As the proud owner of a septic tank and leach field, you'll want to keep an eye on things so that everything continues to flow smoothly through the system as it should. Some owners, whether they're first-time owners or whether they're simply unaware of the ins and outs of septic system use and care, make big mistakes that may not seem at first to be an issue but that can cause enormous problems later on. Here are three such mistakes that as an enlightened septic owner you can avoid.

1. Improper drain use

Drains are traditionally designed to drain away waste water. If you have solid trash or food scraps, throw it in the actual trash. It may not seem like a big deal to rinse food scraps down the drain, especially if you have a garbage disposal. But it actually is a big issue with a septic tank, even if you don't end up clogging your drains. Garbage disposals are fine for use with sewers, but they can increase the frequency of needed septic tank pumpings from once every few years to once every year or two, which can cost you a lot of money.

2. Parking large objects on the tank

Don't do it. Whether you need to build an outbuilding or an extension on the house or whether you just need to temporarily park a vehicle on the lawn during a holiday party, find some other site. Don't put large objects on the tank itself or on the leach field, as the weight could cause a malfunction and then you'd have to get expensive repairs. 

3. Wasting water

It's true that your septic system is meant to deal with water, but it's also true that it only has a certain capacity depending on the size of the tank and the size of the leach field. If you waste a lot of water, or even if you just use a lot of water at once (say by doing all your family's laundry on one day right after taking a bath and then giving all the dogs their baths too), you can overwhelm the system's capacity. As you can imagine, this can cause backups or flooding and is a bad idea. 

These three mistakes can all cause malfunctions, overflows, or other problems that may require extra septic system pumping or other expensive maintenance or repairs. It's also possible for your septic system to overflow and back up into your house if there's a really big problem, so try to avoid these mistakes in caring for and using your septic system. For more information or advice, visit a company such as Complete Septic Tank LLC.