Domestic sewage treatment plant - cleaners to use; advice

[KenJ]

Hi all,

We've recently moved into a new (to us) house which has a domestic sewage treatment plant (Bio Pure). It's only a few years old and we have the records to show it's been serviced annually and de-sludged as required.

However, until now, we've always been on mains drainage, so I'd appreciate some advice from those of you on a sewage treatment plant as to what cleaners to use. We're trying to use the eco-friendly ones (e.g., Method), however what do you do to clean the washing machine and dishwasher (white vinegar in the washing machine perhaps)?

Also, I've read we should be 'careful' with the amount of water we put down it, e.g., shorter showers, fewer washing cycles etc. Is this the case in your experiences?

Any general tips and advice most welcome.

Thanks in advance

[normalbloke]

What does the manufacturer of your treatment plant advise? That’s the only answer that matters.

[Happy Jim]

We’ve been on ours for 2 years now, ultra careful to start with but now don’t give it a thought! Avoid bleaching the loo’s all on the same day, we collect any oil/bacon fat etc and tip it into a bowl full of bird seeds - otherwise just go with the flow.

Jim

[JoshSm]

KenJ said:

what do you do to clean the washing machine and dishwasher (white vinegar in the washing machine perhaps)?

I'll point out that using vinegar is generally a bad idea anyway as it can be unfriendly to the seals, usually citric acid is the go-to.

[Spurry]

In addition to the previous advice.

The biggest problem is dealing with visitors who come from civilisation where anything goes down the toilet. A good mantra is if it's gone in your mouth it can go down the loo, apart from actual toilet paper. So no wet-wipes, tissues, tooth picks, nappies, monthly female products and so on.

When you have to deal with your own toilet deposits, it is a whole different ball-game to giving the problem to the local Water Board.

[KenJ]

Thanks all for the replies, most helpful.

I will have a chat with the manufacturer, that’s on the list for this week, however, I always like to ask for people’s real world experience as well.

In terms of what we flush down the toilet, we’ve only ever flushed waste and toilet paper when we were on mains drainage, so should be fine on that front. We’ll make sure guests do the same.

I’ll make sure we don’t use too much, or any bleach. We tend to use the Ecover toilet cleaner which is ‘natural’ so I assume less harmful in this instance.

Thanks again all