Healthy homes: What's going down the drain?

Chemical cleaners can have big impacts on the health of your septic tank and create huge costs in municipal systems too.

Septic tanks link discarded water from the kitchen, bathroom and laundry, harness the power of naturally-occurring microorganisms to decompose this water and send out treated waste water somewhere onto a property.

In order to keep your tanks in tip top condition keep trees away from your tanks - in the unlikely event of a leak, a wily tree root will find its way to the pipe, the roots will grow into the septic tank, don't pour grease down the sink (divert bacon fat and coconut oil to your Bokashi system or dig it into your garden) and divert rainwater away from the drain field to avoid soggy patches.

Treat your septic system with care and respect and avoid tipping chemicals down your drain (hidden in cleaners, hair and shower products). Microbes that live inside your tank are very sensitive and you can wipe them out by dousing their habitat with harsh chemicals.

Malcolm Rands, co-founder of ecostore says that by ditching chlorine-based cleaners and switching to oxygen-based cleaners as well as using products which are lighter on chemicals you can help improve septic tank health.

"There are simple steps to get your tank functioning well; common household cleaners and even your hair and skin products are so aggressive that when the chemicals reach our tanks via our waste water, they kill the good organisms needed to maintain the decomposition process and literally clog your tank up... You need to treat your tank like a living organism so that it can properly digest the waste coming into it," he says.

Carterton Plumber's Ben Garrett designs and installs septic tanks. He says natural products are the way to go to keep your septic tank fit and healthy.

"Our goal as drain layers is to use the ground as the last point of filtration, so by the time the waste reaches the ground it's in a clean state. The better product you put in the system, the cleaner that waste will be and the less often you'll have to do any maintenance on your tank."

Chemicals impact on drainage systems in the city too. According to ecostore, the Palmerston North Council spends $500,000 annually soaking up excess phosphorous (found in laundry and dishwashing detergents) from waste water.

If you live in the lower North Island, you take advantage of ecostore and New World's collaborative effort to educate shoppers about sustainable cleaning products www.makeadifference.co.nz