Nothing is quite as relaxing as a long shower. Washing long hair often requires a long shower, too. Have you ever thought about what happens to all that hair? Even if you do a really good job of keeping hair out of your drains, a few of the little fibers are sure to sneak their way through. If you have a septic tank, all of that hair settles down at the bottom, but for how long? Have you ever thought about how long it takes for hair to decompose? It takes a lot longer than you might think.
How Long Does it Take for Hair to Break Down?
Human hair is far more resilient than most people give it credit. One strand may be easy to break with your fingers, but several will bind together and cause drain clogs. Our hair gets its strength from a protein called keratin, a protein that won’t break down as easily as most of the other solid waste heading to your septic tank.
Hair decomposition time depends on several conditions, but you can expect your hair to linger for years between septic pumpings. Because of this, most modern septic systems are equipped with screens and filters designed to catch hair and prevent it from creating clogs.
How to Prevent Hair Buildup in a Septic Tank
The easiest thing anyone can do is find an inexpensive shower drain hair catcher. Any household with long-haired members should use some kind of hair catching device, but this is especially important for those that rely on septic tanks. Daily hair disposal will also help.
Bathing pets, especially dogs with lots of long fur should be done outside where possible. Even shorter pet hair can clump up and cause drain clogs or deposit a layer of non-decomposing waste in your septic tank.
Contact us today if you think you have a lot of hair in your septic tank. We can come out and inspect your tank and we may be able to help solve hair-related clogging and schedule your next septic pumping appointment.
