If you are new to septic systems or are a septic system veteran but never gave your septic system much thought, you should be aware that there are limits to the amount of water that a septic system can handle. Most homeowners assume that since the septic system seems to be working properly without any backups or wastewater pooling in the yard, then the system is doing a fine job of handling the water load they are placing on it.
However, you can easily overload a septic system and cause damage to your septic field without any indications of a problem showing up for years. This kind of long term damage can significantly shorten the life of your septic system or cause you to need expensive drain field repairs.
The septic tank relies on time and gravity to separate the solid material from the liquid effluent. The wastewater should remain in the tank for about 48 hours to allow the solid material to collect on the bottom of the tank and any grease or oils to float to the top of the tank. Then the effluent can flow out into the drain field and safely percolate into the soil.
Using too much water in a short time period can prevent the waste water from standing in the tank long enough for the solids to settle out. For example, if you do ten loads of laundry on Saturday, the extra waste water added to the usual waste water load can overload the septic tank. It is better to do one or two loads a day throughout the week.
In addition, lowering your water usage by installing low flow plumbing fixtures can help reduce the water load on your septic tank and extend the life of your septic system.
