Septic System

June 1, 2007 3:30 PM

My husband thinks that the occasional quarter inch of food in the disposal will destroy our septic system. I could appreciate his paranoia, if, perhaps, I were stuffing a ham down the drain or putting a pot of boiling oil. However, this evening, a small scrap of a sole fillet fell into the drain and you would have thought that I had boobytrapped the entire system. Is it possible to ruin one's septic system from the occasional food scrap (and, I mean "scrap", i.e., no more than a nub)?
posted by flyingrock to home & garden (11 comments total)

No. Septics eat. Feed it. It will be fine. The bigger challenge is the undigestables like paper and household cleaners.

What I'm interested in is just why he has come to this conclusion. Does he think there is a significant difference between the food and poop to microbes? What about the difference is he concerned about? Is food too rich for a septic?
posted by Toekneesan at 3:45 PM on June 1, 2007

Absolutely no problem. We had a septic system at a rural property and all kinds of odds and ends made it down, and I was never anal about scraping plates off. We never had any problem with our septic system. Where you get in trouble is basically two things: (1) sending in organics at a rate the system can't decompose, i.e. the daily garbage disposal thing, and (2) sending down inorganics. If your husband is worried about it he can use that stuff in a can that rejuvenates the septic tank.
posted by rolypolyman at 3:46 PM on June 1, 2007

Keep grease out of your septic. That's important. The microbes cannot do their jobs if they are covered with a level of fat.

He's probably freaking because of just how unpleasant a septic problem can be. Nothing quite like flushing a toilet and watching the contents come up in the tub. Don't ask me how I know that.

Tell him just to pony up money to have the darn thing pumped every so often.
posted by konolia at 4:15 PM on June 1, 2007

The best and easiest way to keep your septic system working properly is to put a package of yeast down the commode once a month. It helps to keep the microbes in sufficient quantities. And as been said, greese is one of the very worst things to put into a septic system.
posted by JayRwv at 4:18 PM on June 1, 2007

Does he think there is a significant difference between the food and poop to microbes?

The difference between food and poop to a septic system is the amount of fat present. Your body is good at absorbing fat as part of digestion.

This is a common household conflict, at least in those homes with septic systems. Septic systems are expensive; take care of them. For best mileage, you shouldn't even have a disposal on a septic system.
posted by DarkForest at 5:12 PM on June 1, 2007

The best and easiest way to keep your septic system working properly is to put a package of yeast down the commode once a month.

Moreover, there are packages of bacterium-enfused media that are specifically designed to flush down your toilet and recharge septic systems. They are available at any hardware store.
posted by frogan at 5:23 PM on June 1, 2007

The <1g contents of a yeast packet or whatever you buy as an "additive" to your septic system are nothing compared to the quantities of bacteria present in even the most clogged and troubled system. You are literally throwing your money down the drain when you purchase those products.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 5:43 PM on June 1, 2007

Seconding Optimus Chyme on adding yeast being a waste of time and money. Bakers yeast is usually a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain, and they feed on simple sugars, that's it, and those are the easiest things to process. There's a lot more going on in your septic tank besides simple sugars. As for the packets specifically for septic systems, I haven't read anything about their efficacy.
posted by Eekacat at 8:54 PM on June 1, 2007

The purpose of the garbage disposal is to grind the food into little tiny pieces.

The microbes in your septic will devour this gladly.

Such a violent reaction makes me think this isn't really about the food and the septic system, more like a control issue, but we'll save that for another day.

My wife and I routinely put copious amounts of food down our disposal into a septic system for several years, without one hiccup. I am fairly religious about putting a box of Rid-X down the toilet every month. Whether it really works or not, I don't know, but I know we've never had any issues.

At my parents house, we put at least a plate of food a day down the disposal into a septic system, and in 10 years never so much as had the septic emptied or drained. Again, regular use of Rid-X, which is where I picked up the habit.
posted by Ynoxas at 9:13 PM on June 1, 2007

Another real hazard to the septic is laundry soap residue. It builds up and clogs the exit drains. Idealy, the washing machine should drain into a separate system (graywater drywell). Also, as mentioned, inorganic crap. Cigarette butts are a terror.
posted by Goofyy at 10:05 PM on June 1, 2007

Whether it really works or not, I don't know, but I know we've never had any issues.

Can I sell you some dinosaur repellent?
posted by dmd at 10:54 AM on June 2, 2007