Do washing machines and dish washers
 

harm septic systems? I know that garbage disposals do but I am uncertain about these two.

Thanks

Liquid detergents
 

I've been told by the people servicing our septic system to use only liquid detergents in both machines as powders can allegedly clump, but I've also heard this poo-pooed (no pun intended) by people with septic systems who only use powder and have had no problems. I definitely have switched to 1-ply TP after seeing clumps of the 2-ply stuff blocking the pipe from house to the D-box.

If this is true your septic tank must be missing or have a broken baffle. No solids should be exiting your tank. The pipe from the house goes to your tank.

Whoops, you are correct. It was the pipe to the septic tank.

You should switch to front loading when a machine needs replacement.
Front loaders use far less water and therefore need far less soap.

I've been told not to use bleach as it kills the bacteria the breaks down the solids in the tank.

Now that I say that, I wonder about the affects of anti-bacterial soap :eek:

we only use scott's 1 ply TP

Why do garbage disposals hurt the system? Just wondering... :look:

They don't. Its what people tend to put down them that can hurt them such as any fat that's left on a plate. I've had a gd at my house for 16 years and have had zero problems cuz I insist that plates be scraped into the garbage first. It amazes me what people throw down the drain.

garbage disposals and septic systems
 

The waste from a garbage disposal is not the same as the waste from a human body. The septic system is not designed to process waste from a garbage disposal.
What a disgusting subject!! :laugh::laugh::laugh:

Nobody seems able to answer my original question. Does anyone know the answer?

Depends on the system too
 

I lived with septic systems for 55 years. The last one was where I lived for 25 years.

I paid no attention to bleach, washing machine soap or anything that went down the disposal. If it was on the plate it got washed down the sink. The system worked great and I never had problems. Give me septic over city sewer any day.

I have rental properties in the Boston Metro area that are on MWRA water and sewer. The bills are astronomical and only going up. (Because government is involved)!

So, in my opinion, if you have a good septic system, nothing will bother it.

You have a good system, because they fail quite regularly where I live. The soil composition plays a BIG part in it....

Now, I would NOT want to be on a city system (I have septic), but working in the Town, I see a lot of applications to the board of health regarding septic system failures (and replacements).

Regards,

Steve

Septic system four years old
 

and when it was installed, my installer recommended not to use our garbage disposal any longer (see SS's post above) and recommended we use liquid detergent for laundry, not to use liquid softener (ie, Downy) as it can clog envirotubes, and not to use a ton of bleach and antibacterial stuff as it can have some effect on useful bacteria in the system. As far as dishwasher was concerned, he simply said to wipe dishes clean of food and grease (into garbage, not sink) before putting into dishwasher.

Hope this helps.

I don't know what the industry says, but if you want personal experience -- I've been on a septic system for 30 years, and not one single problem over that time, running the dishwasher every day, and many loads of wash per week.

When we built our house a few years back the people designing the septic sized it based on number of bedrooms and if we had a garbage disposal. Dish washers and laundries are a normal part of a household and normal load for the system. We paid extra for system capacity to support a garbage disposal, we did not pay extra to support two washing machines. We never installed a second wash but a lot of big houses have two. We also did not pay extra for extra bathrooms.

A well designed and working septic system should not be damaged by household dishwashing and clothes washing. Folklore about liquid soaps, bleach, or fancy toilet paper can't hurt but should not be needed.

Washing Machines and Dishwashers have no effect on septic systems. They are no worse the doing dishes by hand and taking a shower. the chemicals you use to wash your toilet are actually far more potent and dangerous to the system.

Now as for garbage disposals, as some mentioned, the problem here is that the bacteria in a septic system is not geared towards braking down the food processed through a garbage disposal. It is geared towards braking down waste that that has already been broken down by the human body. Hence why even Toilet paper can cause issues....

Some tips on septic systems:

Make sure to get the pumped on a regular basis....

If you have a seasonal camp, make sure to use a product like RID-X at least once a year... over the winter the bacteria tend to die off while the system is inactive.... I usually treat my system around memorial day and then again sometime in August.....

Make sure to check you leaching area yearly to make sure that there are no soft spots and that there is no visible water on the leach field especially after a storm.....

Don't go over board when using bleach, toilet cleaner, laundry and dish washing soap... a little bit goes a long way...

I have lived with septic systems for most of my life, take care of them they take care of your waste....

http://i34.tinypic.com/jqsrwz.gif
You probably will now, now that you made that statement.

It all depends on who lives in the home also. A family raising 4 kids as opposed to a couple with no kids makes all the difference in the world.