Septic maintenance

We just moved to a place that has a septic system and I'm hearing Rid-X is the stuff to use.

How often and how much do I dump down the toilet to keep the septic tank good to go (I also heard it needs to be pumped out every couple of years just to be safe)

This may help, it covers most things you want to know.
https://www.uoguelph.ca/orwc/Resources/documents/care_and_feeding.pdf

Thanks. I don't see any mention of Rid-X or similar products.

And, I did see where it said toilet bowl cleaners are not a good idea since that material going in to the septic tank can slow down the organisms in the septic system.

Does this mean those little blue thing you put in your toilet tank (that make the water blue and smell better) should not be used?

It has been about 40 years since I lived with a septic tank but I think we used baking soda and vinegar for cleaning a lot of stuff. Others here will be more up to date.

In the old days and maybe what you have is a septic system like the one I have in my old house. When I rebuilt the leach field a number of years ago I kept the system as it was. It was a split system where the bathroom water went to the septic tank and the laundry and kitchen water bypassed the tanks and went to a smaller tank right before the leach field the tank is called a grease trap. In a system like this you don’t have all the laundry and kitchen additives killing off a working tank. You also have a lot less water passing thru the septic tank. The toilet alone now that they are low flush designs is not enough water but when you add in the bath and sink it is plenty. Rid-X is good to use in the old days they used to toss a road kill in to keep things active. I wouldn’t advise doing that today. Depending on your tank size and number of people in the house pumping it every 2-5 years is in order. The thing that hurts a septic the most is the brand of toilet paper you use. The very soft brands turn into fiber really fast in water and don’t have a chance to break down. The fiber floats straight thru and plugs up the leach field.

With the new building codes it is no longer allowed to design your own system in many areas of the country like I did and there is a fine line between maintaining a system and rebuilding. Once it is deemed a rebuild they now here require a permit and the county gets involved and tests your soil and dictates the design of the system if they will allow one at all. Here 100% of these end up being above ground sand mound systems that are ugly, may have to go in your front yard, and cost big bucks. It is therefore important to keep the one you have working.

Do you know how yours is built? Age? Have you found the lids and opened it? do you have a leach field or sand mound system?

Does this mean those little blue thing you put in your toilet tank (that make the water blue and smell better) should not be used?

Click to expand...

Yes it does.
Nothing down the drain that hasn't passed through a human first or wiped your behind.

Regular pumping is essential to keeping your leaching field operating. The solids don't digest fully and the tank will eventually fill and solids can get into the leaching field. Once solids get into the leach field it will clog and a new leach field is in your immediate future. From all the reading I've done on the subject Rid-X is a waste of money.

The blue tablets can cause a lazy flush in the toilet. Bleach cleaners like 2000 Flushes can eat the rubber parts inside your toilet tank. Both should be avoided. Here is a great explanation of the Blue Goo Issue: http://www.toiletology.com/lazy-03.shtml

The www.toiletology.com site has a lot of great information on it on all things dealing with the porcelain throne.

Micro organisms are doing all the hard work in your septic tank and leach field. The more chemicals you add to the water, the more microbes you kill. So, as little bleach as possible, septic friendly laundry detergent (read the bottles), and basic toilet paper (like Scotts).
There are a ton of products on the market to help replenish the microbes. Some contain live microbes that can be flushed right down the drain. They smell terrible, but it is the price you pay for a healthy septic system.
PS> all septic systems die after a couple of decades - more or less. Start saving now for the next one. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$