Hoss wrote:

>
> The guy who pumps out my septic system [snip] says the best thing for
> the system is a shot of bleach once in a while.

Unequivocally NO. The only thing that's good for is killing off your
population of digestive bacteria, and calling him back more often, of
course. Research any county extension site, etc. for the facts. It
sounds like your septic guy is either ignorant or dishonest.

I use regular liquid
> laundry soap, no bleach. I also told him I make wine, is the yeast OK
> for the system. He was a bit skeptical. He said a little is OK, but
> not if there is a lot.

Extensive studies have shown no appreciable effects of adding yeast or
yogurt to septic systems. Most chemical treatments are usually harmful
to an established septic microbial population. There are dried, live
culture bacterial additives available, and though some people discredit
them, I use one in my septic system (and Koi pond) with dramatic results.

>
> For my sanitizing I first use a bleach solution, then the k-meta
> solution. This is for glass. For my primaries, I rinse with hot
> water and pour the heavy lees outside on the ground. The same with
> any lees in secondary. I then just wash out my primaries with
> regular dish liquid and rinse excessively, then finish with a swirl of
> k-meta.

Greg, k-meta just isn't a surface contact germ killer. It works by
slowing the metabolism of actively growing cells by interfering with
certain enzymes, like dehydrogenases. To do this it needs to with the
living, growing cells, and that's not what's usually present on
container surfaces. Rinsing, spraying or wiping objects with k-meta does
basically bupkus. Great as an antioxidant though.

Chlorine, bromine, iodine and oxygen (as peroxide, as in Oxy Clean), on
the other hand ARE effective microbe killers on surfaces. So are
quaternary ammonium salts, like benzalkonium chloride. The first group
are simple chemical oxidizers which go after anything in sight,while the
"quats" seem to act by breaking up the cell membranes of germs, killing
them.

Pardon my long windednesson this topic, but the superstitous use of
k-meta is a pet peeve of mine ;-)


--
Mike MTM, Cokesbury, NJ, USA

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