Do sanitizers kill bacteria? If so, then not good for my septic system

I am running on a 100% rainwater and local septic system. I need the good bacteria in the septic system; does sanitizer kill them? Let's say I mix up a couple gallons, and then run it down my drain, does it kill the bacteria?

billpaustin said:

I am running on a 100% rainwater and local septic system. I need the good bacteria in the septic system; does sanitizer kill them? Let's say I mix up a couple gallons, and then run it down my drain, does it kill the bacteria?

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Of course they do that's the whole point, but it all depends on concentration. Starsan for instance is an acid, it kills bacteria because of its very low ph. Once it's been diluted, like when it's dumped into a septic tank, the ph is no longer low and it no longer will kill bacteria.

The dilution factor should make whatever you're flushing ineffective as a sanitizer(ie. you won't kill any of the good bugs). And if you're using Starsan, the breakdown products might even be beneficial.

Your tank is probably over 500 gallons. They are usually 1000 gallons minimum plus the drain field.

Dumping a yeast slurry is probably a bigger problem than a 5/1000 dilution of sanitizer. A yeast cake is a lot of nutrients for the septic tank bacteria to chew through. But even then, if you aren't already overloading the tank, it shouldn't be an issue.

I always thought the yeast would help eat through all that stuff as well.

Conventional septic systems use anaerobic digestion to clean waste.

There are species of yeast that are aerobic and facultative (partial aerobic - partial anaerobic) but none that are fully anaerobic. Once they use up all the available molecular oxygen, they stop working.

Hence the need to aerate the wort after the boil and stuck fermentations that result from insufficient aeration.

Yeast are good for a septic system.

Sanitizer won't hurt a septic system.

...and if you really are concerned let id sit for a while... it's ability to sanitize degrades over time and exposer to (I guess) oxygen....

I remember the city coming around after my nosey neighbor called someone saying "yeah,it looks like a meth lab or something". I explained to them what the stuff was they found in the caker near the corner of my front yard where the storm drain is. So yeast def helps,& as long as the Starsan & PBW were properly mixed,it's ok so far as sewers are concerned from what they told me.

unionrdr said:

I remember the city coming around after my nosey neighbor called someone saying "yeah,it looks like a meth lab or something". I explained to them what the stuff was they found in the caker near the corner of my front yard where the storm drain is. So yeast def helps,& as long as the Starsan & PBW were properly mixed,it's ok so far as sewers are concerned from what they told me.

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Do you ever share your homebrew with that pleasant person? I wouldn't

No! They'll never get one bottle. They're always noseyin on the cell phone & causing me grief because I didn't spend $20,000 on my damn yard.

I'd rather spend 20K on my brewhouse.

unionrdr said:

No! They'll never get one bottle. They're always noseyin on the cell phone & causing me grief because I didn't spend $20,000 on my damn yard.

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I would tell them if they don't back off you will kill the grass and weeds so you don't have to mow anymore

unionrdr said:

No! They'll never get one bottle. They're always noseyin on the cell phone & causing me grief because I didn't spend $20,000 on my damn yard.

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If I was going to spend $20,000 on my yard it would be to cover it in astro turf. Then I could just pressure wash it a couple times a year. Home Depot even sells different looking kinds just for the purpose.

This is why I hate homeoners associations. It does nothing more than give the busybodie's the power they crave to make the rest of us live THEIR WAY.
I keep telling them when they're paying the bills,then they can tell me what to do with my property. And yeah,a 20k brewery would be somethin to see. Let's get back to the question at hand. Guess I distracted y'all again.

Thanks for the replies. I pretty much just quit using sanitizer anyway. Now I just wash everything the same as I do the dishes, and haven't gotten an infection yet. Even my rice wine never gets any infections. I'm at 8,000 feet in the desert mountains, 10% humidity, and seemingly no bacteria.

My septic had good oxygen numbers, and nitrites, but was a little off-color, and I was trying to figure out why. I don't use bleach, but was wondering about the sanitizer. Sounds like that can't be an issue.

billpaustin said:

My septic had good oxygen numbers, and nitrites, but was a little off-color, and I was trying to figure out why.

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I just have to ask. What constitutes "off color" in a septic tank?

Bookworm said:

I just have to ask. What constitutes "off color" in a septic tank?

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The technician pulled the sample, and said he wants to see it as clear as water. Instead, it had a slight tan color, but still pretty clear. In this type of septic, I run a fan 24/7 that recirculates water and air.

He said all the systems around here work well, except for two. One of these is a cancer patient, and their meds kill the bacteria. The other he thinks is probably a meth lab.

billpaustin said:

The technician pulled the sample, and said he wants to see it as clear as water. Instead, it had a slight tan color, but still pretty clear. In this type of septic, I run a fan 24/7 that recirculates water and air.

He said all the systems around here work well, except for two. One of these is a cancer patient, and their meds kill the bacteria. The other he thinks is probably a meth lab.

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I learn something new every day. I was thinking back to helping pump out septic systems and everything about that is "off".

You might want to listen to this podcast: http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/...Session-03-19-06-Sanitation-w/-Charlie-Talley

They have an in-depth talk about sanitation with one of the guys from Five Star (who make StarSan). Very informative, he even talks about septic systems.

A couple ideas that it could be that are benign:
1. Bad sample. Maybe he accidentally got some of the scum layer in the sample. Although, you may not have a scum layer if you have a fan.
2. You just ran the dishwasher, washing machine, or dumped a bucket that caused a sudden large inflow into the tank that resulted is re-suspending sludge/solids/biomass.
3. You created a nutrient load in the tank that caused the bacteria to bloom throughout the water column.

If the drain field still drains and he said you don't have excessive buildup of solids, I'd take a wait-and-see approach. It might be self-correcting.