Natural and Green DIY Septic Care
Septic tank care is probably not something we think or talk about very often, but it is an important part of keeping our homes and environment safe and healthy. Natural and green septic care is extremely important for a healthy ecosystem.
If you have a well and septic system or septic tank, you’re likely aware of the importance of maintaining a healthy ecosystem of beneficial bacteria in your septic tank. Without it, organic material and paper cannot be broken down, which can result in a blockage of flow to your drain field or, worse, a backup of sewage into your home. In addition to protecting your septic system’s bacteria, you should avoid putting things down your drains which could possibly clog your septic field and possibly pollute ground water.
Household products such as antibacterial soaps, especially chlorinated bleach, can interfere with this natural process. Many other products such as solvents, paints, pesticides, herbicides, unwanted medications should not be poured down your toilets or drains, as these products too can damage the good bacteria in your septic system.
Even if you use natural cleaning products every day in your home and are very careful not to put any contaminating products down into your septic system, there are still bound to be agents designed to kill bacteria going down the drain. Just running large amounts of water can weaken the bacterial status of a septic system.
What is the solution? You need to feed your septic tank some bacteria every 4 to 6 weeks. Make sure it is the green, healthy, and natural way that will be safe for our environment and for our own health. Use some medicine that will ensure a supply of beneficial bacteria that will keep things flowing smoothly.
DIY Brown Sugar Bacteria Activator For A Healthy Septic System
- 4 Cups very warm water
- 4 cups brown sugar
- 2 packets active dry yeast
Directions:
1. Add the warm water to a large bucket, then dissolve the sugar into the water.
2. Add the yeast and stir.
3. Set the mixture aside for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the yeast reacts with the brown sugar and becomes frothy.
4. Flush this mixture a little at a time or in portions. Don’t try to flush it all at once!
The best time to use this treatment is at night when everyone is going to bed for the night. The treatment will have time to work without the likelihood of anyone using the bathroom.
Make sure you are taking care of your septic system and protecting our environment the green and healthy way!
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We eat a lot of chia, flax, and other seeds. Do they ever break down, or will they potentially cause issues in future?
HI Elaine,
As far as I am aware of chia seeds or flax seeds do not completely break down in the body and you get more nutritional value from them if they are ground up. You can buy them ground or grind them yourselves.
I am not aware that they cause a problem in the septic tank in anyway. I have never heard of or read anything that says they will cause a problem in our septic tank now or in the future.
I hope that helps. Thanks for stopping by and please come back soon. Have a healthy, happy & blessed day!
Hi,I’m in Australia and I’m having trouble with my septic having an occasional septic smell outside. I would love to try this recipe but I am unsure of the package size of yeast required. We get packages ranging from 7 gram to 500 grams , so would really appreciate you giving me the weight required. A very helpful post, thank you. Sally
HI Sally,
The normal size of a package or yeast in the US is 1/4 oz. or 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast which is 7 grams, or 11 ml. So since it is 2 package would be 1/2 cup or 4 1/2 teaspoons – or 14 grams or 22 ml. I hope this helps. 14 grams would be one doze as according to the recipe. Good luck with getting rid of the smell and hope it helps to improve your whole septic system. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Have a healthy, happy & blessed day!
You have shared some very easy and reliable tips to clean the septic tank, which has wonderfully worked for me.
Thanks for sharing it!!
HI Liam,
Glad that you found my tips helpful. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Have a healthy, happy & blessed day!
Any tips for a toilet cleaner
Hi Denise,
I use my own DIY cleaner = made from oranges peels, white vinegar. I recycle my oranges or it can be lemon or any citrus fruits peels and put them in a glass jar – cover with white vinegar for 3-4 weeks on a sunny window sill. Then drain off the liquid – you can add some orange, grapefruit, lemon essentials oils if you want to. I store the cleaner in glass jars in a cabinet that is away from the sun. To use I put in a spray bottle. I have a wonderful cleaner that I use for many things throughout out my home. In the toilet I use it by first putting in baking soda and then adding the the DIY citrus spray. It will fizz for you. I leave it in there for 5-10 minutes and then clean with a toilet brush. It cleans great and kills germs, bacteria, mold and fungus. Try it and I think you will love it. You will not smell the strong odor either but the citrus smell. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Have a healthy, happy & blessed weekend.
I like this. I never thought of brown sugar and yeast. Thank you. We just moved to a place with a septic system and was trying to find out if using the vinegar/dish soap was okay to use for cleaning due to the fact all this goes into the drain when cleaning sinks/tubs and toilets.. So nice to know there is someone out there with such good advice.
HI Debby,
Glad my article helped you find answers to your questions on your septic tank issues. Good luck at your new home and hope all goes well. Thanks for stopping by, commenting and please come back and check your new articles on how to live green. Have a healthy, happy and blessed Easter weekend!
Do you think it would be OK to put this formula down my kitchen sink? I have a clog that we can’t seem to break. We’ve tried & tried & tried… just about everything else we can think of on it already. I’m thinking it’s worth a shot. It just may work. Couldn’t hurt right?
HI Pari,
I don’t see why it would hurt – none of the ingredients is harmful in anyway to try it but I’m not sure that it will unclog it since this is for maintenance and to balance the bacteria. Have tried A Simple Recipe for Homemade Drain Cleaner. I have used this myself to unclug my drain and I also use it regularly as a maintenance so that it stops clogs from happen and it refreshes the sink, tub or toilet. Have you tried using a small plugger?
2 cups baking soda
4 cups boiling water
1 cup white vinegar
lemon juice (you can use the liquid lemon in a jar)
Remove all water from the sink or tub and pour about 1 cup of baking soda down the drain. Make sure that baking soda makes it down the drain. now Now pour some lemon juice -about 3-4 tbsp down the drain.
Next, pour about 2 Cups of boiling water down the drain. The baking soda mixed with boiling water dissolves the sludge and gunk in the pipe, even if you don’t see it happening. Wait a few minutes.
Now, pour another cup baking soda down the drain then add 1 cup of white vinegar and plug the drain immediately. If you’re unclogging a double sink, plug both drains. You’ll hear sizzling coming up from the drain and see bubbles foaming up.
When the bubbles have died down, add the remaining boiling water down the drain and add a little more lemon to give it a refreshing odor.
Repeat this process if necessary.
Let me know if this works for you.
Why brown sugar? Will refined white sugar work too? Have seen other formulas that add cornmeal to this mix. Is cornmeal needed or does it add unnecessary solids?
Hi,
This recipe calls for brown sugar and that is what I would recommend. I just used the brown sugar activator recipe because I thought it was a easier and simpler recipe to use.
I also have another recipe that I got from the same source — a book that I think is a wonderful resource for many natural solutions and DIY recipes to many common problems in my home — (The Naturally Clean Home)—– this recipe is called the “Cornmeal Bacteria Activator” the ingredients are as following — 4 cups of very warm water, 2 cups cornmeal, 2 cups of white sugar, 2 packages active dry yeast. It it used about the same way as the recipe I posted “Brown Sugar Activator.”
It is just a personal choice but I try to stick to the easiest recipe possible.
Thank you for reading my article, commenting and stopping by. Have a natural, healthy, happy and blessed day!
Hi Marla,
This is such a valuable post. I’m sure many septic tank owners are not aware of the need to care for their septic tanks in a green and natural manner. This handy recipe is so cheap and easy to make and can prevent lots of problems in the future. Thank you for sharing your awesome DIY Brown Sugar Bacteria Activator For A Healthy Septic System recipe and tips for green and natural septic tank care at the Healthy, Happy, Green and Natural Party Blog Hop. I appreciate it!
Thanks Deborah – glad to be part or Healthy Happy Green & Natural Blog hop. Marla
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What a great tip…who would have ever thought of brown sugar and yeast!
Thanks for reading my article and commenting. Sometimes the simplest ingredients are the most powerful. Have a healthy happy day! Marla
This is great I never thought about this. I have been aware of what goes down the toilet due to having a septic tank, but never thought I could help it from up top, pinned and shared.
Thanks so much for pinning. I found this recipe quite a while ago and thought it was something that needed to be shared. Have a healthy happy day!
here in the country in the UK adding a dead rat or 2 usually does a good job to a smelly (not well balanced) septic tank, Oh and hiring a green cleaner who has a MSc in science helps too! Its one of the reasons I set my business up, there are lots of homes nearby that rely on septic tanks and using buckets of bleach – or even as you say buckets of water – is simply not acceptable. Nice post
Thanks for reading my article and commenting.
Glad to help Jen. Welcome to the US. Thanks for reading my article and commenting.
Funny how I try to make everything in our home natural, but never gave a thought to the chemicals being used in our septic system. Thanks for this post. Always enjoy your blogs.
Thanks Nancy, Our septic system is something that many people don’t think about but yet it is a very important factor in our environment and health. Thanks for reading my blogs and hope I have helped you with some useful tips in living green. Have a healthy happy day. Marla