Your septic system is essential to your home or business, even if you rarely think about it. Every flush, shower, dish cycle or load of laundry sends water into your septic system, making your life cleaner and healthier. Septic systems take wastewater from your home and break it down before releasing the water back into the environment. If your septic system stops working, you might experience clogs, backups and even damage to nearby bodies of water.
Staying conscientious about what products go into your septic system is crucial. You likely know some products you shouldn’t put in your system, like grease and wipes. But there are quite a few cleaning products that shouldn’t go into your septic system, either. Below, the experts at Johnson Septic Service explore safe products for your septic system – and four products you need to avoid.
Why You Need to Avoid These 4 Products
Before exploring what products are safe for your septic, let’s cover how a septic system works. First, wastewater from your sinks, toilets and showers flows to your septic tank. In the septic tank, healthy bacteria break your waste products down. Once the bacteria break the solid waste down, the solid waste sinks to the bottom of the tank. The water then flows out of the tank into the surrounding drain field, where the water is purified through natural filtration and reenters the water cycle.
So, what products are safe for your septic system? It’s easier to start with what isn’t safe for your system. First, any products containing chemicals that kill bacteria should be avoided. Bacteria-killing products kill all bacteria, including the good ones that break down your system’s waste. That means antibacterial products can easily kill the healthy bacteria that break down waste in your septic system. With this in mind, here are some products to avoid for your septic system:
- Bleach: Bleach sterilizes surfaces by killing bacteria. However, bleach can’t differentiate between good and bad bacteria. Subsequently, it kills the helpful bacteria in the septic system. When that bacteria dies, it can’t decompose waste products into wastewater.
- Drain cleaners: Drain cleaners often contain bleach, which is harmful to septic systems!
- Certain laundry detergents: Many detergents contain phosphates, which are bad for your septic system. Phosphates can encourage algae growth in your septic tank, suffocating the healthy bacteria.
- Methylisothiazolinone: This synthetic chemical is used for its antimicrobial properties. It is common in many household cleaners but is toxic to aquatic life and can kill the septic tank’s healthy and essential bacteria.
How to Decide if Something is Safe for Your Septic
Now that you know what isn’t safe for your septic system, here are a few products that are safe for your septic system! Use these products to clean your home, sinks, toilets and other surfaces that drain into the septic system.
- Phosphate-free detergents for laundry and dishes
- Water-based cleaners that list water as the first ingredient
- Vinegar, borax and baking soda
- Ammonia-based products – but be careful mixing them with other products
- Products with septic-safe labels (but verify their effectiveness online)
Without the advances of modern plumbing, we’d be exposed to countless diseases through waste and wastewater. Keeping your septic system running is crucial for your family’s health, safety and finances. Fortunately, the experts at Johnson Septic Service have the equipment, skills and knowledge to keep your septic system running. Contact our team to schedule your routine maintenance, ask questions about your system or get an inspection!