Will Bleach Hurt My Manassas VA Septic System?

“Will bleach hurt my Manassas VA septic system?”  It’s a question we get on a fairly regular basis.  It’s not hard to understand why.  After all, most people know that your septic system requires a healthy population of bacteria to function, and bleach is lethal to bacteria.

The good news is that the answer to the question “will bleach hurt my Manassas VA septic system?” is, in the overwhelming majority of cases, no.

The most common way that bleach is introduced into a septic system is routine cleaning.  The cleaners go down the drain, where they invariably wind up in your tank.  In small quantities like these, the bleach poses no significant threat.

It’s true, however, that if you pour two gallons straight down the drain, then yes, that’s going to have predictably bad results.  Don’t do that, and you’ll be fine.

Unfortunately, asking the question “will bleach hurt my Manassas VA septic system?” can pose a different sort of problem.  By focusing your attention on answering it, you may overlook other potential threats that are much more harmful.  Here are some examples:

• Excess water in the system – You wouldn’t think this could be a problem, but it definitely can be. Excess water degrades the drain field’s ability to “percolate,” which reduces its efficiency.  If you’ve got dripping faucets or toilets that run constantly, or if the downspouts connected to the rain gutters on your house are directed toward the drain field, you could be headed for trouble.
• Grease – Most people know better than to pour grease down the drain, but it still happens. Unfortunately, when it does, there’s only one good way to remove it.  You’ve got to pump the tank out.  Don’t put much stock in products that claim to be able to break up the grease to allow it to flow out of the tank.  Most don’t work at all, and many can cause significant harm to your system.
• Chemical Drain Cleaners – This is a big problem. While it takes as much as two gallons of bleach to cause serious damage to your system, it only takes as little as a single teaspoon of chemical drain cleaner to devastate your tank’s bacteria population.  These cleaners should be avoided at all costs.

Ultimately, the best way to ensure that your septic system has a long, productive life comes down to a single word:  Maintenance, but that’s not something you can do on your own.  You need a trusted expert you can rely on.  In Manassas VA and surrounding areas, we are that expert.  We’ve been proudly serving the region since 1977, and we’ve got the skills and experience you need to ensure that your system works reliably, year in and year out.  Give us a call today.