How to Increase the Life of Your Septic Tank System

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In need of septic tank maintenance? If your residential or commercial property is not connected to the main city sewer system, your property probably operates with a septic system. Septic systems work by separating the solid and liquid waste and breaking it down in a safe manner. While it sounds kind of gross to have that operating under your property, the alternative is that it has nowhere to properly drain and ends up on your lawn. It’s probably in your best interest to keep this system functioning properly for as long as possible. Here are some small things you can do that will help your septic system last as long as possible.

Your Toilet Isn’t A Trash Can

Remember that your pipes, storage, and drainage systems have to handle anything that you throw down there. The only things that should go down your toilet drains are human waste, liquids, and toilet paper. Flushing things like diapers, hair clogs from a drain, cat litter, paper towels, or other personal hygiene items is a great way to fast-track your need to call someone in for septic tank maintenance. Remember as well that your septic system is not involved with the municipal sewer systems, so even if an abnormal product advertises itself as “flushable,” that may be defined by local municipal testing standards, not on your own property’s system.

Know Where Your System Is

Even in the city, tree roots can cause blockages in drainage and sewer piping. Keep in mind where your septic system is and where the piping runs and do your best to keep trees away from your pipes. It will be cheaper to dig out and kill a tree in your yard than dig up and repair your entire system later. Regular septic tank maintenance can include a service that checks your pipes and removes roots (through either blades or a chemical solution) so if this is a concern, contact a professional once a year or as required.

Don’t Dump Chemicals

Chemical cleaners and bleaches can kill bacteria in your home, but when you dump them down the drain, they also continue to kill bacteria in your septic system. This might sound like a good thing, but there are good bacteria in your septic system that is breaking down solid waste safely. Killing that good bacteria is a very easy way for that solid waste to build up. Things like gasoline, oils, antifreeze, and paint thinners are other common items that are really not good for your septic system; exposure to these often requires septic tank maintenance to get your system functioning properly again.

Keep an Eye Out

Pay attention to any strange smells from your drains in your home. Smells like sulphur or a rotten egg can indicate problems. Watch out for puddles of standing water near your septic tank. Water backups in your sewer drains or washing machines or a gurgling sound in your drains after a toilet flush can all be indicators of a problem. It’s best to call a septic tank maintenance company sooner rather than later because responsible maintenance is always cheaper than replacing a full system. Click here or follow this link for more details.

How Much Does it Cost To Clean A Grease Trap?

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Grease Is the Word

Running a restaurant can be very lucrative, but it can also be quite a challenge. Food handling has a great swath of regulations and standards that must be maintained for safety and cleanliness. FDA standards for food inspection are very strict to keep patrons safe and for the business to avoid liability—and in food prep, it doesn’t take very much for something to go wrong. That’s why maintenance is key. Constant cleaning of all components ensures quality food without risks of potentially life-threatening sicknesses and infections, like salmonella and E. Coli, and without threatening the environment with the neglected buildup of greases and oils. This is one of the major reasons it’s important to keep up on grease trap cleaning.

How Does a Grease Trap Work?

A grease trap is a basic mechanism that acts as a filter that catches oil and grease runoff as it runs toward a drain. The grease trap catches the semi-solid fats, which are heavier than the water carried with it, in a basin between the grill and the drain. This keeps the grease from seeping into sewer pipes. Regular grease trap cleaning is therefore needed to avoid many environmental catastrophes and the fines that follow.

Grease trap cleaning is also essential for many other reasons. Oils are heavily viscous, and they can easily lock up a drainage system with buildup. This can damage components, cause downtime, or in the worst cases, lead to a fire. A grease trap looks like a large, square basin that is about the size of a large, two-handled storage box, but it is made of metal with a sealed lid. To clean the trap, the lid must be carefully pried off without chipping or cutting the rubber gasket. Inside, the receptacle holds the grease, which must be stored in an approved environmental waste container.

The Costs of Grease Trap Cleaning, and the Cost of Avoiding Grease Trap Cleaning

While grease trap cleaning is, in theory, a fairly simple task, it can also be risky to undertake it yourself without the proper training. Because grease traps are made up of several sensitive components that are assembled to specifications, grease trap cleaning that is done by untrained persons is unrecommended. It can be easy for a botched grease trap cleaning to damage the gaskets or lose parts, costing you the replacement of the parts or the entire unit, both of which can potentially cost you thousands, plus downtime.

Professional cleaning companies will charge a nominal price for a grease trap cleaning. In the United States, this typically ranges between approximately $115 and $1050, depending on the size, type, and buildup of your trap. If you are unsure, ask for a quote before getting a grease trap cleaning. One thing that is certain, though, is that a professional grease trap cleaning is much more economical than dealing with the costs involved in botched cleanings, or no cleanings at all.

Professional Grease Trap Cleaning

Restaurants in the Houston (https://goo.gl/maps/WmAZkhY57SSgw6JbA) area need to keep up on regular grease trap cleaning. If you are in the Houston area and need professional grease trap cleaning, visit this page now or contact Drane Ranger.

What Happens if a Septic Tank is Never Pumped Out?

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Septic tanks perform a necessary service for many homes and businesses. Just like other im-portant parts of a building or home, they need regular maintenance and care. But if they don’t get that proper care, what can happen? And what happens if a septic tank is left too long with-out getting drained? We answer that question today and tell you why a septic tank pump out service might be the solution to your septic tank maintenance needs.

The Problems of Septic Overflow

The quick and easy answer to the question, “what happens if a septic tank is never pumped out?” is simply, “it overflows.” When left to their own devices, septic tanks slowly rise while “digesting” the materials that flow into it. Usually, there is a release that triggers when the di-gested material reaches a certain level, taking it to a “leaching field” (more on leaching fields below). While this process can sometimes be in equilibrium, where the material coming in and being digested is less than or equal to the material being moved to the leaching field, some-times the material will be too much, leading to an overflow that could have been solved by call-ing a septic tank pump out service.

Once your septic tank overflows, you will know. Mostly because the ground around your septic tank may become unusually lush and, more importantly, because a distinctive smell will arise. The combination of the material coming in and the “digesting” process can be overwhelming, and this will be pushed forward if the tank overflows because it was never pumped. By that point, you will need more than a septic tank pump out service.

Considerations with Leaching Fields

Leaching fields are where digested material from septic tanks are moved once the tank reaches a certain level. These fields are often made of sand and rock to absorb the liquid and any po-tential smell. Of course, depending on the leaching field, too much material from the septic tank can cause problems itself. This is why many people use a septic tank pump out service from trained professionals. They can regularly drain a septic tank while also ensuring that the leaching field is right for the tank and amount of material.

How to Prevent Septic Tank Overflow

The easiest, most convenient, and most reliable way to ensure that your septic tank never over-flows is to hire a septic tank pump out service. With trained professionals offering regular sep-tic pump out service, you can rest easy knowing that none of the above situations will happen. Plus, having an experienced professional regularly pump out your septic offers a chance to give it a quick inspection, meaning they can help spot potential problems early, before they become major and expensive repairs.

Drane Ranger is dedicated to making septic tank maintenance easy, simple, and affordable. Our team of dedicated professionals understands septic tanks, they know how to drain them properly, and they understand when maintenance needs to be done. If you are in need of a sep-tic tank pump out service, we can help. Contact us today or visit this page to learn more about this and other services we offer to people in the area.

How Commercial Grease Traps Prevent Costly Plumbing Emergencies?

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There was an old myth that, if you poured your grease down the sink and then chased it with hot water, this was the best way to get rid of fat and grease from your kitchen. We have since learned that this is not a good way at all to dispose of grease and fats. It is a good thing that commercial businesses don’t use this method and instead use commercial grease trap cleaning to dispose of their grease and fats.

Risk of fire

There are laws on how often you need to complete a commercial grease trap cleaning. These laws may vary from city to city or state to state, but they are in place for reasons. As a commercial business, you want to ensure that these timelines are followed, not just for legal reasons, but also to prevent damage and costly plumbing emergencies. One of the major concerns with regard to commercial grease traps that are not cleaned properly is the risk of fire. Fats and oils that are stored or that stay in the grease traps can be flammable, and oil and fat fires tend to burn hotter and longer than a basic fire. This can cause damage to your building, your business, and potentially even injury or death to your employees.

Risk of Health hazards

A business owner continues to monitor operation costs to ensure that the profit margins are as high as possible. One of the biggest worries for business owners is emergencies—and the corresponding unexpected costs of repairs. Doing regular commercial grease trap cleaning can help eliminate some of these costly repairs. When grease traps are not cleaned regularly there can be a buildup of grease and fats. This can then begin to back up the pipes and overflow back into the kitchen, or into another facility where it is being used. When this occurs, there will often be a foul smell, but in addition to that unpleasant odor can also be severe health risks that result from the bacteria that are coming back into the business along with the overflowing grease and fats. This health emergency can shut down your business until the traps are cleaned and the facility is restored to health standards.

Risk of costly repairs or replacement

Commercial grease trap cleaning can assist in preventing damage to the pipes and the trap system. When the traps and pipes are not professionally cleaned on a regular and scheduled basis, the pipes can begin to wear down. The acid and bacteria left in the pipes can corrode the pipes and reduce the integrity of the system. When this happens the pipes and trap system can begin to leak and eventually burst. There would be a huge clean up, but there would also be a costly emergency to replace the entire grease trap system.

Commercial grease trap cleaning is not something that can or should be ignored. By having your grease traps cleaned and maintained on a regular basis, you can prevent costly emergencies. For more information about grease trap cleaning in your area click here.