For years, you have lived alone in that small apartment. You have been used to doing most chores by hand including dishwashing. When you moved up in your career, you were able to buy your own home in the country. It was more peaceful there. It gave you an ideal place to do your work. Part of having your own home was to have your own wastewater treatment facility. It involved the use of a septic tank, which had the primary function of collecting and separating the wastewater into three distinct layers as part of the pre-treatment process. You were informed that you would need to use septic tank safe dishwashing detergents in your new home.
The wastewater separated into three layers inside the septic tank—the scum, the effluent, and the sludge. The scum layer or the top layer contains the floatable, lightweight solid waste materials. The effluent or the middle layer has the clear fluids that get distributed into the drain field. The sludge layer or the bottom layer receives all the heavy solid waste particles that are degraded by the anaerobic bacteria.
Dishwashing was no longer a chore for you when you moved into your new home. You had a dishwasher and a washing machine installed so that you may have more time for work and social life. You didn’t have such a privilege then because you had to slave away to maintain a clean place to live in. Having a dishwasher made you think about your septic tank. This was the first time you actually cared about your septic system and decided that you would use only septic tank safe dishwashing detergents to ensure the safety of the system.
Technically, dishwashing detergents are safe to use for your septic tank because they are already much diluted when they enter the septic tank. The harm that these products give is the one that targets the environment. Most dishwasher detergents manufactured have phosphates and surfactants that pollute the surrounding environment no matter how minimal they are. Phosphates are compounds that encourage and hasted the growth of algae in the water systems.
When algae grow at an increased rate, the dissolved oxygen in the water goes down. As a result, the other living organisms in the aquatic system die off, leaving the stream, pond, or river as a “dead zone”. Surfactants are components in the dishwasher detergents that lift away the grime and oils off the dishes. But even if they do not harm the septic tank, they harm the fishes because surfactants disable the oxygen absorption of the fishes through their gills.
The increased water load is also another factor to consider aside from the septic tank safe dishwasher detergent. When you use your dishwasher, you let out a significant amount of grey water. The same thing happens when you use your washing machine. The additional grey water retards the decomposition process done by the bacteria in the tank. The gush of grey water also stirs up the sludge and disperses it into the drain field. This clogs the drain field and if not attended to immediately, this may result to a system failure. Installation of a dry well is needed to accommodate the grey water to lessen the water load in the septic tank. You could also have the bath tub, washing machine, and shower drains connected to the dry well so that you may be able to keep your septic tank at an optimal state.
Appliances like your dishwasher are very indispensable. They make your chores a lot lighter and your life more enjoyable. You have to admit that having a dishwasher will take a huge load off your shoulders. You could just place everything in the machine and let it rip while you go about other important things like preparing for that special date or an office excursion.
Your main task as an intelligent product patron is to choose which septic tank safe dishwasher detergent is the safest for the environment and your budget. After all, you didn’t move to the country to destroy it with your dishwasher detergents.
If you need help with the matter, ask your septic expert about the most ideal septic tank safe dishwasher detergents that are also safe for the environment.
