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Septic friendly toilet cleaner

2K views 13 replies 9 participants last post by  donmac 
#1 ·
I just bought my first house with a septic/leach field last November and am slowly learning through reading certain things that used to go down the drain in the city are not so good for the system here.

Anyway, we have alot of rust on the fixtures and inside the toilet bowls. I've got most of the fixtures clean with some vinegar and scrubbing. But what should I use to get the rust out of the toilet bowls and tanks that wouldn't be too damaging to the septic?

We have a whole house softener, and I've been using the Morton salt with rust remover.

Also, in the back yard where the leach field is I can see the green stripes in the grass over all 5 lines very predominantly when the weather is hot and dry. After some aerating, fertilizing, and good rain it's blending back in now, but is it normal to have those lines above the field of thicker denser grass?
 
#2 ·
Yes it is common to see the stripes, ideally they would not be visible but often they are. As long as you don't get soft muddy areas in those stripes you will be OK. Most cleaning products are OK in moderate amounts or for occasional use. Some important things to remember is use biodegradable TP, no other paper/plastic products down the drain, no grease of any kind, food scraps or liquid foods, septic friendly laundry and dish soaps, no drain cleaner and limited amounts of bleach. This info comes from 30 years of waste treatment so take it for what it's worth.
 
#3 ·
I did try a small amount of the Chlorox rust remover toilet bowl cleaner, and a vigorous amount of scrubbing. That didn't make any visible improvement.

There are some heavy duty, wear gloves and goggles type cleaners out there but I'd like to keep it simple and safe. Maybe an abrasive cleaner or brush? I saw there is a brush called Pumie.

Also, on the green stripes the ground is always dry back threre. So much so I water the lawn if we go more than 4-5 days without rain or the clay will start cracking.
 
#4 ·
We have lived with a septic tank since 1982, the house was built in 1979.

We ran our septic raising 2 daughters, and UNTOLD number of rolls of TP.

3 WOMEN!! WOW!!

Also, my wife said she did not care if we had to pump the tank every year, we were going to have a garbage disposal.

We also have a water softener, it drains to the septic.

And we have one outside drain that captures rain water, and goes to the septic tank.

So, basically, we have broken ALL of the rules.

About 1999, the system being 20 years old, I figured I better get the tank pumped.

There was basically nothing in there! :eek:mg:

Therefore, either the rules are wrong, or, we are extremely lucky.

Actually, I think the rules are wrong, I believe feeding the bacteria with the garbage disposal has made our system a success.

And the excess water from an outside rain capturing drain, keeps the system filled with fresh water and flushed.

JMHO
 
#9 ·
We have lived with a septic tank since 1982, the house was built in 1979.

We ran our septic raising 2 daughters, and UNTOLD number of rolls of TP.

3 WOMEN!! WOW!!

Also, my wife said she did not care if we had to pump the tank every year, we were going to have a garbage disposal.

We also have a water softener, it drains to the septic.

And we have one outside drain that captures rain water, and goes to the septic tank.

So, basically, we have broken ALL of the rules.

About 1999, the system being 20 years old, I figured I better get the tank pumped.

There was basically nothing in there! :

Therefore, either the rules are wrong, or, we are extremely lucky.

Actually, I think the rules are wrong, I believe feeding the bacteria with the garbage disposal has made our system a success.

And the excess water from an outside rain capturing drain, keeps the system filled with fresh water and flushed.

JMHO
These guidelines are so systems that might be marginal will last longer. If you have a good drain field or if the drain field has an outlet to surface or a ditch then it will last virtually forever. I know from experience that not following these guidelines can cause problems. :fing32:
 
#6 ·
The odds aren't in your favor for removing those stains with a "safe" product. It's literally a couple minutes of your time to just remove the toilet; take it outside and use the good goggles-n-gloves cleaner with a garden hose to rinse it; it's only a few bucks for a new wax ring (and new closet bolts if needed).

I'd recommend looking into getting a separate iron filter (uses very little potassium permanganate to regenerate) to work in conjunction with the water softener to keep this from being a constant battle (better for clothes washing and other things, too). :fing32:
 
#8 ·
Ha ha, I can add a picture of the yard and leach field lines later, but I didn't figure anyone would want to see a pic of an old rust stained commode.

:sidelaugh
 
#10 ·
One thing the smart guys do here is use granite river rocks not limestone rocks in the field.
The limestone turns into one solid stone over years. There is also an old book called The Grass Grows Greener over the Septic Tank by Irma Bombeck.
I'm in the suburbs of St. Louis and everyone around us is hooked up to the sewer system. They all have to pay for a billion dollars to dig a BIIIIG holding tank to take the excess rain water during heavy rains. I don't because my property drains into a creek and the septic system in not hooked up to the sewers.
 
#11 ·
One thing nobody mentioned here is an effluent (poo water) filter that can be retrofitted into a septic tank. The filter stops any suspended solids in the poo water from leaving the septic tank and clogging the leach field. One big reason the leach field fails (pooling black water on the surface) is due to blockage. Any leach field that has an outlet to the surface is probably illegal depending on your state of residence. The effluent filter is cleaned (sprayed off with a garden hose) once a month or quarterly depending on toilet usage.

As for garbage disposals, make a compost pile near the garden. Any meat scraps can be left for the wild animals in your area or the neighbors dogs.

Flushable baby wipes, don't flush them. These wipes are not biodegradable, they will clog your septic system just like the feminine napkins that get flushed.

Here is how to check a product to see if it is biodegradable, put a wipe or some toilet paper in a water filled container. See how long it takes it to disintegrate.

Btw - Rid-x = wasted $$$, there is plenty of bacteria in the septic tank.

My two cents.
 
#13 ·
We try to keep a happy medium. No biodegradable items down the drains, but the garbage disposal and cleaning products are fair game. Our softner also dumps down there. My in-laws live in deathly fear (40+ years now) that they are going to screw up their septic system so they are die hards about the rules. They go as far as ban powdered soaps and salt pellets because they believe they contain binders and such that will fill up the tank over time. I'm not going to live in fear of my septic system my whole life, like they do. We are also required to pump/inspect every 3 years here, so the system does get a routine look-see.

The one rule I obey is not to "slug" the tank with large amounts of water. That can push the solids out of the holding tanks and into the leachfield. That is bad news over time.

OP - My parents had horrible water with high levels of iron and iron bacteria. It would make you gag to drink it the levels were so high. They bought water filter called an "iron curtain" by Hellenbrand and it has made a night and day difference in stains and taste.
 
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