Your septic tank, by definition, deals with heavy amounts of waste and a great deal of general pressure associated with being a central part of your property's plumbing system. This means that degradation and potential problems can occur over time, which can be complicated and expensive to fix. Fortunately, there are a handful of relatively simple things that you can do to keep your property's septic tank in the best condition possible for as long as possible.

Avoid Parking on It

One of the easiest things to do to prevent your septic tank from becoming physically damaged is to make sure that you are not parking on top of or near it. The added weight of a vehicle on top of a septic tank can cause all sorts of physical problems, including helping to develop leaks — and in some rare cases, can even lead to a collapse. Mark the area clearly and make sure that any guests that you invite keep their vehicles off of it as well.

Avoid Drain Cleaners and Chemicals

You should always avoid putting certain things down your drain if you have a septic tank, but by far the worst things that you can pour down the drain are chemicals and drain cleaners. Not only will the strong corrosive nature of these chemicals cause damage to your pipes and make a plumbing leak more likely in the future, but they will kill the bacteria in your septic tank that are used to process and break down physical waste This can greatly increase the risk of your septic tank suffering from an overflow as it is unable to properly process the sheer amount of wastewater that passes through it.

Change Your Water Habits

One of the more common problems that can face a septic tank is simply having too much water passing through it too quickly, which means that the tank will fill up faster than it can process all that waste. This can lead to overflows and can also place more physical pressure on the tank itself, making a crack and leak much more likely. In order to prevent this from happening, you should change up your water using habits within your home. This means simple things like taking shorter showers and turning the tap off while you brush your teeth, but also things like making sure that you are not doing multiple loads of laundry in the same day or that you fill the dishwasher all the way up before running it.

For more information, contact local professionals like those found at Honest John's Septic Service Inc.