This article is about discussing homemade septic tank treatments you should consider.
Over the years, there has been a steady and gradual shift towards natural septic tank treatment solutions. On the other hand, is a significant drop in the use of chemical-based or synthetic septic tank treatment products.
How To Clean Septic Tank Naturally: 4 Homemade Options
As varied as chemical-based or synthetic products are, there is an equal variety of natural and biological alternatives to consider.
The thing with natural or homemade septic tank treatment remedies is their safety. Most chemical treatments and natural remedies are beneficial to digestive bacteria found in your tank.
What Are Septic Tank Treatment Products?
Septic tank treatments refer to additives applied to septic tanks to improve the decomposition process.
In other words, these treatments seek to improve bacterial presence and action on waste. It can also be said to provide the ideal condition for properly separating feces.
Homemade septic treatments are of varying kinds. Each seeks to achieve the same objective; improving the functionality of septic tanks. Septic tanks require suitable enzymes and bacteria to digest or break down solids flowing into them.
Without these, it’s impossible to find real decompose its contents.
Benefits Of Using Natural Septic Tank Treatments
If you’ve decided to or are considering switching from chemical to natural septic tank treatments, there are many reasons. These reasons are seen in the inherent benefits derived from the use of natural remedies for septic tank treatment.
Such benefits include the prevention of sewer line blockage and neutralizing the action of detergent bleach, which kills digestive bacteria. Also, you get an accelerated breakdown or degradation process of waste.
This is a clear benefit of using natural septic tank treatments.
Also beneficial is the reduction in the pumping requirements of your septic tank. In other words, your tank takes longer to pump than usual. The benefits don’t stop here. Natural septic tank treatment benefit also extends beyond the tank.
This is seen in a general improvement of your drain field’s percolation capacity.
In a nutshell, your septic tank and the entire system function at optimum capacity. The best part is; that such homemade treatments will cost you nothing!
Natural Septic Tank Treatments to Consider
As mentioned earlier, there are lots of natural septic tank treatment options to consider. We’ll only be focusing on a few of these. Most of these treatments require using commonly found items or food ingredients.
Examples of such items include baking soda, tomatoes, yeast, and sugar.
We won’t be taking much of your time but will immediately discuss natural septic tank treatment alternatives to chemicals.
How to Make Your Own Septic System Treatment
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Baking Soda As a Cleaning Agent
Baking soda indirectly benefits your septic tank when used as a natural cleaning agent in homes.
Most homeowners use a variety of commercially available chemical cleaners. These help to perform the cleaning task, but there are underlying issues associated with their use.
These chemical products get used daily; they’re flushed down the drain and into your septic tank. This practice is harmful to important digestive bacteria that break down waste. As the bacteria population dwindles, so does the efficiency of your septic system.
This can be prevented by simply using baking soda as a cleaning agent.
You can put this all-natural food ingredient to good use by mixing it with other natural products. To prepare your cleaner, you’ll need about ¼ cup of baking soda, ½ cup of vinegar, and about two tablespoons of lemon juice.
These are combined into a mixture and adequately mixed. Use for standard cleaning and in place of chemical cleaners. With time, the results are seen in the smooth functioning of your septic tank and system.
Common issues like clogs, odors, and backups are significantly reduced.
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Dry Yeast Septic Tank Treatment
Dry yeast is another common baking ingredient that you can put to good use for septic tank treatment.
This enzyme is known to be beneficial to good bacteria found in the septic tank. The term “good bacteria” doesn’t mean they can’t be harmful to humans when you come in contact.
It simply means such bacteria perform a beneficial function that involves the breakdown of organic matter. All you have to do here is pour or empty the contents of a single ¼ oz packet of active dry down the toilet.
This simple action goes a long way to benefit your septic tank.
This enzyme boosts good or digestive bacteria. This helps achieve an enhanced breakdown of waste found in your septic tank. In the long run, your septic tank benefits significantly as its contents are adequately broken down within a short time.
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Another Yeast Remedy
Unlike the first yeast treatment provided earlier, this will require adding other natural ingredients such as sugar and cornmeal. You’ll need about 2 cups of sugar, 2 cups of cornmeal, 3 cups of warm water, and two packets of yeast.
Now, pour these into a large bucket before adding water. When water is added, it begins to bubble. This is the point where you’ll need to turn the contents right down your toilet drain.
Flush twice to properly clear or wash down any residues left behind.
The frequency also matters. You can practice this natural septic tank treatment remedy once every month. The long-term benefits ensure your septic tank stays in good working condition.
Also, you’ll have less challenge dealing with clogs or backups.
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Rotten Tomatoes
This is surprising. Why tomatoes, and why must they be rotten?
These are the sort of questions that are likely to fly through the mind of readers right now. Bacteria are already acting on every rotten tomato you find. As such, you are adding these to your septic tank is simply a way of promoting bacterial growth.
It’s an undisputed fact that increased bacterial action benefits septic tanks. So, find rotten tomatoes from the back of your refrigerator and grind them down your garbage disposal. About 3 to 4 tomatoes would be enough every four months.
Once completed, flush down the contents with water. This is a great way to ensure your septic tank stays in top shape. Not everyone has a garbage disposal in their sink.
As such, you can either use a blender for the rotten tomatoes or place them in a bag and crush them.
Pour the blended or crushed rotten tomato contents down your toilet and flush away. Doing this once every four months benefits your septic tank immensely. This natural treatment won’t cost you anything.
The bacteria already acting on such rotten tomatoes are introduced into the septic tank.
This results in a boost in bacterial activity. It improves the condition of your septic tank while ensuring that there’s no imbalance in the system.
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Homemade Septic Tank Cleaner
The first thought you’re likely to have about a cleaner is the conventional products available such as soaps, detergents, and antiseptic disinfectants. This is far from what homemade septic tank treatments are.
Here, we only focus on natural remedies or treatments that improve your tank’s condition.
To make your septic tank cleaner, you need two essential ingredients; brown sugar and dry yeast. You should add about 2 cups of brown sugar, three packets of T’s bakers, or any other to 5 cups of warm water. Turn the mixture and empty it down the toilet.
You must add no bleach after pouring this natural septic tank treatment.
Flush the contents down to your septic tank. This will help boost bacterial activity within the septic tank by improving its general conditions.
The time of day you apply this septic tank treatment is equally important. It’s best to do this at night to enable yeast to work overnight. It’s necessary after application to ensure that toilets aren’t flushed for at least 3 hours.
What You Shouldn’t Do
While adopting the natural septic tank treatment approach, it’s necessary to avoid specific actions. These are counterproductive to the entire process of keeping a septic tank working perfectly.
It’s simply about the exclusion of certain items.
These items are primarily non-biodegradable. You should keep all non-biodegradable items out of your septic tank. These include “flushable” baby wipes and all other sorts of wipes, feminine sanitary pads or hygiene products, and cotton swabs and q-tips.
It would help if you kept all things cotton out of the septic system.
Grease and cooking oils, paints, and lots of water are things to avoid. However effective your homemade septic tank treatments are, including these items makes them counterproductive.
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Water Control Is Essential
Just the right amount of water should be allowed into your septic tank.
This requires controlling the amount of water used. In moderation, you can use water-guzzling appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines.
Only allow complete washing cycles or loads to ensure the maximization of water.
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Septic Tank Pumping
As you continue to care for your septic tank, ensure it’s regularly pumped. The time interval required for septic tank pumping ranges from 3 to 5 years.
Ensure you stick to such a schedule.
Conclusion
Septic tanks, like other components of a septic system, require maintenance. There are varieties of ways through which you can maintain such tanks. They include treatments applied to the tank via drainages. Now, quite a lot of these treatments are chemical-based products.
In other words, these contain chemicals that may be harmful to the digestive or beneficial bacteria found in septic tanks. Many chemical products alter the balance of septic systems resulting in issues that may eventually affect smooth functioning.
Your safest path to effective septic tank maintenance is using or adopting homemade septic tank treatments. We aim to show you the different methods by which you can apply homemade remedies.
Unlike commercially available chemical septic tank treatments, their homemade counterparts are much safer.
These won’t affect the balance of beneficial bacteria but boost their digestive activity. Not that the terms ‘ healthy bacteria’ and ‘digestive bacteria’ refer to bacteria that decompose waste.
Finally,
Homemade septic tank treatments are usually the best maintenance strategies to adopt. These have no adverse side effects and improve the lifespan of your septic tank.
These are some of the most effective natural septic tank treatment options available. You can now ditch your chemical tank treatments for real homemade solutions that work.