Your home’s septic system is perhaps your most undervalued and overlooked utility – it works while you’re at work, while you’re asleep and while you’re playing in the backyard. It’s easy for homeowners in Fairfax County, Virginia to take their septic system for granted … until it’s too late. Avoiding a septic disaster should be at the top of any homeowner’s to-do list and knowing what is ok and what isn’t ok to flush down your toilet is the first step toward a healthy septic system.
It’s important to remember that your septic system contains living organisms – keeping those organisms alive, healthy and happy is critical to your home’s waste management system. What you pour down your drains and flush down your toilet can inhibit or even kill these organisms and when that happens you’re in for a smelly mess.
As a rule of thumb it’s wise not to dispose of anything in your septic system that could easily be disposed of in the trash. Your septic tank is not a garbage tank and the solids you flush down your toilet or send down the drain will build up, filling the tank rapidly. This can result in frequent visits from your plumber or septic management company.
In the kitchen you should make an effort to avoid washing food scraps, coffee grinds and other food items down the drain. Cooking oils and grease in particular contribute to the layer of scum in your tank – avoid putting these thick, congealed liquids down your tank at all cost.
In the bathroom you should employ the same common-sense approach. Paper towels, facial tissues, tampons, sanitary napkins, cigarette butts, dental floss, condoms and kitty litter should never be flushed down the toilet. The only things that should be flushed are toilet paper and human wastewater.
A common question we get at BAST Plumbing and Gas is how to dispose of household cleaning products. The simple answer is that most of these products won’t adversely affect the health of your septic tank as long as you follow the use instructions listed by the manufacturer and use them in moderation. A small amount of these products rinsed down the drain on occasion won’t disrupt normal rhythms in your septic tank but if you pour too many down the drain they can kill helpful bacteria in your septic tank and disrupt its function.
Cleaning products for your house such as disinfectants, bleach and toilet bowl cleaners should only be used in moderation – a rule of thumb is to keep harmful chemicals out of your septic tank system whenever it’s possible to do so. Paints, varnishes, paint thinners, motor oil, anti-freeze, pesticides, etc. should certainly not go down your drain as they will destroy helpful bacteria in your system. Beyond this – these chemicals also pollute groundwater so they should be disposed of properly.
There are plenty of products on the market which claim to help septic systems work better but the truth is that there isn’t one magic potion to cure an ailing system. Most professionals believe that commercial septic system additives are at best useless and at worst harmful to the health and balance of your septic system. The two most common types of septic system additives are biological (bacteria, enzymes and yeast) and chemical. Biological additives are harmless (the worst they can do is nothing), but if you choose to add chemicals to your septic system you risk harming the soil in the drain-field and/or contaminating groundwater.
As a rule it’s wise to flush only biological waste and toilet paper and to make an effort to pay attention to what you put down your kitchen and bathroom drains. Most Fairfax County, Virginia septic systems are hearty enough to overcome some minor chemical disturbances, but vigilant homeowners will save money by avoiding frequent septic pumping and side-step the nasty septic overflow that everyone dreads.
