Maybe you are one of those homeowners who have been continually debating over what additive to use in the care and maintenance of their leach field. There are hearsays, testimonials, and advertisements that keep on influencing your decisions in purchasing the best possible product that you should use in maintaining your drain field. There are numerous manufacturers that sugarcoat their product information. They promise so many things that may prove unbelievable like never pumping your septic tank with only one use of the product. You know that pumping out your tank is necessary to make sure that the leach field may remain unclogged. Even if you use additives and treatments, the basic necessity to eliminate the formed sludge at the bottom of the tank still stands.
Additives and treatments have three types biological, inorganic, and organic. Biological additives have always earned great praise because of the non-pathogenic bacteria that is used to make the degradation of the solid wastes more efficient and much faster. The bacteria even continue to increase in number even after the initial treatment or application is done. The use of bacteria is strongly recommended because it is very safe for the septic tank, the leach field, and the environment as well. The microscopic allies never stop making the leach field optimal. You would certainly have great benefits by using biological additives and treatments. Inorganic additives and treatments are comprised of very strong acids and bases. These usually leave much corrosion in the tank and in the components of the system such as the pipes. It really depends on you and your septic expert if you are confident enough that your leach field or the entire septic system will tolerate the strength of the inorganic chemicals such as caustic soda or sulfuric acid.
When organic additives are in the spotlight, there are still some doubts as to whether they can be beneficial to the leach field or not. There are some who claim that organic additives are completely harmless to the leach field. The vinegar, yeast, or baking soda that you have in your pantry could be added in to your system so that they may work their magic in cleaning and making your septic system more efficient. The chlorinated hydrocarbons are known to be the degreasers that are effective in cleaning the tank. But these are said to pose a threat to the groundwater once they enter the system. It is also said that the organic additives could kill off the bacterial population. This is why several states ban the use of organic additives because of the high level of contamination that they cause.
Organic additives such as yeast prove to be disadvantageous to the system because it increases the amount of sludge, making it enter the leach field. When the solid wastes get dispersed into the leach field, there will be clogging. This will cause the leach field and the entire septic system to fail. Adding yeast into your system will not do the bacterial population any good. It will not even improve the breakdown of solid wastes. And because yeast is a living organism too, it will only compete with the oxygen supply that the aerobic bacteria need in the leach field. This event results to a shorter life span for your drain field and could also damage filters and aerators if your have such installed.
Septic experts say that it is more advisable to just add human waste and biodegradable toilet paper in your septic system. Additives are just manufactured to improve or accelerate the performance of your system but are not necessary. It is really up to you if you and your septic professional would like to use additives for your leach field. Maybe you could only use it when you pump out your septic tank but not more often than that. If you use organic additives and have had good results all this time, then by all means continue using them. You could be one of those who could prove that organic additive could really benefit septic systems.
