Those who have septic tanks

[appnut]

I know you are not supposed to put liquid chlorine bleach in the system as it messes up the system that breaks stuff down. When washing whites and other items that would normally be bleachable, what laundry additives are an alternative to whitening.

 

[ea56]

Bob, my family lived in the country during my teen years during the 60’s and we had a septic tank and we used chlorine bleach all the time.  We only had to have the septic tank pumped once while I was still living at home.  And as far as I know my Mom only had it pumped out one other time during the 80’s.

 

The only alternative for chlorine bleach that I can think of would be oxygen bleach which doesn’t whiten as well.  There are additives that you can put in the toilets periodically to help maintain the beneficial bacteria thats needed to keep the sewage decomposing.  I’ve even heard of people using yeast for this purpose, but we never did this.

 

Eddie

 

[appnut]

Eddie, thank you. I"m familiar with Rid-X.

 

[thomasortega]

If you use common sense, bleach is safe for septic tanks...

By common-sense I mean, you won't put gallons and gallons of LCB in the washer for one cycle.

Also, chlorine isn't that stable, after the wash is done, a good part of it was already consumed.

Plus, add to that all the other uses in the house (toilets, showers, kitchen...) it gets even more diluted, so it's a win-win.

 

[foraloysius]

Oxygen bleach works well if you use it with high temperatures and in a long wash. Therefor it will work better in a front loader than in a top loader. If you are washing delicate items that you don't want to wash on a higher temperature, you can activate the bleach by dissolve it in some hot water (at least 140F) and then add it to the cooler wash water.

I don't know if it's true, but I always got the feeling a powdered oxygen bleach worked better than a liquid.

I remember that friends of my parents had their septic tank pumped. When it was empty a dead chicken was put in the tank to start the fermentation process.

 

[pulltostart]

Louis,

You have just won the award for the best visual!

 

lawrence

 

[qsd-dan]

I switched to a quality oxygen bleach almost a decade ago and will never go back to destroyed fabrics, poor performance, poor whitening qualities, and its destructive behavior towards machine parts. From all of those years of experimenting with dosages and temperatures, I found there's kind of a small window where it performs well without attacking elastics. Under 150F, it's mostly ineffective (that's soaking in water, not temps at the fill flume). Going beyond the 155-157F window starts rippling the elastic in my underwear.

If using a top loader, you'll need water straight from the water heater, not dumbed down temps. Obviously, the water heater will have to be cranked up. Fine tuning will also have to be accounted for long runs from the water heater, surrounding temps during seasonal changes (especially if the washer is located in a garage), ect. With the Maytags, 161-163F at the fill flume falls into 155-157F category once it's filled and agitated 1-2 minutes. Soaking is essential, oxy requires time to work its magic. I find 2-3 hours is best, anything beyond that is kind of wasted unless there a lot stains that are difficult to shift.

If using a front loader, getting one with a heater that runs and holds temps into the 150-160F range for a long wash is the only viable option.

 

[petek]

We had a septic tank and field all the while we lived in the country for about 14 years. I never used any products with bleach but did use Oxi-clean sometimes. I would also pour some Rid-X down the drain every two or three months. Our neighbor down the way seemed to have theirs pumped every year and one time I did ask her if she used bleach and she said she did.

 

[supersuds]

Average use of household chemicals will not cause problems with septic systems, according to a bulletin from South Dakota State University, which also advises against using additives.

There is so much bacteria in human waste that adding anything else is a waste!

SDSU advises a regular 3 to 5 year pumping schedule for best performance.

https://www.sdstate.edu/sites/default/files/2017-01/ExEx1035.pdf

 

[bradfordwhite]

Louis, what if you're running low on dead chickens? Can I use some other animal or does it have be poultry?

-----

Actually, unless you sand blast all the algae growing on the walls of the septic tank when emptying it, it will quickly rebuild it's biological surplus. The last time I had a septic cleaned I asked them why they didn't clean more stuff off the bottom and they said they leave about an inch for the rebuild of algae.

-----

The two times I've built a house that needed a septic install, one was a standard gravity flow and the other was a mound system, they gave me literature stating not to use a garbage disposal
AND
one should not drain a water softener nor a washing machine into the septic. Those items can have a separate, easy to make drywell type install.

That's understandable because the washer is just water and soap and you don't want quick large volumes of water overloading the system. Also washers have bits of lint that can clog the drain field just as the shredded gunk from a garbage disposal can.

The softener is all salt water. That can kill the bacteria in the field and tank.

 

[wayupnorth]

I have a dry well for all my gray water. Only the toilet goes into the septic and is pumped 150 feet uphill to the leach field. There is nothing in todays soaps and detergents that hurt the environment as phosphates are banned. Only problem is those that over fertilize their lawn with phosphorus are the ones that go into the watershed.

 

[bradfordwhite]

Yes, it's weird how the concerning appliances have shifted.

It used to be phosphates came from detergents for the laundry and soaps. Now it's from fertilizers

It used to be the appliances that overwhelmed a septic tank were washers and water softners. Now that those have been redesigned so they use much lower amounts of water it's not such a big deal. However, now things like big bath tubs and people who take long showers would be the culprits in quickly overloading a septic tank.

It used to be that houses were energy Users, but if people continue to install solar panels that are connected to the electrical network and continue to make efficiency improvements a house will be a net energy PRODUCER instead of a user.

 

[reactor]

bleach

Hey Bob,

Currently, I am on a septic system. I use bleach sparingly, mainly to just clean the toilet bowls.

Chlorine bleach can do a killer job of whitening, if you need it, but I hate the residual smell and it oxidizes the fabric in the garments. Over time this degrades the material.

I have found, I really don't need any chemicals to keep whites white. I wash my whites in Tide (sometimes Persil) and I am careful to sort. I wash whites only with other whites and with blues.

If blues do release any small amounts of coloring it serves to compensate for any yellowing of the whites. I remember the days when my grandmother purchased "bluing" to put in with her white loads to take out the yellow tinge.

Also, I have a water softener. Calcium in hard water can combine with detergent molecules and, over time, form an insoluble film on clothing that gives a grayish cast.

Now, with a good detergent, soft water, and washing only whites with whites and some blues I have no problem with discoloration anymore. I always wash with warm water and use two warm rinses so there is little detergent residue left on the clothing.

 

[mattl]

"I switched to a quality oxygen bleach ..."

That raised my curiosity - what is a quality oxygen bleach? I will not use Oxyclean because it's mostly filler. I've been using Kroger brand oxy because it only lists 2 chemicals, and seems to work.

 

[mrboilwash]

Isn`t a filler like washing soda essential for good bleaching action because the oxygen bleach needs a high pH to work properly?
I think the rational behind a good oxi-product is to make it work in both a high pH powder and a nearly neutral liquid detergent as well. Hence all those fillers some die hard powder fans might consider useless. But keep in mind powder fans are a minority these days.

 

[launderess]

Yes, to an extent alkaline pH substances increase activity of oxygen bleaches.

Professional laundries or dry cleaners use liquid hydrogen peroxide with small amounts of ammonia liquid (an alkaline substance), at spotting board to remove certain stains quickly

Original formula of Persil was sodium PERborate, sodium metaSILicate, and soap.

Perborate is oyxgen bleach, besides softening water sodium metasilicate provides a base pH which enhances the action of perborate bleach. You still needed high water temps however to really get things going.

Liquid pure hydrogen peroxide is acidic, and sodium perborate is alkaline (from borax), but sodium percarbonate is more alkaline because it is made from washing soda. Thus the latter provides on its own enough alkalinity for laundry or other cleaning purposes. Keep in mind for powdered laundry detergents there would be washing soda and other base substances that also raise pH levels.

When formulating stand alone oxygen bleaches makers can get away with less active oxygen bleach (perborate or percarbonate) if they add various amounts of washing soda, borax, etc...

Ratio of filler (washing soda, silicates, etc..) to oxygen bleach various by if product is meant for top, middle or bottom shelf in terms of price points. Soda is cheap, so many bargain brand "oxygen bleaches" contain 50% (or a bit more) of washing soda and other fillers. This is one reason one must use so much product.

OTOH one to two tablespoons (front loader) to maybe 1/4 cup (large top loader) is all one needs of pure sodium percarbonate.

https://www.aboutcleaningproducts.com/science/details-of-bleaches/

 

[foraloysius]

Dead chicken

Putting a dead chicken in a septic tank after pumping it is sort of a tradition. It's not necessary to do it, actually most specialists advise against it. I guess my parent's friends liked the tradition. Dead sheep and dead cats were also used.

 

[appnut]

So is there a brand or brands you recommend and where can you find it online?

 

[polkanut]

My wife's uncle had a drain field for his bathroom plumbing, but his kitchen sink drained out into the yard.  He had a Maytag E2L washer and would drain the washer down the kitchen drain.  Luckily though, the outlet pipe discharged quite a distance from the house.