Mother nature is the force that makes a septic tank operate. This is as a result of the natural bacteria that occurs and also seem to feast on the impurities that are in waste water, so looking after a septic tank really will help to stop pollution. Highbury Plumbers use only professional tradespeople. The septic tank is a relatively cheap and simple way to discharge and manage a domestic property’s waste. Surprisingly, the septic tank still represents a quick cost effective solution to certain problems. The tank itself is basically quite a small holding tank that lets solid waste settle out and form at the bottom of the tank and then the allow the partially treated liquid waste to run away and disperse in a soak away, which is usually a field. The best place for a septic tank to be located is in porous soil conditions. However, all these types of tank must be emptied out once a year, as they can only usually hold around a years worth of the sludge. If the sludge begins to move into the soak away’s soil it will really very quickly block off the air spaces (porosity) in the soil, and the effluent will not soak away, this causes a soakaway failure and the tank backs up. If in doubt, call in a professional like a Highbury Plumber. Detergents are fine and also some other domestic chemicals. These will not damage the bacterial actions of the system. Always use a premium toilet paper that will biodegrade as soon as it becomes wet. The best way to see if the toilet paper is the best is is to place a lump of toilet paper in a half filled container of water and shake, if the paper breaks apart, then the paper is fine to use in your system.