Fats, Oils, Grease and Your Septic System

Think about what happens if you pour oil into a glass full of water. The same thing happens if you allow fats, oils and grease to get into your septic system in Strafford County, NH. Fats and septic tanks don’t mix. If you don’t protect your septic tank from oil and grease, they will accumulate in your septic system over time and float to the top of the tank.

Septic systems are really good at breaking down waste from your home, but the same is not true when it comes to fats, oils and grease. You should never pour grease down your drain if you want to keep your septic system working as it should. Read on for some things you should know about fat, oil, grease and your septic system.

How fats work in your septic system

If you let fats in the form of grease and oil into your septic system, you are eventually going to have some problems. It’s important to always make sure your grease traps are clean and working the way they’re supposed to. If you don’t, the grease, fat and oil will develop a hard layer that floats at the top of your septic tank. As the fats sit there, they might end up combining with soap residue, solids like flushable wipes and other substances, developing into a hard crust on the surface of the water in your tank.

The consequences of leaving grease and oil in your septic system

If you allow fat, grease and oil to get into your septic system by failing to clean your grease traps for long enough, these fats will accumulate in volumes that cause serious problems. Your plumbing can suffer, as the crust of fat can clog pipes and prevent grease traps from even working correctly, which makes the problem exponentially worse. Eventually, you’ll have so much fat stuck in your tank that it causes backups, blockages and even overflows.

This is a smaller-scale example of the increasing problems that fat, grease and oil buildup can cause in major city sewage systems in the form of fatbergs. These are masses of hardened cooking fats that combine with things like wet wipes and congeal over time, eventually becoming hard and rock-like and containing all kinds of organic and inorganic materials. Fatbergs have become such a significant problem in large city sewer systems that they’ve inspired movements against the use of flushable wipes.

How to prevent fats, oils and grease from harming your septic system

The first and easiest step to prevent fats, oils and grease from causing catastrophic septic problems on your Strafford County, NH property is to simply prevent them from entering your system to begin with. As tempting as it is to make cleanup easier after cooking a meal by pouring off the chicken fat or bacon grease in your skillet into the sink, it’s not worth it! Don’t pour any oils down your drain, and be sure to clean out your grease trap as often as you can.

If you do end up having issues with fat buildup in your septic system, the best thing to do is call on the professionals at B.H. Cameron Septic Services LLC in Strafford County, NH. We’ve been serving the community with a full range of septic services for more than 15 years. Contact our experts today to schedule an appointment.

Categorised in: Septic Tank Maintenance

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