July 23, 2025
Wastewater
Chemical Cleaning Products are Destroying The Ecosystem and Your Septic Tank
A septic tank is typically an underground sewage collection unit where waste from households and small establishments is broken down and decomposed through bacterial activity.
This is a space that holds and treats raw sewage through the settling of solids and digestion by anaerobic microbes, and therefore has a natural bio-composition and the presence of several bacteria that break down the waste.
These naturally occurring bacteria are responsible for breaking down solid waste, allowing the liquid waste to flow down and out of the septic tank, thereby reducing septic tank maintenance costs.
It’s so common (and convenient) to drain liquid waste of all kinds down the sink, toilet, or tub in your home.
However, it’s essential to consider the potential damage you may cause to your septic tank by doing this.
The health of a septic tank depends on the balance of naturally occurring bacteria.
Therefore, you must be mindful of what you put into the drain that could damage these microscopic organisms and disrupt the composition and balance within your septic tank, thereby affecting the natural degradation of waste.
It also helps in avoiding septic tank maintenance.
The bacteria in a septic tank are typically capable of decomposing 95% of waste, leaving only 5% behind.
This is a significant component of decomposition, which, if compromised, can lead to clogging, overflow, and the release of numerous harmful effluents into the waterways beyond the septic tank.
A healthy, balanced, and properly functioning septic tank ensures that pathogens are trapped within, preventing them from being leached out.
On the other hand, if the balance of the hardworking organisms responsible for breaking down the waste is skewed, it will not function as well, leading to septic tank maintenance issues.
This may then cause the discharge of unhealthy volumes of improperly treated wastewater in and around the vicinity of the tank.
This is one of the primary causes of groundwater contamination and a significant health hazard.
According to UNICEF, one gram of human faeces may contain 10 million viruses, 1 million bacteria, 1,000 parasite cysts, and 100 parasite eggs.
So every time a septic tank malfunctions, it becomes a potential threat that could release these pathogens into the groundwater.
This not only pollutes the environment, affecting the soil, groundwater, as well as rivers and the sea, but also poses a significant health hazard to humans and animals in and around the area.
The more a septic tank’s capacity to break down sewage is compromised, the greater its potential to cause groundwater contamination.
Pathogens – or disease-causing bacteria and viruses – are the contaminants typically found in untreated wastewater.
Untreated wastewater, containing traces of fecal matter, has high concentrations of pathogens that make it extremely hazardous to human beings in the vicinity of malfunctioning septic tanks.
It is, therefore, crucial to ensure that your septic tank maintains a healthy microbial balance and functions optimally to break down and contain waste to the best possible capacity.
This can be achieved by following a septic tank maintenance routine and regular check-ups.
Many of the chemicals and ingredients in household cleaning products, such as ammonia, bleach, and nonylphenol ethoxylate surfactants and phosphates, have been known to cause irreparable harm to the health of septic tanks.
While these are the same chemicals that ensure a spotless and almost fully disinfected bathroom and home, they are also the same chemicals that kill the bacteria (in the septic tank where they end up), disrupting the necessary balance required to break down pathogens.
A majority of septic systems are not designed to prevent chemicals found in household products from entering groundwater.
Some products deemed ‘hazardous household products’ should especially not be disposed of in a way that allows them to enter the septic system, as the chemicals can cause harm to human health and the environment if the products are not used or degraded properly.
When these chemicals enter a septic tank in excessive amounts, they can increase toxicity levels, which in turn harm the beneficial bacteria working to break down the contents.
Then, it sets off a domino effect wherein these chemicals continue to flow unbroken down from the septic tank to the leach field around the neighbourhood, further into the water reserves.
Note that chemical cleaning solutions are likely to damage your septic tank.
This is why it is crucial to raise awareness about safe, non-hazardous cleaning products, as well as to ensure that citizens take care to safely and responsibly dispose of liquid chemical waste in their homes.
The average citizen probably has no idea about the harmful effects of products that they believe are good for them.
This is also contrary to best septic tank maintenance practices.
Citizens also lack awareness of where their sewage waste goes and how every action within the home impacts the biological chain and ecosystem.
At any given time, the average household contains an estimated 10 litres of products that could be considered hazardous to human health and the surrounding environment.
Strong cleansers, bleaching agents, disinfectants, and paints, when poured down the drain, put a strain on wastewater treatment facilities designed to treat predominantly organic waste.
Hazardous chemical components like these often go unprocessed and are eventually released back into local waterways, contaminating the sea, groundwater, soil, and local ecosystems.
This can cause significant problems in the long run if left unchecked.
A septic tank is a crucial first step in the efficient and effective treatment of wastewater generated in every home and office.
Therefore, it is well worth the effort to invest in septic tank maintenance, use safe cleaning products, read labels to ensure that everything that goes down the drain is septic-tank safe, and inform oneself about the impact that household activities, such as cleaning, can have on the environment.
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