Will Bleach Hurt My Haymarket VA Septic System?
“Will bleach hurt my Haymarket VA septic system?” It’s a question we get more often than you might imagine, and not because thousands of people in the area are in the habit of pouring gallons of bleach down the sink.
The reality is that bleach can wind up in your septic system by a number of perfectly ordinary roads. Since it’s an excellent cleaning agent, any time you use bleach or a bleach-based product to clean your toilet, shower, or sinks, whatever amount you use is inevitably going to wind up in the septic tank.
The short answer to the question “will bleach hurt my Haymarket VA septic system?” is no.
Does that surprise you? After all, bleach kills bacteria, and the bacteria in the tank that process the waste are at risk.
The reality though is that studies have shown that it would take more than a gallon of bleach poured directly down the drain to have a major impact (and probably closer to two). It’s absolutely true that if you put enough of it into the system, it will cause damage and cause your system to stop functioning (no bacteria, no waste processing), but almost no one would think to do that anyway.
Ultimately then, “will bleach hurt my Haymarket VA septic system?” is the wrong question. There are plenty of other things that will cause more damage in much smaller quantity.
Drain cleaner is a great example. Even in quantities as small as a teaspoon, a powerful chemical drain cleaner can devastate the bacteria you need inside the tank for your system to function properly.
In addition to that, pouring grease and cooking oil down the drain can cause you no end of septic troubles, and unfortunately, the only way to solve for it is to have the tank pumped. Don’t believe the hype you read about chemical agents designed to break up grease in your septic tank.
Most of them don’t have any notable impact at all, and many can actually cause more harm than good. Instead of buying products like those, it’s better to just save the money and have your tank pumped at regular intervals.
Remember, your septic system works a lot like a municipal waste treatment plant, just on a much smaller scale. Unfortunately, where the municipal plant has a team of engineers and other staff to make sure everything is functioning properly, if you’ve got a septic system, it’s just you.
In order to make sure your system is working the way it should, you’ll need to find a local septic expert you can trust, and in Haymarket, and surrounding areas, the company to call is Advantage. We’ll help make sure your septic system provides years, if not decades of reliable service. Call us today!