Garbage Disposal And Septic

Just as you should avoid sending other solids down the septic system the garbage disposal poses a problem when homeowners try to process and dispose of non biodegradable food items like food packaging items or even hard to break down foods like bones fruit pits coffee grounds or oil and grease.

Garbage disposal and septic.

Do consider building a compost pile for all those leftover peelings coffee grounds and egg shells. Down that garbage disposal. When you use a garbage disposal for your septic system you are overloading the waste that is being put into the tank. You ve probably been told that using a garbage disposal to get rid of food waste is going to upset that delicate system.

Do pump out the septic tank more frequently if garbage disposal is being used heavily. If you have bought a house with a septic system and it doesn t already have a disposal don t add one. When you have a septic system the pieces of food are flushed down the drain into your system. The do s and don ts for using a garbage disposal with septic systems.

The second best advice you can get is to use it minimally and responsibly. Garbage disposals are septic safe. Regular use of a garbage disposal can drastically increase the amount of waste you are pumping into the septic tank. The reality is it won t.

When you use a garbage disposal with a septic tank the ground up food particles contribute to the layer of solids that is deposited on the bottom of your septic tank. A garbage disposal grinds food waste to easily flow through a home s plumbing and into a septic tank. This excess waste will never get a chance to break down in the wet environment. Once there food scraps decompose faster than other waste sent into the tank.