In this article we will cover how plastics and nylons from laundry water can clog a leach field. Health and sanitation are two most valuable elements in any household. As a responsible homeowner, you should always make sure that your living space is not contaminated in any way. This means that waste disposal and wastewater treatment in your premises should be efficient enough to keep away illnesses and environmental problems. Your septic system should be one of your priorities. As you know, the septic system treats the wastewater that your household produces n a daily basis. The amount of wastewater depends on the number of people that use the facilities in your home. Your septic system has a certain capacity. If you don’t have a greywater system and dry well, your septic system receives both greywater and black water. Greywater is wastewater from drains, showers, dishwashers, and washing machines. Blackwater is wastewater from toilets. It contains human waste. Additional grey water alters the performance of the septic system by incorporating a heavy water load. When this happens, the solid waste materials are stirred up and pushed into the leach field to clog it. Another problem would be the entrance or plastics and nylons into the septic system by means of laundry water.
Plastic is a substance that is mainly synthetic or manmade but it can also have organic substances. Scientists have been seeking ways on how to make plastic biodegradable. They add certain chemicals to it to make this possible but even if there is already biodegradable plastic, only the organic compounds in it are degraded. The non-biodegradable components remain intact. When biodegradable plastic enters the septic tank, methane is produced. Methane is toxic in high levels and is flammable. Plastic, even in biodegradable form, is very harmful to you and to the surrounding environment. Plastic should not enter your septic system, or it will wreak havoc in your leach field. You should know how plastic and nylons from laundry water can clog a leach field. This will help you care more intensely for your personal wastewater system.
It is a fact that homeowners tend to do laundry on a daily basis to lessen the load every week. Believe it or not, plastic and nylon fibers are now present in various fabrics. Plastic makes fabric more durable and flexible. The non-biodegradable substance even makes it possible for the fabric to resist fluids and stains. If the fabric is placed in the washing machine, it undergoes processes that can be rough enough to loosen or detach the fibers. Most of them might be made of plastic or nylons. Once the fibers make it into the septic tank, they will just stay there and accumulate. The sudden flow of greywater will then stir up the fibers and other solid waste products. The plastics and solid waste particulates will be pushed into the leach field and clog it. Once this happens, the system will backup, overflow, and flood into your property. This will result to contamination of your household and the surrounding environment. Health and sanitation will eventually become a terrible issue that you have to deal with. Failure of the leach field is inevitable once the plastic bits clog it up.
You could prevent plastic and nylons from entering the leach field by talking to your septic expert. You should discuss about having filters installed into the inflow and outflow pipes of the septic tank. It should also be installed in the outflow pipe of the washing machine. The filters will catch the plastic and nylon fibers that escape fabrics before they reach the leach field. Extra filters in the outflow pipes will doubly ensure that the leach field does not suffer from blockage due to the plastic and nylon fibers in the laundry water. Using gentle detergents will also prevent fibers from detaching from the fabric. The responsibility of maintaining your leach field well is a huge one but it is worth to bear if a healthy home will come out of it.
