Heller
By JENNIFER HELLER, guest columnist
The following is advice from the National Environmental Health Association concerning septic systems in the cold winter months.
If weather is causing abnormally cold conditions in your area, here is some good advice on protecting your septic system.
If you will be gone for more than a week leave the heat on in your home and consider having someone come by and run warm water regularly to prevent pipes from freezing.
Limit all traffic above, and near, the system during freezing temperatures. Excessive foot traffic, pets or other impacts can cause snow to compact and the system to freeze.
Avoid removing or compacting snow above the system. Compacted snow provides less insulation than snow that is not compacted. The cold PVC pipes and plastic risers may crack or break.
If you feel the system is starting to freeze, by signs of back-ups in toilets or symptoms of clogging, use a warm water cycle and spread out your laundry and dishwasher schedule to at least one warm load per day. Do not leave water running because this will hydraulically overload the system.
If you will be gone for several months, follow the steps listed above and check with a septic system service professional about having your septic tank pumped to prevent the effluent from freezing. In certain areas pumping the tank in really cold extended weather with saturated ground may cause the tank to pop out of the ground.
If your septic system freezes, call a septic system service professional. Do not add antifreeze, salt or a septic system additive to the system. Do not run hot water continuously, start a fire over the system or attempt to pump the sewage. Unless the cause of freezing is corrected the system will probably refreeze next winter.
Jennifer Heller is the environmental health specialist for the Brown County Health Department. She is responsible for restaurant inspections, septic installation inspections, vector issues, farmer’s markets and home base vendor questions and complaints. She also chairs the Terrorism and All Hazards Preparedness Committee for the Indiana Environmental Health Association and will be the president-elect of that organization in 2022. She can be reached by at [email protected]
