Septic Tips from Annie: Get Your Aerobic System Ready for Fall

Howdy, y’all! Annie here with the first of my monthly septic tips. Fall is finally creeping into East Texas, and it’s a fine time to give your aerobic system a little attention before winter and the holiday company show up.

Use the right chlorine tablets. If your system has a tablet chlorinator, keep it stocked with tablets made from calcium hypochlorite and certified by the EPA for wastewater disinfection. Do not, and I mean do not, use swimming pool tablets. TCEQ warns they don’t disinfect the water properly and can even give off an explosive gas in your chlorinator. Read and follow the label warnings, too.

Look after your spray field. That grass is working for you, soaking up water from the system. Texas A&M AgriLife suggests warm-season grass, overseeded with cool-season grass for winter. Keep trucks, equipment and livestock off it so the soil doesn’t get packed down.

Send the rain somewhere else. Point gutters and driveway runoff away from your tanks and spray area. If your spray heads keep running while it’s raining, rainwater may be getting into your system, and that’s worth a look.

Go easy when the house is full. Spread laundry out over the week instead of doing it all in one day, and keep cooking grease out of the sink.

Know your maintenance contract. Texas rules say a licensed maintenance provider must inspect your system and report to you and your local permitting authority at least every four months (every six if it has electronic monitoring). The tag on your system should get punched or marked at each visit, and your contract should say who keeps the disinfection unit going.

Got questions, or something just doesn’t seem right out there? Give me a holler at 936-559-0157, or fill out the request form on my website and tell me what’s going on. I’d rather explain your system than leave you guessing.