Purchasing a new home that's on its own septic system means you need to immediately take a few steps to be proactive in the care and maintenance of the system. Unless you are provided with official documentation detailing previous maintenance visits and repairs, you may need to take a few preemptive steps before you can draft a septic maintenance plan. The following are what you need to know so you can develop an ongoing plan for keeping your septic system in top condition.

#1: Locate the tank access and drain fields

The most important task is to know where the tank access point and the drain field are located. Usually, this information is provided by the seller or can be obtained from the county planning office, but there are some instances where the information is not readily available. It's vital to know the location of the drain field before you move in.

This is because a drain field can be damaged if you drive on it, plant the wrong types of plants over it, or erect a structure upon it. As for tank access, not only do you want to avoid damaging the tank; you must know where it is so you can have basic maintenance performed regularly. If you are not sure where it is located, a septic company can provide locator services for a small fee.

#2: Determine tank size

Septic tanks come in different sizes. Limitations on size may be placed by the local municipality, or the size may simply be restricted due to the space available. It's vital that you know the size of your tank so that you can determine its capacity. For example, if you purchased a house from a couple with no children who had a smaller tank installed, you may need to upgrade to a larger tank if you have a large family.

If a larger tank upgrade isn't a possibility due to size constraints or cost of installation, then you will need to plan and budget for more frequent septic pumping and cleaning. Tank size information is usually provided during purchase, but if not, you may be able to get the information from the previous maintenance company or by having it assessed by a septic service.

#3: Verify maintenance standing

Finally, you need to know the current state of the septic tank. If previous septic maintenance records are provided by the previous owners, this will be a simple task. Otherwise, try contacting the last known company to have serviced the tank to see if they have the records on hand. If you are unsure of this information, you have two options.

The first is to contact area septic services and inquire whether they have serviced your address and if they have maintenance records. The other option is to hire a septic service to inspect the tank and help you draft an ongoing maintenance schedule, which should include regular pumping and cleaning of the tank.

For more information, contact a septic service like Economy  Septic Service today.