Your family's septic system can be a great, highly reliable way to deal with sewage if you don't have a city sewer hookup. However, if you don't want to have to pump your tank three times as often as normal, you'll need to take good care of it. Most septic system care consists of simply common-sense tactics, but if your family is used to living in the city, they may not always realize that what they're used to isn't good for the system you're currently on. Here are three tips you'll need to get everyone agree to if you want to keep everything moving smoothly through the septic system.

1. Don't use the food disposal

If you have a food disposal in your kitchen sink, don't use it. Anyone who cooks the food and clears away after the meals (or washes the dishes) needs to know that using the disposal even infrequently can increase the frequency of expensive septic tank pumpings, and that using it more often can mean you'll need to have your tank pumped several times as often as would otherwise be necessary.

2. Don't flush anything down the toilet

Other than the obvious uses, your toilet shouldn't dispose of anything else. Whether it's a cotton ball, cotton swab, tampon applicator, or even a short length of dental floss, any item that won't immediately break down in water can be a problem. This is particularly true if the item also floats (such as items that are made of plastic). Your septic tank is designed to work by allowing solids to sink down while liquids float away to the leach field. If something blocks the pipes that lead to the leach field, you could get septic system backups and other very unfortunate problems, such as water damage in your home. Even one member of the household could mess this up if they're not on board with this rule.

3. Don't park on the septic system

This rule really only needs to be observed by members of your household who can drive (so young kids won't have to worry about it, obviously). Both the septic tank and the leach field can be susceptible to heavy weights and aren't designed to be parked on, so be sure you know exactly where they're located and make sure nobody ever parks there, even during a party.

These three rules will help you and your family take good care of your septic tank. If any of your children have bad attitudes about these rules, explain to them what the dire consequences of a septic system backup could be.

For more information about septic tank maintenance and usage, contact a septic company, such as The Outhouse.