Hi We are hopefully going to shift to a bit more rural and the property we are looking at has a septic tank. (I didn't want to put that in the heading as most people here are looking at food ideas). I am a city girl and haven't had a septic tank before. I know I need to take care with what I flush down the drain with my water/waste to keep the happy bugs in the septic tank working properly. So at present I use standard dishwashing liquid, powder or liquid laundry cleaner, ordinary hand soap and standard shampoos. conditioners etc and also use products like bam or toilet duck for the toilet and also put a janola white block in the sisten to keep the toilet white and clean each flush. How many of these things should I change and what suggestions would you have to either good for spetic tank commercial products and also ones I could make myself. Any other tips on taking care of my septic bugs would be most welcome. We do plan on capturing gray water when we can but at present that goes into the septic. Thanks so much for your knowledges. (I am posting also in gardening/DIY as they often have these tips also).
duckmoon,
Aug 9, 7:48am
have a look at the Radio New Zealand website, on the programme which Simon Morton does - "this way up" they had an article on Septic Tanks - you should be able to down load it/pod cast it.
winnie231,
Aug 9, 7:49am
ecostore are an NZ made brand of cleaning products which are septic tank safe. Even better - if you have an organic/health food store in the town where you go shopping, you may find they have the products in bulk so you can buy refills. I lived 40km from Takaka in Golden Bay for the last 3 years so this is experience talking :)
gardie,
Aug 9, 7:52am
Just make sure that things you use are OK for septic tanks. I haven't stopped buying any products that I used prior to moving here 14 years ago. Do be careful though of putting fat down the sink - it just sits on the top of the rest of the stuff in the tank. Cant break down so can only be cleaned out (every 5 years or so).
Keeping gray water is great idea - particularly from the washing machine. a huge lot of water at once can unsettle the septic - like on the days when i do 3-4 loads! (There's a bit of a smell for about an hour).
raewyn64,
Aug 9, 8:05am
You people are so generous with your sharing of knowledge and ideas, thank you so much for pointing me in the right direction :)
lizab,
Aug 9, 8:31pm
gardie - I was going to type the exact same thing about keeping fat out of your sink. We also get a yukky smell when I've done 3 or 4 loads of washing! !
gilligee,
Aug 9, 10:10pm
Why would anyone put fat down the sink anyway?
red2,
Aug 9, 10:15pm
use the eco store washing powder if you are going to use the gray water from your laundry to water fruit and veges
seaweed_7,
Aug 11, 5:57am
vinegar or baking soda pure vinegar on the floor in the bathroom (just spread it around) will sanitise better than bleach. I even works on cat pee.
flower-child01,
Aug 11, 10:09am
Yeah same as seaweed - I just cleaned my washing machine tipping white vinegar in the fabric softener, just put it in a wash load. I started using vinegar and baking soda a year ago and haven't looked back.
leojo,
Aug 11, 10:54am
These sites have great ideas using baking soda, vinegar and lemons
just check all your cleaning products to see if they state they are biodegradable, this is all I do and we have never had a problem with our septic tank :) enjoy the country living its awesome
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