Guest Author - Dale Y the Maintenance Guy

There are dozens of septic system additives, from liquid enzymes to powders to bacteria tablets, that all claim your household septic system will become more efficient and less likely to clog if you use them. Well, I hate to break the news to you, but there is absolutely no documented evidence that any of them offer any help at all.

Now then, lets make sure that we understand spmething here before I even get started. I am not talking about commercial applications like outhouses, greasetraps, or latrines. Those specialized uses gain large benefits by using a septic additive, but home use septic systems are something else quite different.

Firstly, there are two basic types of septic systems. A field type where organic liquids leach into the soil, and a septic holding tank system, where everything is held in an underground tank. Each type essentially converts all organic solid waste, and that includes paper goods and food stuffs from garbage disposals, into a slurry kind of liquid, which is exactly what they are designed to do. Here's is how it works.

When combined with water waste, organic bacteria eat away all the solids in any septic system and turn them into mush. This mush or ‘slurry’ is what leaches away through a sand bed in a field type system, or is pumped out of a holding tank. That’s all there is to it, and as simple as can be! So, let's tackle the two major claims of the septic additive.

Efficiency. First of all, home systems are efficient all by themselves. If they are working correctly, they don’t need a booster shot from an additive. Millions of people have septic systems and have never added anything to make them work better, because they work absolutely fine the way they are.

Now then, if a septic system is not working correctly, then the outlying problem will not be cured by an additive. What generally happens is that the flowage gets stopped-up in some way, either by tree roots or because the system has become old or damaged and it collapses. Which means it is going to cost a heck of a lot more than a septic additive to correct that type of problem.

Clogging. Any clogging that occurs cannot be cured by a septic additive, and to add something to prevent a clog is just throwing away your money. Clogs happen at places where something can stick and reduce the flow. As more particles get stuck in a reduced flow situation, eventually a clog will form. That means a high concentration of a septic additive has got to sit directly on the clog and eat it's way through. While theoretically this is possible, it may take months for this to happen. So, does anyone want to wait a few months for their toilets to unclog?

A plumbing snake works much faster, and realistically, much more efficiently. And if your holding tank system is clogged or backed up, no septic additive is going to solve that problem either. The cure is to have it pumped out, and continue doing so on a regular basis.

Myths die hard, this one will too, but the facts are that you can save money if you don't buy in to this one.