1. Do not dispose of fats, greases, or cooking oils down any household drain. The oils and greases will plug the soil pores and ultimately prevent the water from percolating into the soil.

2. Minimize your water usage to prevent overloading of the system. A leaking plumbing fixture may add hundreds of gallons of water per day to the system. Run the dishwasher and washing machine only for full loads. Doing all the clothes washing in one day may overload the septic system. It is referred to as "surge loading" when you run six loads on Saturday and none the other days.

3. Do not use a garbage disposal or at least minimize its use. Using the garbage disposal to dispose of bones, coffee grounds, coarse fruit or vegetable peelings or other products that are slow to biodegrade will cause the septic tank to fill much more quickly and require more maintenance to the system.

4. Do not dispose of automotive fluids, painting products or pesticides down the drain. Gasoline, oil degreasers, paint thinners, etc. can kill the bacteria in the septic tank and result in an increase in the buildup of solids in the tank and cause a carryover into the drainfield. In addition, these products can accumulate in the soil and enter the groundwater to contaminate the water we drink.

5. Do not dispose of household disinfectants, antibiotics, and degreasers down the drain. These can kill the bacteria in the septic tank and result in an increase in the buildup of solids in the tank and cause a carryover into the drainfield. The carryover of solids will result in the plugging of the soil pores, which prevents the water from percolating into the soil.

6. Do not dispose of any non-biodegradable items down the drain. These items include sanitary napkins or tampons, condoms, cotton swabs, cigarette butts, disposable diapers, infant wipes, etc. These items may plug sewer lines, baffles and drainfield perforations or lodge in the pump, and will certainly require additional maintenance for the system.

7. Do not connect any "clear water" sources such as footing and foundation sump pumps to the private sewage system. Systems are not designed to handle such excessive water flows.

8. Surface water should be diverted away from the leach field to prevent the area from being saturated by these waters. Otherwise, the surface water will compete with the effluent to percolate into the soil.

9. The water softener discharge should not go into the onsite system. The calcium chloride is a form of salt. Salt accumulations within the drain field may adversely affect the soil permeability and contribute to clogging of the soil pores.