Safe products for septic tanks

[lnz]

Does anyone know which products are safe for septic tanks? The ones I think I need to be careful with are laundry detergent and fabric softener for a front loader, dishwash (machine) powder/gel, washing up liquid and cleaning products where you'd normally use bleach.
Did I miss anything?

At the risk of looking like a fruit-loop, I've been standing in the small local supermarket reading the back of all the products they stock. They don't often mention Septic tanks. Should I assume no mention of septic tanks means it isn't safe for septics?

[Derv]

Should I assume no mention of septic tanks means it isn't safe for septics?

Yes you should. The labels will say if it's safe for septic tanks.

Ecostore is a make which is safe for septic tanks and there are a few other makes too. You might not find them in small supermarkets though. Are you in Anakiwa in Marlborough? If so, Bin Inn and New World in Blenheim have a fair range but you still need to read the small print! And sometimes the septic-tank-friendly products are less effective than the other stuff .

You could ask the suppliers of your septic tank about how strict you need to be about the products you use; some types of systems are less fussy than others.

[Familyofmonkeys]

You can order 5 litre of washing liquid/powder, most cleaning products and shampoo/shower gel etc from ecostore website. We've gradually switched over to using many of their products as it works out very economical to purchase this way.

http://www.ecostore.co.nz/group.cfm

p.s. the laundry liquid is very good in front loaders and you only need about 1/3 of the quantity it says per wash (really) so a 1 litre bottle does about 75 loads of washing for us....and that is mucky food splattered kids clothes. You can get some ecofriendly ozygen powder stuff (same as the ecover stuff from UK) to add to white load....which means your coloured clothes don't end up faded either Ecostore don't do fabric softener though....but alot of New World stores now import the ecover brand which is septic tank safe and isn't significantly more expensive that other brands of softener as you need less per wash.

[JandM]

My family have found they don't need softener as the water is so soft anyway (Titirangi).

[Familyofmonkeys]

My family have found they don't need softener as the water is so soft anyway (Titirangi).

Very true.....we only ever use softener for towels if they dry outside in wind and end up bristly rather than soft.

[lnz]

That's brilliant! Thanks.

Yes - we're in Anakiwa, Marlborough. I'll take a look in Blenheim to get us started, but internet orders and home delivery sound like a great way to go.