Baking Soda & Vinegar
 

Every so often my kitchen sink starts to run very slowly. Years ago we bought one of those electric augers to clean it out when this happened. Well 3 years ago we had a new septic system installed & they put the clean out plug smack dab in the middle of our sidewalk. (Don't ask me why because now if we need to clean it out we have to break up part of the side walk). Well, I decided to try the Baking Soda/Vinegar/Hot water solution to try & clean out the crusty minerals that cause my pipes to run slow. I had to repeat the process 3 times but it totally cleared out the drain lines without having to use the auger. Now I'm wondering how often you think I need to do this to keep the lines clean? I've read once a month, once a year, etc. on the internet. Is there anyone who could tell me a good maintenance schedule on this? I'm a really, really happy camper today with clean lines!!! :)

You need to find out what vinegar does to the good bacteria in the septic system. I know bleach can kill it.

The actual amount of vinegar or bleach needed to kill a leach field is huge. Using one cup of bleach or vinegar will have no impact on a healthy septic system (usually 750 to 1200 gals). Told this by my septic cleaning folks. They also told me when you have your tank pumped (how often depends on # of people in your household using the system), flush the contents of one jar of active dry yeast. The yeast will help "reseed" the good bacteria needed to break down the bad stuff that's flushed. Yeast is a heck of a lot cheaper (and works just as well) as the fancy biological preps sold to reseed the system.

Yes, I did check that out before using it & vinegar is o.k. for septic systems. Bleach is only o.k. in small amounts. I seldom use bleach because of our system. Vinegar is one of the best natural cleaning agents & is safe for septic systems.

Osewme, what is the combination and how do you use this solution. Would like to try it on my kitchen sink. Thanks. Sharon.

grammasharon:
I looked up several sites but settled on this one. The only thing I did different was that I let it set for a couple of hours before flushing the drain with hot water. The reason I did that was because several sites said to let it sit for a few hours before flushing with hot (almost boiling) water & one even said to let it sit overnight. This method will not clear drains of things like hair, etc. but it will take care of mineral & grease build up on the inside of the pipe.

https://www.ehow.com/how_7803686_use...tic-lines.html

I use baking soda and white vinegar for cleaning. Make a paste of it and use it to scrub sinks, tubs, tile. I use white vinegar to remove mold from the stucco on the outside of my house in Florida. I have a spot under a window on the shady side of the house where the water runs down and there are often streaks of mold on the stucco. I spray it directly on the stucco and lightly scrub with with a brush and then hose off. No power washing or bleach needed.

Years ago we had a white floor in our den and kitchen and I scrubbed the black marks off every day on my hands and knees. Years later I found out a sponge with a little baking soda removes those marks with just an easy swipe! Live and learn!

We had a septic for over 25 years before we moved. We never put anything in it to help. Believe me you never want to experience the septic backing up so have it pumped regularly. When it's pumped will be a good time to have another clean out pipe put in at a more convenient spot.

We have such hard water here that I use it on all my drains every six weeks. We are on city water lines so I don't have to worry about that. It works so well.