Your septic tank is an important fixture in any home and business. However, this essential part of home cleanliness can end up becoming a ticking time bomb that can ruin your day and your business. Overflowing, and awful smells are the least of your worries if you leave your septic tank alone. The best way to keep this from happening is to make sure that you know what causes these disgusting septic tank problems. 

The Roots of Septic Tank Problems

You might notice one day that your septic tank is overflowing and that the gunk that’s supposed to be in there is starting to pour into your home or business. It’s too late now and you need to call in the professionals to fix the problem. To avoid this happening to you, we’ve put together a list of the things that you can do to avoid unnecessary bills. 

Flushing Detergent 

Flushing detergent might not seem like something to be concerned about. However, this can easily cause your septic tank’s ecosystem to be sent off balance. Detergent is filled with various phosphates that promote the growth of algae. These phosphates let algae grow faster and more aggressively in your septic tank. This blocks off piping leading to or leading out of your septic tank. This causes large blockages that make it harder for your septic tank to do its job properly.

Flushing Harsh Chemicals

You might think that flushing down harsh chemicals like bleach and weed killers can fix the algae problem. Sure, Those chemicals can take care of the algae, however, you’re creating a new problem. You’re not only killing off the algae but you’re also killing off the important bacteria that digest the stuff you flush. Without those bacteria working to decompose your waste, it will take much longer for your septic tank to pass the effluent into the sewage system. 

Excessive Amounts of Water

Ok, so you’ve made the mistake of flushing good bacteria-killing chemicals down the toilet. You decide to flush excessive amounts of water down the drain to help pass those chemicals out. That does manage to get rid of the chemicals but now you’ve created yet another septic tank problem for you to fix. Too much water is a problem for a septic tank, especially if it isn’t built to handle it. It makes it harder for things to decompose in the tank and waste that hasn’t been properly processed will be passed out. It’s bad for the environment and can also cause your drain field to become waterlogged. A waterlogged drain field will not be able to do its job properly and you’re eventually going to need to have it replaced.

Failing Parts in Your Septic Tank

Now you’ve got failing parts in your septic tank. The most common things to fail in any septic tank are the drain field, inlets, and outlets. These are the tightest spaces in any septic tank and you can expect leaks to start from here. The worst-case scenario is if the waste being processed starts backing up and starts spilling into your home. 

Lack of Inspections and Maintenance

All of the aforementioned septic tank problems can be easily prevented by regular inspections and maintenance. Knowledge of how to conduct these are important for any home and business owner to prevent explosive diarrhea from getting everywhere when you least expect it. If you aren’t sure of how to do this or don’t have the stomach to open your septic tank, then have a professional take a look at it and have them give you advice on what to do.

A composting toilet is a great alternative to your usual septic tank toilets when there aren’t any stable places to have a septic tank or if the area is secluded. But keeping one maintained can be an arduous task and if not properly maintained can lead to your toilet being unusable for months. The best way to make sure that doesn’t happen is to know exactly what needs to be done to keep one maintained and in top condition.

How Does a Composting Toilet Work?

Before we get into the nitty gritty of how you can keep your composting toilet in top condition, we first need to know how it works. You can’t fix something if you don’t know how it works.

Aerating Waste with Mulch

Your usual composting toilet will have a deep pit where you’d normally find mulch like sawdust or shavings. There is also usually a container near the composting toilet with more mulch that you need to toss in after you’re done answering the call of nature. The reason why sawdust and other similar materials are used instead of sand is that they create small pockets of air. These air pockets let air circulate better in the pit and making it easier for bacterial cultures to decompose the waste.

Bacterial Assistance

Most if not all composting toilets make use of bacteria to help decompose waste. There are two kinds of bacteria that you’ll find in a composting toilet pit. The bad bacteria that can cause disease and commercial bacterial cultures that you’ll introduce yourself. The bacterial cultures will eliminate bad bacteria while also decomposing the waste faster and more efficiently. It also makes sure to eliminate the smell that comes with human waste.

Maintaining Your Composting Toilet

Now that you know how your composting toilet works, you might think that all you need to do is toss in mulch and bacterial cultures in there to keep it working. That isn’t the case as it needs other maintenance steps to keep it from smelling like an open septic tank. 

Daily Cleaning

Composting toilets are known to require more cleaning than your standard flush toilets because of how a composting toilet is built. It’s literally a toilet on top of a pit. In order to trim down the pyramid of filth in the pit, make sure to have it scooped out every day.

Proper Usage of Mulch

There should be a spare bucket filled with mulch near your composting toilet. This makes it easier for a person who just recently used the toilet to reach it and throw a fresh coat of mulch on their waste. It dries out the waste and makes it much harder for bad bacteria and flies to breed and grow in the pit.

Avoid Pouring Water in the Toilet

Water might seem like a good idea to throw into your pit, but it does more harm than good. Water will turn the inside of the pit into a sloppy mess and make it much harder and more disgusting to clean it out. Not only that, the sloppy mess in your toilet’s pit is the perfect breeding ground for bad bacteria and flies to breed and grow.

Keep Other Waste Out

Human waste is the only thing that should be going down your toilet. Solid objects like glass, chunks of wood, and cloth will sit in your pit for extended periods of time and will not easily turn into compost like the human waste. This also makes it exceptionally more dangerous to clean a pit out, especially if there are any sharp objects in there. A single cut can lead to a septic infection and put your life in danger, so make sure to put foreign objects into a bin instead of the pit. 

The grease trap is an important part of any restaurant. It helps keep your sewage line free of fat, oil and grease, collectively known as FOGs, and prevent any flooding incidents in your establishment and making it smell like the grease trap itself. If you’re unsure of how you should go about maintaining your grease trap then keep reading.

Why Grease Trap Maintenance Is Important 

Maintaining your grease trap should be at the top of your priority list to make sure that your grease trap doesn’t fail and ruin dinner service.These tips will help you make the right decisions whenever you need to maintain your grease trap.

Conduct Regular Maintenance and Inspections

Regularly checking your grease trap for any issues is the first step to proper maintenance. Inspecting and cleaning your grease trap should be done once every 2 to 3 months to make sure that it stays in top condition and doesn’t have any underlying issues that could end up breaking your grease trap or even your sewage line. Missing these can mean you have to spend a large amount of money on repairs that could have been avoided. 

Be Prepared with The Right Tools

“Avoid using a sledgehammer when trying to open a nut”

Sure, you can use that sledgehammer, but you’ll end up with a broken nut. The same applies to grease trap maintenance as using the wrong tool for the job can end up breaking your grease trap. Having the right tools on hand can definitely make a difference when it comes to making it easier to maintain. Some tools you can use to make grease trap maintenance easier include:

• Rubber Gloves and Coveralls. These can help you stay clean while maintaining your grease trap as grease is difficult to wash off.
• Shop Vacuum. This helps you vacuum up the sludge in your grease trap.
• Wrenches, Crowbars, and Screwdrivers. These tools help you properly remove parts from your grease trap for replacing or cleaning. 
• Scraper. Use this to scrape off grease sticking to the sides and bottom of your grease trap.
• Gas Mask. This is optional but remember that the smell that can come from your grease trap can be awful. If you’re conducting maintenance without one, then you’re either a professional, have an iron gut, or unprepared. 

Check The Installation of Your Grease Trap

Proper maintenance can start as soon as a grease trap is installed. During installation, check if your grease trap is properly installed as improper installation could mean that FOGs will still be getting  in your sewage line. A good sign that your grease trap isn’t properly installed is if there is little to no grease in your grease trap after several months of installation. 

Get Professional Help

If you aren’t sure of how to go about maintaining your grease trap, then calling a professional in to help with it can be a good idea. They come equipped with the knowledge and tools to be able to fix and clean your grease trap without risking it being damaged. They can even help you properly reinstall a grease trap that was mishandled and  improperly installed. 

Use Specially Formulated Bacterial Cultures

Certain bacterial cultures sold by companies like MicrobiaLogic’s GTB 800 Grease Trap Treatment breakdown FOGs blocking your grease trap. With the FOGs broken down and unable to clog the drain, wastewater can safely move to your sewage line without risking it blocking it.

Bacteria are small but powerful organisms that we have lived with for centuries. They have been used to make bread rise and make alcoholic beverages in days of old. Today however, bacteria is not only used to make your pastries and beer but also help the environment clean up our waste products.

If you’re curious about how you’re helping yourself by using bacterial cultures then read on.

Why Use Bacterial Cultures?

The environment can easily handle small amounts of waste products. However, dumping billions of gallons/tons of waste without treating it will overwhelm our environment and put the ecosystem in jeopardy. This is where bacterial cultures come in. It ensures that there is less waste floating around, fewer diseases, less odor, and make sure that the environment we live in can cope with the waste we dump every day. 

Less Waste

Bacterial cultures are used to help eliminate solid waste from wastewater. This process is called Biodegradation.The use of bacterial cultures ensures that waste products are removed quickly and efficiently when compared to just dumping it into the environment and hoping that nature will take care of it. Nature is too slow to handle all the waste we output every single day so using it on our waste ensures that we give nature a helping hand in handling our waste.  

Odor Removal

You would think that bacteria would create a terrible odor while eating away at the waste however, there are specific bacterial cultures that can eliminate up to 75% of the odor from waste. This bacteria is lactobacillus which is commonly found in yoghurt and cheeses. It works by producing lactic acid which prevents the growth of other more odorous bacteria.  

These bacterial cultures will definitely be able to handle the odor that will be billowing out of your outhouse after burrito night.  

Disease Prevention

Untreated sewage is also a carrier of disease. Without treatment, diseases such as leptospirosis, diarrhea and hepatitis could contaminate sources of drinking water. Your drinking water. It would also infect fish that you would commonly find on your dinner plate. This can cause stomach problems and illness when eaten. 

Better thank bacteria for making sure that your next Salmon Mignon and cold glass of water is as pristine as a crystal clear river and tastes just as good as it looks. 

Environmental Preservation

Solid waste absorbs oxygen from the water around it which means there is less oxygen that can be used by fish and other forms of aquatic life. If there isn’t enough oxygen in the water, aquatic life will find it difficult to thrive, let alone survive. Rivers formerly teeming with life will slowly be left barren and dirty due to all the waste floating around.

Bacterial cultures are the heart and soul of waste disposal and we would literally be in deep sh*t if we weren’t using them.

At home you can also use bacterial cultures to help get rid of waste in your own outhouse or septic tank. The RTB760 and RTB780 bacterial cultures that you can get from MicrobiaLogic will help break down waste and get rid of any unwanted odors. Get yours today!