For homes on septic and private wells
The owner’s manual your house didn’t come with.
When to pump, what your well test means, what never to flush, and what to check before you buy. Plain answers from EPA, USGS, and extension sources.
Tools
Four tools for septic and well owners
Septic pumping interval calculator
Estimate how often your tank needs pumping from tank size and household, using Penn State Extension’s sludge-accumulation method, next to EPA’s 3-to-5-year guidance.
Open →Well water test result reader
Type in the numbers from your lab report. See each result next to EPA drinking water standards, with plain notes on what it means.
Open →What not to flush (or pour)
Search a list of common household items and see whether they belong in a septic system, based on EPA SepticSmart guidance.
Open →First-year and buyer checklists
Tick-off checklists for new septic and well owners and for buyers inspecting a property. Progress saves in your browser.
Open →U.S. households that depend on a septic or small cluster system for wastewater.
U.S. EPAPeople in the United States who get drinking water from private wells.
USGSHow often EPA says a household septic system should be inspected, at minimum. Tanks are typically pumped every 3 to 5 years.
EPA SepticSmartThe short version
Five habits that protect both systems
- Inspect the septic system at least every three years and pump when the sludge and scum measurements say so. Our pumping calculator gives you a starting schedule.
- Flush only human waste and toilet paper. Wipes, grease, and chemicals cause most avoidable problems. Check our flush list.
- Spread out water use and fix leaks. EPA says one running toilet can waste up to 200 gallons a day.
- Test the well every year for coliform bacteria, nitrate, total dissolved solids, and pH, as EPA recommends. Then use the test reader on the results.
- Keep the drainfield and the wellhead clear. No parking on the drainfield, no chemicals near the well, and roof water pointed away from both.
Septic guides
Your septic system
How a septic system works
The tank, the drainfield, and the soil: what happens to wastewater after it leaves your house, in plain English.
Read →Types of septic systems, explained
Conventional, chamber, mound, aerobic, sand filter, drip, and more: how the common septic system types differ and why a site gets one or another.
Read →Signs your septic system is failing
Slow drains, gurgling, soggy ground, bright green grass, and odors: EPA's warning signs, what each one may mean, and what to do first.
Read →Septic inspections: what to expect and what to ask
What a septic inspection covers, how the sludge and scum layers are measured, how often EPA recommends one, and the records you should keep.
Read →Do septic tank additives work?
Biological and chemical septic additives promise to cut pumping. What EPA and Penn State Extension say, and what actually keeps a tank healthy.
Read →Caring for your drainfield
The drainfield is the most expensive part of a septic system to replace. How to protect it from water, weight, roots, and solids.
Read →Well guides
Your well and your water
How a private well works
Dug, driven, and drilled wells, and the casing, cap, pitless adapter, pump, and pressure tank that get groundwater to your tap.
Read →Well water testing: what to test, when, and how
EPA's yearly tests for private wells, extra tests worth doing, how to take a sample, and how to find a certified lab.
Read →Shock chlorinating a well: when it helps and when it won't
What shock chlorination does, when Penn State Extension recommends it, the basic steps, and why you must retest afterward.
Read →Nitrate in well water
Where nitrate comes from, why it matters most for infants, the 10 mg/L standard, and what to do if your well tests high.
Read →Iron, manganese, and hard water in wells
Orange stains, black stains, and scale: the nuisance minerals behind most well water complaints, their EPA secondary levels, and treatment basics.
Read →Protecting your well from your septic system
How septic effluent can reach a drinking water well, what raises or lowers the risk, setback distances, and the habits that protect both.
Read →We don’t sell pumping, treatment, or additives
Plenty of septic and water advice online comes from companies selling a service or a product. We don’t. We summarize what EPA, the USGS, and university extension services publish, link to the original, and say plainly where rules depend on your state or county. Read our editorial standards to see how we work.