HELP adding a disposal to a septic system

[rual_farmer]

I have a garbage disposal on a septic system. We've had one for over 20 years. Now, they do make a garbage disposal unit that is supposedly more friendly for septic systems-- Insinkerator one.. can't remember the name, but I was told that you don't really need to bother with that. It doesn't really make a difference.

Tomato skins will get stuck inside your garbage disposal, so don't throw them down (I had to clean some out of my grandmother's disposal with my hand when she couldn't figure out why her disposal was clogged). Do NOT pour grease/fat down your sink or disposal. Dump it in to a trash can or something instead.

Clean your disposal with COLD water, not hot. You can put ice cubes in every once in awhile to grind up.

I've found that a garbage disposal on septic system is very similar to using one on a regular system.

One thing though: Those "flushable" wipes are NOT flushable. Do not flush tissues, wipes, or anything other than waste and toilet paper. You can use RidX from time to time if you want.

and no antibacterial soaps in the septic as that will kill all of the bacteria and really screw your system up

 

[Zanne]

and no antibacterial soaps in the septic as that will kill all of the bacteria and really screw your system up

I've found that using small amounts of antibacterial soap doesn't harm it, but I do have RidX just in case. The thing they don't tell you about a lot of that antibacterial stuff-- like mouthwash-- is that it only lasts a short time outside the bottle. Mouthwash only kills bacteria for about 3 seconds and then the bacteria starts growing back.

So, we use antibacterial soap in the bathroom for our hands, but we don't dump large quantities of it into our system.

 

[rual_farmer]

I don't know what sort of disposal my grandmother had, but I'm guessing it was just weak (or extremely old with dull blades) because it was all gummed up. I had a Black & Decker garbage disposal that lasted over 20 years before it finally went kaput. Installed an Insinkerator Evolution (without septic assist-- I read about the septic assist ones and apparently the fluid stuff would leak and it was expensive).

Speaking of garbage disposals, I cringed when someone told me she was going to get some Draino to pour down hers bc it was clogged. I told her it was a very very very bad idea.

i think the septic assist unit is a gimmick since there's other ways to deal with adding bacteria and enzymes to a system

 

[rual_farmer]

I've found that using small amounts of antibacterial soap doesn't harm it, but I do have RidX just in case. The thing they don't tell you about a lot of that antibacterial stuff-- like mouthwash-- is that it only lasts a short time outside the bottle. Mouthwash only kills bacteria for about 3 seconds and then the bacteria starts growing back.

So, we use antibacterial soap in the bathroom for our hands, but we don't dump large quantities of it into our system.

i think to really screw up a system is that you have to use large amounts of stuff and send it down there. but washing your hands doesnt take alot of soap to do. i myself did not know that about things like mouthwash only lasted a few seconds once out of the bottle. my builder forbid me to put bleach down the system and antbacterial soap he told me the rid ex stuff is i waste of money and to use bio tabs then he also for me to use a thing of fleshmens yeast and sugar mix it up in a cup of warm water and flush it once a month to keep the system active hell you do that when ever you poo it adds more bacteria

 

[Zanne]

i think to really screw up a system is that you have to use large amounts of stuff and send it down there. but washing your hands doesnt take alot of soap to do. i myself did not know that about things like mouthwash only lasted a few seconds once out of the bottle. my builder forbid me to put bleach down the system and antbacterial soap he told me the rid ex stuff is i waste of money and to use bio tabs then he also for me to use a thing of fleshmens yeast and sugar mix it up in a cup of warm water and flush it once a month to keep the system active hell you do that when ever you poo it adds more bacteria

Yeah, you'd be having to dump whole bottles of the soap down there to really do much damage. As for the mouthwash, my father took a microbiology class and actually grew bacteria in Listerine. The antibacterial properties of it are watered down to the point that it really is kind of useless. I talked to my dentist and was told that it is better to mix hydrogen peroxide and water (half and half) and swig that around in your mouth for about 30 to 45 seconds. It can actually help clear up gum infections. It doesn't taste very good and you might want to use a dab of toothpaste afterward, but it does work.

I forgot to comment that the modern septic tanks (I don't know much about the old ones) now have baffles inside to separate the water from the solids. The heavy solids sink to the bottom so there is a baffle that holds the lower stuff in and lighter stuff floats at the top so an upper baffle blocks that from going through. So, that helps somewhat in terms of preventing solids from going in to the field lines.