my Sister said once she never washed her dishes before putting them into the dish washer. I asked her what she thought all those food particles did... disappear? there should be a filter or trap you must clean out if you do that. I always washed mine first. now the house i'm in has an old dish washer and i just wash my dishes by hand now.
septic tanks are tricky. i don't believe bleach is a good idea. i hope you find another alternative.

Were your symptoms worse, the same, or less while you were not using bleach?

My symptoms were the same. Looking back I see that I have had autoimmune issues since at least I was a teenager living in Chicago, but they weren't severe as now or not active. I am 64 now. I probably won't go back to any bleach. When I did use it we are talking about a tiny cap full in a sink of water. From what I have read, I will be changing laundry detergent too. I prefer tide, but will be changing. They say no softeners either.

Bleach is good to kill mold. I empty the bucket on the gravel driveway to kill weeds. Not so good at it. We have a septic tank. We also have waterlines, no well. We have only hand washed dishes. No allergies or autoimmune diseases.

Dish soap and hot water should kill anything on your dishes, if you wash them soon after you eat.

We were told not to use powdered laundry soap. It doesn't always dissolve. Can clog a septic tank. We were also told to flush ground beef to feed bacteria. Rid-X is much cheaper and told by guys in the biz it is the thing to use.

I use dawn and vinegar to hand wash dishes.

I"ve been told the same thing. The best thing for killing germs is soap and water. When I need to kiil germs I use hot water and soap and sometimes Young Living's Thieves cleaner. I don't use any toxic chemicals in my home if I can avoid it. As has been stated, they are very bad for the immune system. Give m

Older dishwashers usually have a grinder (which is why they can be so loud). It grinds any leftover food up just like a disposal would. Then it just simply goes down the drain. Newer (quieter) dishwashers usually have a filter that you have to clean.

I have washed dishes for decades, and do not use bleach. The cottage is on septic and we do not use bleach when washing up, bleach kills the healthy bacteria that break down the solids in the septic tank.

Why are you so concerned about the cleanliness of your dishes? Plain soap and water are more than adequate to keep them clean.

We have been on a septic tank for 45 years. Never had an issue with bleach, I only use it with white clothes once a month or so. If germs are an issue, my grandma always boiled a t-kettle of water and poured the boiling water over the dishes, needless to say they dry in an instant. Of course not as much plastic ware them.

We have a septic system and I never want to replace it! So I do use bleach in white clothes, use the dishwasher, just rinse the dishes. Those little pods make the dishes sparkle! The bleach solution we used in the hospital was a 10% solution, I use that in a spray bottle and apply topically to the item I want to disinfect. We have not had a problem with our septic, is 25 years old. I have a low water washing machine, don't love it but I like to conserve the amount of h2o that we use. Dishwashers usually have some type of sani cycle, so bleach really doesn't need to be used with day to day dishes. I think we all have to do what makes us comfortable, I know those systems cost a fortune, so I am pretty careful with mine.