Northern Virginia homeowners with a septic tank looking for a reason not to do laundry may have just found one more excuse – it could damage your septic tank. Before you consider the installation of a septic system at your Warrenton, VA home just to avoid washing another load of laundry, using the washing machine is perfectly fine with a septic tank with these tips.
Even though clothes dryers are equipped with lint traps to collect fibers from clothing, washing machines are one of the biggest causes of septic system failure. Washing machines generate lint from clothing as well, which is drained from the machine and into the septic tank with each rinse cycle. The lint eventually makes its way into the drain field and clogs the soil. The tiny lint particles do not sink to the bottom – they are too little and light – and instead are pushed to the drain field. The drain field is a vital part of your septic system, and when the soil pores are clogged, it leads to drain field failure.
Making the problem worse, is the fact that most clothing and carpet produced today is made of polyester and nylon – or blends of those fabrics – that are not biodegradable. These materials remain intact in the septic system and often accumulate and clog the soil in the drain field as well. Since they do not break down, once these fabricated fibers enter the septic system, they are there for good.
Too much of a good thing (clean clothes) can be a bad thing when it comes to your septic system and washing machines. Most washing machines on the market today use more than 60 gallons of water for each load of laundry washed. If you use the washing machine for 10 loads in one day, simple math shows that at least 600 gallons of water can enter your septic tank from one day of washing clothes. When the septic tank becomes overloaded with water, the high volume can flood the septic system and may flush the solids out of the septic tank and into the drain field. Avoid this by simply spreading the laundry out over days rather than trying to get it all done in one day.
Contact the septic system and septic tank experts at Soils and Environmental Services. As Northern Virginia’s experts in the septic system field, our professional team of highly trained staff can answer your questions and recommend solutions for your septic tank and septic system problems. Serving residential and commercial customers throughout Northern Virginia since 1987, SES is the area’s premier septic system team.