Many household products contain chemicals that will kill bacteria.  however, your septic system/cesspool depends on a healthy bacteria population to keep it functioning properly.  Routinely using products that 'kill germs' may result in EXPENSIVE problems.  These problems always occur at the worst possible time and include things like backups, foul odors and failed filter beds.  Whether your system gives you endless problems or years of trouble free service is determined greatly by what YOU put into your system.

Selecting septic-safe products can be tricky.  Unless you are a chemist, how can you know which ingredients are bad for your system?  Furthermore, some products that state, "Will not harm septic tanks" may not hurt the TANK, but may be very detrimental to the bacteria in your tank!  For these reasons the makers of Bio-Clean have done the research for you.

Simply look for products you currently use.  If they are in the Don't group, switch to a product in the Do group.  Often you won't have to switch brands since many brands have formulas in both groups.  When there is more than one formula the formula name will be listed in parentheses after the brand name.


Things like disposable diapers, bones, sanitary napkins, tampons, tampon applicators, coffee grounds, plastic band aids, bandage wrappers, dental floss and cigarette butts WILL NOT BREAK DOWN.  Throw them in the trash.  Otherwise they accumulate in your tank.  You must then spend money for pumping or risk drain field problems.  Petroleum based paint, solvents will inactivate your tank and can pollute ground water!
 

Do's	Don'ts
Automatic Dishwasher Detergents Amway,  Electrasol Tabs,  Shaklee Basic D,  Shoppers Value Lemon Fresh,  Wave Gel	All,  Cascade (powder/gel),  Electrasol (powder/gel),  Palmolive (gel),  Sun Light
Dishwashing Liquids Many brands are now available in a regular and an anti-bacterial formula.	Obviously the anti-bacterial products are NOT recommended.
Laundry Detergents Most brands are now compatible.  The most desirable are those in which ALL the ingredients are biodegradable, not just the surfactants.	Avoid brands containing chlorine.
Toilet Bowl Cleaners 2000 Flushes (Blue + detergents),  Bully Depend-O,  Lime A Way,  Sani-Flush Crystals,  Sno Bol (Automatic),  Toilet Duck (liquid),  Toilet Duck (blue),  Vanish (automatic),  Vanish (crystals),  Vanish Hang-Ins (blue box),  The Works	2000 Flushes (w/bleach),  Clorox Bleach & Blue,  Lysol (all),  Shoppers Value,  Sno-Bos (liquid),  Toilet Duck (green w/bleach),  Ty-D Bol (bleach tabs),  Ty-D Bol (blue spruce),  Banish (drop-ins),  Vanish (anti-bacterial),  Vanish Hang-ins (green box)  Personal note: Most toilet manufactures don't want anything in the tank because it causes premature wear of internal parts.
Bleach Biz,  Borateem,  Clorox II,  Snowy,  Purex,  Vivid	Any chlorine bleach
Fabric Softeners Sheet Type	Liquid Softeners
General Household Cleaners Amway,  Citrus Magic,  Clean Shower,  Easy Off,  Greased Lightning,  Mr. Clean (top job),  Mr. Clean (all purpose),  Murphy's Oil Soap,  Neo-Life,  Pine-Sol (lemon Fresh),  Pins-Sol (rain clean),  Scrub Free (soap & scum),  Scrub Free (shower spray),  Shower power (soap & scum),  Shower Shine,  Spic & Span,  Tilex (soap & scum),  The works	omet (bathroom & multi-room),  Dow bathroom cleaner,  Fantastik,  Lysol (all),  Pine-Sol (regular),  Scrubbing Bubbles,  Scrub Free (mildew),  Shower Power (bleach white),  Tilex (mildew remover)
Soap (bar) Aveeno,  Basis,  Camay,  Caress,  Clean & Smooth (moisturizing),  Dove,  Fels Naptha,  Ivory,  Jergens Mild,  Kirk's,  Lava,  Lux,  Oil of Olay,  Neutrogena,  Purpose,  San Francisco,  Sayman,  Tom's of Maine (moisturizing),  Tone,  Yardley	All deodorant soap is designed to kill bacteria Clean & Smooth (anti-bacterial),  Coast,  Dial,  Irish Spring,  Lever 2000,  Safeguard,  Stridex,  Tom's of Maine (deodorant),  Zest
Hand Soap (liquid)  Ivory	Most contain anti-bacterial ingredients
Mouthwash  None	The vast majority are anti-septic.  Either discontinue use or dispose of them without putting them down the drain.
Shampoo Aussee,  Citre Shine,  Clairol Daily Defense (3,4),  Clairol (3 in 1),  Cortex,  Finesse (moisturizing),  Finesse (revitalizing),  Flex,  Freeman,  Helene Curtis,  Isoplus (neutralizing),  Jhirmack,  L'oreal (dry hair),  L'oreal (normal hair),  Revlon,  St. Ives,  Salon Selectives (1,3,4,5,7),  Style Plus,  Suave,  Thermasilk,  Total Fitness,  TRESemme Changes,  Value Star (regular),  Vidal Sassoon,  VO5,  White Rain (classic care),  White Rain Collections (coconut essence, apple essence),  Willow Lake (witch hazel & honeysuckle)	Clairol Daily Defense (1),  Clairol Herbal Essences,  Denorex,  Finesse (bodifying),  Finesse (enhancing),  Frizz,  Head & Shoulders,  Infusium 23,  Isoplus (conditioning),  Johnsons Baby Shampoo,  L'oreal (all not otherwise not listed),  Optimum Care,  Pantene Pro-V (extra body, fine hair, anti-dandruff),  Pert Plus,  Salon Selectives (#6),  Selsun Blue,  Soft & Beautiful (moisturizing),  Style,  Tegrin,  T/Gel,  Total Hair Fitness,  Ultra Swim Plus,  Value Star (dry/damaged hair),  White Rain Collections (strawberry essence, exotics, solutions),  Willow Lake (lavender & mint, citrus & rosemary)
Drain Products Bio-Clean	Drain Care (drain opener),  Drano (drain opener),  Drano Foamer,  Liquid Fire,  Liquid-Plmr (drain opener),  Lewis Lye,  Lyson (drain opener)

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Many pumpers are reluctant to recommend bio-additives.  One reason is because health officials and even engineers claim that everything needed to break down waste is contained in the waste. Hopefully, the following two examples will shatter this myth once and for all.

First, typical tank bacteria are incapable of digesting grease.  That is why years ago kitchens were plumbed around septic tanks, in many areas.  If you are using Bio-Clean as directed, however, grease will never be a problem.  Bio-Clean contains microbes specifically selected to digest grease right in the tank.  This is particularly significant because it gives you a way to verify the effectiveness of Bio-Clean.  Since grease floats you can actually watch what happens when you put a grease covered tank on the Bio-Clean program.  In a matter of weeks scum blankets disappear, when the product is used in conjunction with our consumer education program (see do's and don'ts list above).  And low levels of grease also make waste you are hauling more acceptable to dump sites.

Secondly, a major shift has occurred in the type of cleaning products consumers use, which find their way into septic tanks.  Prior to World War II people primarily used soap for their cleaning needs.  Since that time synthetic detergents have been developed and have almost completely taken over the market for household cleaners.  Unfortunately, run-of-the-mill septic tank bacteria are not able to biodegrade these synthetics.  Naturally, when formulating Bio-Clean we took this into account. We have included organisms that will use detergents as a food source and in the process biodegrade them.

We also know that some pumpers think bio-additives will break up waste, allow it to pass out into the laterals and plug the field.  With many products on the market, that may be a legitimate concern.  However, many people have saved the cost of field replacement with special applications of Bio-Clean  In cases where the field beds are clogged with undigested organic matter, Bio-Clean has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to digest this buildup, so the field can once again take water.  This prevents backups as well as saving your customers the money and disruption of having a new field installed.

It should be noted that some products claim to eliminate the need for pumping.  We consider this false, misleading and even illegal in many states.  There is nothing on the market that can eliminate pumping.  Bio-Clean will dramatically reduce the amount of sludge present when you do pump.  This is because as waste is digested it is reduced in volume.  Normally waste breaks down very slowly.  As a result, when you pump a tank, the sludge is only partially degraded.  Since Bio-Clean is specially formulated to speed up digestion, sludge is much more thoroughly degraded.

One 2 lb. jar can treat a 1,000 gal. septic tank.