Picture for attention.
In a couple months, I will be moving and our new home has a septic system. I have always been on city lines and washed out mixing bowls and starter in small amounts down the drain ( yes I check my P trap and have never had a problem).
I have read that doing this on septic can be really problematic. For those of you on septic, have you found this to be a problem? Anything special that you do or am I taking some instances on the internet too seriously???
Thanks in advance!
by tpjamez
18 Comments
I’ve not had an issue with this or anything else with whatever septic system is here. I never changed my habits when I switched from city sewer lines.
we have a septic tank at our little cottage in France, and we‘ve recently been told by a person inspecting it that the powder we add to it weekly to keep it „healthy“ is more or less the same as if we‘d add yoghurt to it – so I would think some yeast and lactic acid/acidic acid producing microbes like they live in sourdough would actually be good for it 🙂
Haven’t had any issues in the 24 years that we’ve been in our house and our septic system was very old. I never actually heard of this being an issue so I googled and apparently a little yeast in the system is beneficial. Who knew? I’ll stick with Rid-X 🤷♀️
If you’re worried about the biome in your bread, I have shocking news about other things you’ll be adding to the septic tank…
Long story short? Be careful with harsh chemicals and fats. Don’t flush “flushable” wipes, tampons, or paper products other than toilet paper. Get it pumped every 3-5 years. Skip the additives like Rid-x or whatever home brew is trending on tiktok; they don’t extend the pumping interval enough to pay for themselves.
Before we moved to a bigger premises our bakery was on a septic tank system and never had any issues
So, fermenting your loaves in the septic tank?
Adding cheap rat cheese should help the septic system
A septic doesn’t require any sort of eldritch sorcery to maintain. Keep solids to a minimum (no garbage disposal!), don’t dump harsh disinfectants down the drain (but using bleach with the occasional load of laundry is fine), and have it pumped every few years. Every 2-3 years if using the septic at capacity, longer if you don’t. (Residential septic is sized by the number of bedrooms.)
I cannot imagine why dough would be a problem; there’s nothing more easily-fermented (and therefore dissolved) than raw dough.
You don’t need to colonize your tank with microbes; your poop does a fine job of that.
Septic system here too. I scape out the residue into a used plastic bag and that goes into the trash. I’d just rather no put anything that can be tossed into the septic system, but then again I also did this when we were in a sewer system too as why overload the sewage treatment plant.
Probably goes without saying but don’t use any antibacterial products for cleaning etc. that will mess up the septic for sure.
I’ve had no issues, but I keep hearing anecdotes on it clogging pipes and turning to concrete…. It’s odd that something that dissolves, even after hardening, in water is so problematic for so many.
Thirty plus years on septic, and avid home made pizza maker – no issues with left over dough. Septic truck driver told me that liquid laundry detergent was better than powdered laundry detergent. Other than that I don’t put bacon grease down the drain, mainly due to a long discharge pipe with minimal slope plus it’s great for frying eggs!
I don’t think the septic tank cares at all, but ANY dough remnants clog my sink immediately, so when I clean my bowls I toss the scrappy water into the woods by my house.
Dillution is the solution!
I’ve never had a problem. I’ve been making sourdough and have a septic for many years.
I’m on a septic system and our rule is (other than toilet waste) if it’s big enough to get caught in the sink strainer then it should go in the trash, not down the drain. We haven’t had any plumbing or septic issues yet!
no problem, I treat with a Green Gobbler septic saver once a month and small amounts of anything organic (food) can go in. Try not to overload it’s capacity and “feed” the system regularly.
How do you get your dough ball to be so clean, i feel like when I knead it still gets so sticky and leaves dough remnants everywhere