;59;22

You know, beams don't matter with the septic system, but if you're selling a home and you have the home plans and the as-builts in all of that… There was a drawer in the kitchen that had everything in it except for the house plans, which were in a plan tube. But there was a.. there was a drawer in the kitchen that had all of the papers in it for all of the pumps in the house, the electrical, the septic system, all of it.

00;08;59;25 - 00;09;27;22

Keep it. Keep it so that you have it for your records and you can pass it off. That includes as-built drawings, your permit records and final inspection approvals. Manufacturer specs if you get them. Recommended maintenance and then any... I would keep the receipts for the maintenance. 

Shawn: And if your installer gives you a warranty, be sure you keep that as well.

00;09;27;23 - 00;09;56;03

Angela: Yep. Or if the system itself has a warranty on it you can get that from the builder. Usually or the installer but get that as well. Keep those things. It's going to be great because then you don't have to find it later. All right. Part two. What can you do with your maintenance provider? Like how can you affect your maintenance provider.

00;09;56;03 - 00;10;25;12

And the first thing is find one who’s reputable. If they're busy, that's good. 

Shawn: And somebody who's certified to work on your system if it requires certification. 

Angela: Yes. Someone who has the proper certification to work on your system and has been trained. And you can ask them if they've been trained. And not only that but ask for references.

00;10;25;14 - 00;10;49;00

You can ask for references. Absolutely. You want to make sure that you get on a maintenance schedule. Or…

Shawn: Know what to expect during a maintenance inspection as well. In case there's something that you, you know, if you get a… if you get a list of things that need to be maintained and you can see that your service provider is not doing that, then you are a step ahead of everybody else. So…

00;10;49;02 - 00;11;21;18

Angela: And a lot of a lot of secondary treatment manufacturers publish O&M manuals so you can get your hands on your O&M manual. The O&M manual that pertains to your system and make sure that that's being done. I've heard, I've heard more than one situation where people do drive by maintenance. And that's not what the manual says to do.

00;11;21;19 - 00;11;46;01

And it's not what the manufacturer recommends to do. I don't know a manufacturer that recommends you just drive by. I don't, I can't I can't think of one. But I have heard of drive by maintenance and… know what they're supposed to do and know what you're paying for. Because you're paying them to maintain your system.

00;11;46;03 - 00;12;11;24

You're not paying them to just drive by your house. Get your money's worth. So what should proper maintenance include? We do tend to recommend measuring your sludge and scum accumulation. It is a great measure for the health of a system. It can tell you when pumping needs to happen. Now there's some jurisdictions that do require that you pump on a schedule.

00;12;11;26 - 00;12;38;14

And if your jurisdiction requires that you pump on a schedule then you must file a follow the rules where you live. However, pumping on a schedule is not necessary. It is law some places though, or the rule in some places. But what we like to recommend is that you have your scum and sludge accumulation measured, because that will tell you when it's time to actually pump your tank.

00;12;38;17 - 00;13;03;20

And that could be… that could be five years. It could be ten. We've seen systems over 20 by measuring sledge and scum. They should be inspecting baffles, inspecting the filters and all outlet devices, cleaning the filters off. So it's usually just a hose down. But it's important to do. That way things don't get backed up. 

00;13;03;22 - 00;13;20;17

Shawn: What I didn't think about, and I ran across in my research was checking distribution boxes. That makes a lot of sense. The maintenance provider shouldn't just be checking what's in your tank. They should be checking your whole system. 

Angela: That's what they're getting paid... Yeah. 

Shawn: Yeah. If… you know your drain field and so on, that's a vital part of your system.

00;13;20;18 - 00;13;45;02

So if you've got a distribution box, you need to make sure that they're checking that and that it's level and that if it's using speed levelers in there that those are set correctly. So…

Angela: Yeah, that there's not... things aren't getting backed up. They should be evaluating the drain field looking for signs of failure. Hopefully. And in most cases it's going to be great.

00;13;45;05 - 00;14;10;01

They're not going to be signs of failure. Everything's going to be hunky dory. It's exactly what you want. But it should be checked. Even just a visual exam to make sure there's nothing going on. And then in some places they are going to test effluent levels and quality. So they'll do a grab sample.

Shawn: Yeah. Just depends on your permit.

00;14;10;01 - 00;14;31;08

And you'll want to check with your maintenance provider your local jurisdiction. 

Angela: Yeah. Yeah. And if that's a requirement, then they'll either use test strips or they'll pull a grab sample and send it to a lab, one of the two. And they can talk you through which one is required for your specific system. All right. Should we talk about some red flags?

00;14;31;10 - 00;15;02;16

Shawn: Well, I think they're necessary. I mean, there are things that… because there are individuals out there that may promote some things that aren't necessary or extraneous. So I think it's important to talk about these things. The one of the top of my list is people or systems companies, individuals that recommend unnecessary additives or chemicals. If there's some reason that they have to add something like, if you need a chlorine injection or something that that's different.

Angela: that's different.

00;15;02;16 - 00;15;26;08

That’s built into the system.

Shawn: But if we're talking about opening the top of the tank and pouring in a bag of dog food or pouring in a box of an unnamed chemical substance…

Angela: Unnamed chemical that you purchase... 

Shawn: Yeah, that you purchase at your grocery store. And at best, they do nothing. At worst. You're wasting your money. 

Angela: Yeah. My, my father is retired. 

Shawn: He taught us well.

00;15;26;09 - 00;15;52;29

Angela: However, I still the other day got an email from him with one of those ads in it. I'm sure that he's targeted with ads like that, but he's the wrong one to target with it because he was like, what are I even thinking? So additives are necessary. 

Shawn: Yeah, and pumping every year… 

Angela: You will find… 

Shawn: Pumping every… people who insist you pump every year…

00;15;52;29 - 00;16;23;18

Angela: That's what I was just gonna say. 

Shawn: That's just... Yeah. 

Angela: Yeah. Unnecessary pumping. So I don't I don't really know if regulations that… I mean they may exist that say that you have to pump every year. 

Shawn: Just seems excessive.

Angela: Usually I've seen five.

Shawn: 3 to 5.

Angela: 3 to 5. But check with the rules in your area. Because if they're telling you to pump every year, it's probably not regulation based.

00;16;23;20 - 00;16;57;27

If they won't give you reports…

Shawn: or provide you documentation of any kind.

Angela: Provide you documentation of any kind other than an invoice, Or if they can't, if they won't provide documentation or they can't explain what they're finding and why it matters. I knew somebody, family member, did not call me until the third time that they had a service provider come out to their house and tell them they needed to replace their effluent filter.

00;16;57;29 - 00;17;21;04

That's what I said. Sorry. So you guys can't see. But Shawn is shaking his head. No. Right now. 

Shawn: I’ve got my eyes kinda… my eyebrows are kind of cocked. 

Angela: He’s like, what? No, that's exactly what his face just said was what? No. Yes, yes. Three times. They finally called me the third time. And we've been in this business for a very long time.

00;17;21;04 - 00;17;43;19

But our family is very, like, respectful of things. And so they didn't want to bother me with it. They were just going to do what their service provider said because they knew they were supposed to have a service provider. And they called. And I was like, did, did the handle break? Like, did something break on the, like, was the casing broke?

00;17;43;20 - 00;18;07;20

Like what? Why? Why are you replacing the filter? And they were like, no, they just said it wasn't working. And I'm like, no. No, no, no, no, no, no. No, no, no. That's not, like you need to tell them who you're talking to and you need to tell them that, I want to know why. That's… 

Shawn: As the kids will say, that sounds sus.

00;18;07;21 - 00;18;12;02

Angela: Yeah, that sounds sus. Yeah.

00;18;12;04 - 00;18;42;12

We are now trying to reach a different demographic, so we will start using terms like sus. But it was one of those things I was like, no, no. Like, you need to call them and be like, I need to know why we're replacing this. I don't think they got charged for the third one. 

Shawn: Hopefully not. 

Angela: And I think they'd already disposed of something, but just be suspect of that.

00;18;42;13 - 00;19;05;23

If they can't explain it or show it to you. Show me what's broken. Show me what's not working. Like I need to know. All right. I think we did talk about additives already. The bugs? I think we've said this before in the podcast, but it bears repeating. The bugs in your stomach that come out of your body are enough.

00;19;05;25 - 00;19;27;13

Shawn: They're naturally present in the tank. 

Angela: They're naturally present in the tank. They're doing their job if you leave them alone. So you don't need to add things to your tank unless you're looking for disinfection. And if you're looking for disinfection, it will be built into your system. All right. Daily habits. So, what can you do? What can you do?

00;19;27;15 - 00;19;54;22

Shawn: As a homeowner, there's a bunch of things you can do. You have some, you have some power in this. 

Angela: Yes. There are things that you yourself can do when you're in the home that'll extend the longevity of your system. Water use. 

Shawn: Yes. That is the biggest one. 

Angela: That is the biggest one. You don't want to flood your system. And we're not saying don't take showers.

00;19;54;25 - 00;20;28;13

We're not saying don't take baths. We're not saying don't use your systems. We are saying be conscious of your water use. For a variety of reasons, to protect the water of the planet. But it will also protect the longevity of your system. So be a good steward of the water that you use. And that is coming from someone who does greatly enjoy a very long, hot shower.

00;20;28;15 - 00;21;04;08

All right, spread out laundry. So what we're talking about really is not overloading the system in one fell swoop, which happens a lot. I think Shawn and I have both worked the customer service line, and we've both taken these calls frequently from homeowners whose systems are alarming. And come to find out that they had company, did a bunch of laundry, ran the dishwasher, and everybody and their dog is taking a shower.

00;21;04;13 - 00;21;28;16

So just attempt to spread that stuff out throughout the week. Try not to just hammer the system all at once. Will it handle it? Yes. Do you want to do that on a regular basis? No. Could it shorten the longevity of your system if you do it often? Yeah. So let's just be better about it. Using high efficiency fixtures.

00;21;28;22 - 00;21;49;05

Shawn: Yeah. Things are better now than they used to be. So that's… That is a plus. I mean, things like kitchen faucets that have regulation in them so that you don't put a bunch of water at one time down there. I mean, my kitchen faucet does this too. It's got a flow regulator in it. And if I need extra power, there's a button on there that releases the regulator…

00;21;49;05 - 00;22;11;14

Angela: It releases the water. 

Shawn: That's right. Release the Kraken! No, but yeah, that… But that works well. It helps save me water when I'm doing things like I have to wash a couple dishes by hand or something because it doesn't go in the dishwasher. You know. So. And, you know, my shower fixtures are low flow 

Angela: All low flow. Yeah.

00;22;11;16 - 00;22;47;20

Shawn: and the toilets are all low flow. Yeah. So. 

Angela: Yeah. You can also now new dishwashers. Right. Instead of… they run longer now but use less water. They're high efficiency. You can get high efficiency washers as well. So high efficiency fixtures and appliances can go a long way in cutting down your water use. 

Shawn: Yep. Oh, fix water leaks immediately. Don’t let them go. If you've got a toilet that's running, if that ball flap in there is not seated right in that toilet’s running, you are going to fill your tank in no time.

00;22;47;21 - 00;23;16;06

Those things just… water leaks in faucets… All that stuff. It just adds. So if you have a leak somewhere, make sure it gets fixed right away. 

Angela: Yes. Fix it. It's better in the long run by the bullet. And do it. Water softener backwash should not go into your septic tank. Do I need to say it again? 

Shawn: We should clarify, though, that that is not softened water.

00;23;16;07 - 00;23;48;07

It's the, it's the discharge from... 

Angela: It’s the brine.

Shawn: Yeah, the brine from the cleaning cycle in your, or the washout cycle… Thank you. Yeah. In your water softener. That should never go into your septic tank. 

Angela: Correct. Not the softened water that comes from your water softener through your faucets for in-home use. That should go into your septic tank. We're talking about the backwash from the water softener as it's cycling through its cleaning cycle.

00;23;48;08 - 00;24;19;00

Shawn: It causes a lot of problems in your tank, and it will cause problems in your drain field as well. And so it's just better not to do it. 

Angela: Yep. We have papers. We have talked about this. Just don't do it. Have it rerouted. Okay. So what goes down your sinks, toilets, must be processed. So flushable wipes are

00;24;19;01 - 00;24;53;23

A no, no. We've talked about this before as well. They're just a nonstarter. We've all seen the fatburgs that have flushable wipes. That's a very loose term, in them. But we've all talked about or we have talked about before, the jars that my dad has in his office or had in his office that had toilet paper and a variety of flushable wipes, or what was marketed as flushable wipes in what ended up being various states of decomposition.

00;24;53;25 - 00;25;12;22

And one thing I can tell you is that the flushable wipes did not actually decompose. Not like we need to.

Shawn: No. And I know we covered this in some detail in a previous episode as well. And so I think it was in our Dos and Don'ts episode or something. 

Angela: Yes, I think so. 

Shawn: So yeah, if you have additional questions about that,

00;25;12;23 - 00;25;36;05

be sure to listen to that episode as well, because there's a lot of information in there about this. But yeah, it's basically, if it didn't come out of you or it's toilet paper, it… don't, don't flush other stuff down the toilet and don't put it down your sink. It's not good for your system. 

Angela: Correct. Same thing with feminine hygiene products and diapers.

00;25;36;08 - 00;26;04;19

Just throw it in the garbage. 

Shawn: We’ve seen that before too. People trying to flush diapers down the toilet.

Angela: I just can't I can't even fathom. I just don't even, like, I would be worried about the pipes with a diaper. Not even just a septic tank. But like on city sewer, you shouldn't be flushing those things either. Because, just so we're clear, where do you think it goes?

00;26;04;21 - 00;26;25;17

Same thing with cotton swabs. So I've seen people throw cotton swabs into a toilet, and I'm just like, what are you doing? Like…

Shawn: Those fibers mess stuff up. 

Angela: Oh, gosh. Just please don't. No dental floss, no hair. Throw it in the trash. Like, usually there's a trash can right there. Use it. Cat litter. 

Shawn: Big no, no.

00;26;25;17 - 00;26;48;10

Angela: Big no no. Don't do it. Medications. You shouldn't be disposing of medications into your system either. Or cigarette butts. Paper towels. They're not meant to go in the toilet. Do not put them in the toilet. 

Shawn: Yeah. It doesn't decompose. It just doesn't go away. That's the problem. 

Angela: Nope. 

Shawn: It doesn't belong in your system. 

Angela: So… it doesn't belong in your system.

00;26;48;15 - 00;27;16;12

All right, so we have talked a lot about both your kitchen sink, what goes in, what should not go in, greases, coffee grounds. All of the food waste that should not be going down your drain. And we've talked about cleaning products. So moderate use of household cleansers. Avoid excessive bleach. Basically just avoid excessive anything. Don't put paint down there.

00;27;16;12 - 00;27;45;02

Paint is not meant to go down your drain. ET cetera. ET cetera. We've covered this a number of times whenever we talked about homeowner stuff and do’s and don'ts. So let's talk a little bit about things homeowners don't think about. 

Shawn: Yeah that's a good one. 

Angela: Landscaping and surface impact is huge. Be careful where you're building decks. Be careful where you're planting trees.

00;27;45;04 - 00;28;13;12

Be careful where your drains are coming out, where things are installed, where your spouts are coming off your home. Be careful of all of it. 

Shawn: Yeah. Don't drive across your drain field and don't use, like, riding lawnmowers or heavy vehicles. Like construction vehicles or anything like that. Don't push them across or drive them across your drain field. That will hurt your drain field immeasurably and you will have to end up replacing it sooner rather than later.

00;28;13;14 - 00;28;43;00

Angela: Yeah. Think about the guests that you're going to have in your home. Your water intake is going to increase when you have guests, so you just have to take that into consideration. You just have to know that's going to happen. You might get an alarm. You might want to spread out the showers that are taken just to give the, give the system a chance to process what was just put in. Temporary capacity is not infinite, right?

00;28;43;01 - 00;29;07;10

There's… systems are typically built with some temporary capacity for overload situations. But there is an end. 

Shawn: Yeah. One other thought too, is that if you have guests that will be staying for an extended period of time, you might let your service provider know that. 

Angela: Yeah. Yes. Because they can make some adjustments on their end that can help accommodate new folks.

00;29;07;10 - 00;29;32;14

If you have a VeriComm panel. 

Shawn: Yeah. If you have telemetry.

Angela: If you have a VeriComm. 

Shawn: Yeah, some form of telemetry, it works well. 

Angela: Some form of telemetry, then they can they can definitely help out. All right. Other things that need to be, that homeowners don't necessarily think about is additions. Right. So you're adding a bedroom or a bathroom. 

Shawn: Yeah. You just bought a home and you want to add another room to your house.

00;29;32;15 - 00;29;58;25

Angela: Yeah. It may require a system upgrade. If you get your permits, it'll, they'll tell you. Typically you want to make sure that all of that work is permitted. There's also a weather and naturally occurring events. So flooding, which is one of the reasons why making sure you have a watertight system is extremely important, especially in heavy rain conditions, as it's pouring outside my house right now.

00;29;58;27 - 00;30;07;17

Shawn: You too?

Angela: Yeah, I just looked outside and I'm like, oh, it is pouring.

00;30;07;20 - 00;30;30;05

Well, heavy rain events. You want to make sure that your system is watertight. And pay attention during heavy rain events that ponding is not happening. 

Shawn: Yeah. And it, it may help to use less water during heavy rain events inside your home just so that you're not overloading your drain field, or, causing problems in your drain field. 

00;30;30;07 - 00;30;51;26

Angela: Power outages can also have an effect. So if there's a power outage, your pump is not running. Just something to watch out for and think about. Most people aren't running as much water because none of their appliances are working. 

Shawn: Right. Dishwashers not going. Washing machines not working…

Angela: Laundry’s not going. Yeah. If you have gas, you'll still have hot water most of the time, but… all right.

00;30;51;27 - 00;31;16;27

So warning signs and when to act. Like, what… what do you need to look for. An early warning sign is slow drains. So if your drains are starting to gurgle or starting to drain slowly, that can be a sign that there's a problem. You should probably have someone look at it. Or if they're a sewer odors coming into your home.

00;31;16;29 - 00;31;40;15

And you'll know. If you've ever smelled it, you'll know. Also, lush, overgrown grass in areas where it should not be. 

Shawn: There was a reason why there was a phrase back in the ‘70s where it said, the grass is always greener over the septic tank. 

Angela: Yes. Yes. Not a good thing if the grass is greener over your septic tank.

00;31;40;17 - 00;32;12;03

Not a good thing. Your drain field. But it shouldn't be growing in patches. So your drain field will be more lush. Likely. Right. Because it's getting, It's getting water. It's getting tons of nutrients. Oh, yeah. Right? But, but not in patches. It should be a lush area. Just as a warning. One of the reasons why we encourage you to take care of these things early and as soon as you notice them is because

00;32;12;03 - 00;32;39;05

minor issues… it's typically a minor issue in the beginning. Right. So you'll see something. You'll smell something. You'll notice something. And it's like when we talked about the water leaking, right? It's a minor issue in the beginning. In the beginning, it's just, oh, I need to replace that valve or oh, I need to replace this fixture. If you let it go, it can compound the issue.

00;32;39;07 - 00;33;06;18

And that typically also compounds the cost. The last thing you want is to have to replace your drain field. 

Shawn: That, yeah that is one of the worst things you have to have happen on a system like that because it’s crazy-expensive. 

Angela: Yeah, it's it can be very expensive and you don't want it to happen because you didn't take care of a small problem in the beginning and you don't want, your property value can be impacted.

00;33;06;20 - 00;33;26;19

This is all about protecting your investment, protecting your system, making it last as long as possible. 

Shawn: And the last thing you want is your neighbor coming over to your house and saying, hey, your fields draining into my yard. 

Angela: Yes. Yeah. Not good. Not a fun conversation to have.

00;33;26;21 - 00;33;58;14

All right. So emergency protocols. So if something does happen, you should stop water use immediately. Call your maintenance provider. Call your maintenance provider. Have them come out and look at it. Have them determine what may or may not be going on, etc., etc. and understand. Truly understand when it's repair versus replacement. If you feel like you're not getting the best service from a service provider, get a second opinion.

00;33;58;16 - 00;34;25;09

Get a second opinion. All right. Should we talk a little bit about secondary treatment system considerations? 

Shawn: Just real real quickly. 

Angela: Yeah. Because we have talked about this a lot. A lot, a lot. We do focus a lot on secondary treatment. It's kind of our thing. Secondary treatment will require more maintenance. But it is typically more maintenance than just a septic tank and drain field.

00;34;25;12 - 00;34;55;10

But it is regulated. So it will be regulation driven. And you'll know. You'll know. The alarm system has to function properly. There might be a little bit higher electrical cost. It's nominal, but you usually end up with a smaller footprint. You will actually have maintenance contracts in place for a secondary treatment system. It's typically required for the permit for AdvanTex, Eco-Pod.

00;34;55;11 - 00;35;16;14

Those types of systems you usually have to have a maintenance contract in place. In many, many states. 

Shawn: You also be mindful that those systems tend to be… more advanced systems tend to be a little more complicated and have more parts and pieces and more points of failure. So you'll need to make sure those are getting checked as well.

00;35;16;17 - 00;35;40;25

Angela: Yes. Yes. Make sure that you look over your maintenance contract. Know what it is supposed to include and make sure that you don't have any extra charges. So let's give them a little checklist. 

Shawn: Actually, one more thing to check real quick. Because if your system has an aerator or some kind of a blower in it that is required for treatment of your system,

00;35;40;27 - 00;36;02;26

don't hesitate when that thing, if it fails, get it replaced right away. It will impact your system greatly if you do not. So please make sure you're if you have an aerator or some kind of a blower in your system that it is functioning properly. 

Angela: Yes. Yes. So let's break this down into some bullets for things that they can do.

00;36;03;02 - 00;36;37;02

So conserve water. Be conscious of your water use. Only flush the three P's. 

Shawn: Not to be crass… 

Angela: Not to be crass, but. 

Shawn:  Yeah. Pee, poop and toilet paper. There’s the other “P”. Paper. 

Angela: Schedule regular inspections. Keep detailed records and system documentation. Next is to schedule regular maintenance. Make sure that you've got your maintenance inspections in the books.

00;36;37;04 - 00;37;11;21

Make sure they get done. Keep detailed records. Make sure that you're recording what you're doing. So if anything's ever brought into question, and especially if you have a warranty, you're going to want to make sure that you're doing things according to recommendations to ensure that your warranty is intact. Avoid additives. It is an unnecessary expense. Protect your drain field from compaction and routing.

00;37;11;22 - 00;37;53;13

So, like Shawn was talking about, don't drive over it. That's what causes compaction. And like I said, don't plant big trees next to it. That's what causes rooting. And then last but not least. Just keep an eye on things. Be aware of what it looks like and address problems before they become failures. All right. Any final thoughts? 

Shawn: Just make sure that you're doing the normal common sense stuff, because that in, in and of itself is probably the most important thing you could do to increase the longevity of your system.

00;37;53;14 - 00;38;19;22

Angela: Yes, these systems are designed to last a very, very long time. Most manufacturers will tell you that they're designed to, to last 20 to 30 years. And what I can tell you is that while they are designed to last that long, I couldn't even put a number to the systems that are still in the ground that have lasted longer than that.

00;38;19;23 - 00;38;47;20

Yeah. So it's doing the right thing. Our frame of reference for time is expanding. And if you take care of it, it's like anything else. You take care of it. It will last longer. All right. Thank you, everyone for listening. We appreciate you. And Shawn, thank you for doing this with me. 

We want to thank you again for joining us today. Before you go, don't forget to subscribe where you listen to podcasts so you're notified when new episodes are posted. Also, you can leave your comments or suggestions through the contact link on our website, www.orenco.com. Until next time. Have a great day!