I need THERAPY!

[toggleswitch]

Pete said:
I'd love to have a disposer again but when we moved to the country on a septic tank/field I've kinda shied away from putting one in.

Response:
Isn't organic waste good for a septic tank- feeds the microbes.

Does your T/L-er drain into it as well? I believe that the detergent and especially softener is a major no-no...
n'est ce pas?

Does anyone know if a F/L-er, (with much less water use) can be drained onto such a system safely?

 

[hoover1060]

septic tanks...

From what I have heard, septic tanks and disposers can get along very nicely as long as the tank is properly sized. The rule is if the tank handles an automatic washer and dishwasher with no problems, it can handle a disposer.

 

[Kevinpreston3]

I have a septic tank

washer and dryer, and disposal. Has run fine for years with the previous folks, was never advised in not using it!

Maybe different tanks, as stated, have different requirements.

 

[frontaloadotmy]

Septic Systems

At a site I checked it was stated that a garbage disposal
in a septic system should be considered and as affecting the system as if it were an additional bedroom. Typically the requirements of a septic system are driven by the number of bedrooms (in residential use applications) as this indicates
the number of humans in the household. In the good old days,
most kitchen drains along with laundry used a gray water
system. Gray water systems typically don't include substantial solids. The bad thing about having a garbage disposal on a septic system, is that it promotes the introduction of fats/oils into the system. The bacteria that
promote the break down of the solids to sludge do not work well with fat/oil as part of the process; hence the use of a gray water system. Also of course, heavy concentrations of bleach and detergents kill the waste gobbling bacteria. So,
plumb the kitchen sink w/wo gd and the laundry to a gray water system and the septic system will last indefintiely,
with a pumping every five to ten years. While you're at it,
put a grease trap on the gray water system so butter and meat fats don't clog the small leach field that these systems require!!!

 

[bostonwash]

I have built a few homes that required a septic tank. Garbage disposals were always considered something to avoid using with that not so much because of grease but because the disposer chops food matter into small pieces that could flow into the field and clog the apparatus.
As someone else stated washers, with their lint and chemicals and softners with the brine are not good not only for the chemical but because of the large amounts of water introduced into the septic tank at one time. This can again cause larger particles of waste to flow into the septic field and clog it prematurely.
A dishwasher is not much of a problem because it doesn't use that much water or drain alot of water at once. Also it doesn't use large amounts of chemicals.
Fortunately softners and washers can be drained onto "the lawn" or into a large drywell separate from the septic tank.