Cleaning Products & Your Septic System

The Breakdown

Your septic system relies on a natural process to breakdown waste. Bacteria from the gut enters the system and does much the same work breaking things down as they do inside your body. If you have an alternative treatment system these processes are still natural, just accelerated by various means such as adding oxygen, mixing, etc. Consider what you put down the drain and flush much like you consider what you put in your body. If it would harm you or make you feel ill, it can also do the same to the microbial population in your septic system.

From the EPA: "For the most part, your septic system’s bacteria should recover quickly after small amounts of household cleaning products have entered the system. Of course, some cleaning products are less toxic to your system than others. Labels can help key you into the potential toxicity of various products. The word “Danger” or “Poison” on a label indicates that the product is highly hazardous. “Warning” tells you the product is moderately hazardous. “Caution” means the product is slightly hazardous. (“Nontoxic” and “Septic Safe” are terms created by advertisers to sell products.) Regardless of the type of product, use it only in the amounts shown on the label instructions and minimize the amount discharged into your septic system."

The following will harm your septic systems: Antibacterial soaps, bleach, harsh chemicals, mop bucket water, wipes, fats, oil, grease, laundry detergent, even excessive water use.

Antibacterial soaps:

Antibacterial hand soaps are not found to be any more effective than plain bar soap, yet they can be much more aggressive to the bacterial population in the septic system. It can slow them down and even begin to kill the population.

Bleach, harsh chemicals,
mop bucket water & wipes:

If you choose to clean surfaces frequently please avoid sending bleach and antibacterial cleaning products down the drain. Do not flush or pour mop water down the drain. Do not flush paper towels used for cleaning. Wipes should never be flushed.

Fats, oils or grease:

If you find that you are doing a lot of cooking: fats, oils and greases should not go down the drain. This significantly increases the organic loading (refers to the amount of organic matter present in the wastewater) in a system. It can also impact filters.

If you have an enhanced treatment system, grease can affix to media (material) that is critical to the treatment process. Do not use disposals or garbage grinders. These too can add to the organic loading. Seeds and vegetative matter can float and cause problems.

Frequent laundry loads
and excessive water use in general:

Keep in mind that septic systems have a lifespan, most especially the dispersal system. Much of the treatment in a septic system relies on adequate time for things to settle and separate. Excessive use can short-circuit this process. This can result in particles that have not settled being carried throughout parts of your system or out of your system.

This can then result in filters clogging prematurely or worse, particles getting to your drain/leach field. Clogged filters can cause high level alarms and backups. Particles getting past filters to the dispersal field can both clog the spaces between soil particles and increase biological loading to the soil. Depending on the age of the system, previous use and frequency of maintenance and pumping, this can be significant in lessening the life of your dispersal area/leach field. The additional saturation alone can have much the same effect.