On Sat, 18 Feb 2012 00:29:34 -0800, leedsbob wrote:

we are shortly moving to a rural property with no mains drainage,we have
been told we need to be carefull about using products which damage the
bacteria which form part of the process,can anyone with experience of
septic tanks adise us the products to use,ie,toilet cleaner washing
machine detergent and dishwasher tablets,many thanks

We don't put any special 'helpers' into ours. Avoid things that aren't
going to break down. A little bit of bleach and other chemicals should be
fine, as should washing machine waste water. Pumping frequency around
here seems to be anywhere between 4-10 years for a typical family of four.

I'm not sure what UK law is on these, here in the US the properties
across the street from us lie in a different township and insulated tanks
are mandatory, but that's not the case on our side of the road, and tanks
can freeze in the harsh winters that we get here if they're not set deep
enough.

cheers

Jules