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Jacuzzi Tubs Bacteria Sanitize and Septics
My father in law is always giving things to read that I don't read, but finally he stuch this one under my nose that I read on bacteria and other problems in the jetted bath tubs so many of us have.
So it seems one of the ways to clean the jet tubing is to fill the tub with hot water and about 20 ounces of bleach with a half dozen caps of automatic dishwasher liquid, run for 20 minutes, then drain and rinse.
They recommend doing this up to twice a month. Only problem I was wondering about is that for my septic system to wrk well it doen't like bleach it likes bacteria and fungus right.
Will that much bleach on a regular basiswreak havoc on my septic tank?
Dennis
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Jacuzzi Tubs Bacteria Sanitize and Septics
Dennis, before you get too carried away trying to sanitize the tub, make sure of what type of tub you have!
A lot of the newer ones are plumbed differently than they used to be, it is common now to have the pump and hoses set up such that they completely drain when the tub is emptied.
The old tubs kept water in the pump to keep the seals from deteriorating, but newer materials don't do that, and the manufacturers got away from creating the health hazard of leaving water sitting in there.
You also need to be sure that the bleach or detergent won't cause any problems to the pump or other seals. Even some bath oils will cause a problem on certain products.
Best of luck.
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Jacuzzi Tubs Bacteria Sanitize and Septics
Thanks Murf,
Based on your comment I went to the Kohler site and fortunately they still make the same tube ten years later, unfortunately it has not caught up to the design you meantioned for newer units. The directions are basically what I had found:
"Flushing Your Whirlpool System
Flush your whirlpool system twice a month or more, depending upon usage. Use the following sequence:
- Turn the jet trim rings fully clockwise to remove air induction.
- Fill the whirlpool with warm water to a level at least 2” (5cm) above the highest jets, or leave water in the whirlpool after using.
- Add 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of a low-foaming dishwasher detergent and 20 ounces (590 ml) of household bleach(5% - 6% sodium hypochlorite) to the water.
- Run the whirlpool for 5 to 10 minutes. Turn off the whirlpool and drain.
- If desired, rinse the bath surfaces with water.
- Rinse the surfaces of the jets, faucet, handrails, drain, etc. and wipe them dry with a soft cloth."
So I still am wondering if this will wreak havoc on my septic tank!
Dennis
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Jacuzzi Tubs Bacteria Sanitize and Septics
Gotcha, maybe do a little research on neutralizing the bleach before you pull the plug and drain it.
Would something like a swimming pool chemical used to adjust the Ph alter the bleach to the point where it's harmless to your septic tank.
Best of luck.
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Jacuzzi Tubs Bacteria Sanitize and Septics
I can't imagine any "household" type use of bleach in the relatively small quanties mentioned would have a detrimental effect on the digestive properties of a typical septic tank. Think of how much detergents and bleach are used for normal bathing and washing. And you have to consider the bacteria-laden solids---several hundred gallons worth in the first chamber alone that would have to be completely stirred up and sterilized.
But if you are concerned you're taxing the system with bleach, a gallon or two of very soured milk poured down the drain, I'm told, will straighten that out.
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Jacuzzi Tubs Bacteria Sanitize and Septics
I have a lot of training in water treatment and water purification.
Trust me when I tell you that you cannot sterilize one thousand gallons of fulminating poop with a couple of cups of bleach.
Bleach has a half-life curve. That is why you have to keep adding it to your outdoor pools every few days. Chlorine out-gasses into the atmosphere and also gets just plain used up.
Even if you could somehow kill off your septic, think of how many pounds of new, active "biological material" you are going to add to the system in the next week.
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Jacuzzi Tubs Bacteria Sanitize and Septics
Mark, purely as an educational exercise, and I am aware of your background and experience, which is why I ask, how is it possible that that much bleach wouldn't sterilize, or at least drastically slow down, the septic system.
My chemistry days are a long way back, but I do recall from both my education and training that a 0.005% (1 part bleach for 20,000 parts of water) solution of household bleach will render most surface water safe for human consumption.
The instructions Dennis posted call for 20 ounces, 0.59 litres of bleach.
That being the case, 590 ml (0.59 litres) would sterilize 11,800 litres of water, which is about 3,122 gallons. I'm guessing this is about 3 times the capacity of his septic tank.
You see where I'm going with this?
Best of luck.
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Jacuzzi Tubs Bacteria Sanitize and Septics
I feel I can give a little something to this discusion as I am also a water geek, with a degree in water quality and waste water quality. When you add small amount of bleach into water it will begin to kill any bacteria in the water,as well as begin to react with other minerals in your water that are there naturally or that you have put there in the form of additives. Whatever it is coming into contact with, it is reacting with. The more reactions, the weeker the bleach becomes. So lets just say yours hot tub has alot of bacteria in it- thats good for your septic system.
Going back to the half life comment... bleach is unstable. It wants to dissipate into less complex compounds, in this case mostly salt and water. Probably the single biggest factor in speeding up the dissipation process is air bubbles in plumbing lines. This is something water systems spend decades trying to fix, but it's also the whole point of this discussion. This means the more air you pump through you hot tub, the weaker your bleach ratio will become. If your worried, test the levels before discharging into the septic. My septic system has no problems dealing with bleach at 2 mg/L. if you are still worried, just let the jets run all night.
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Jacuzzi Tubs Bacteria Sanitize and Septics
Well.... there is a BIG difference between sanitizing clear water for purposes of drinking and killing off ALL the bacteria in a solid chunk of feces.
The same dilution tables will tell you to double or triple the chlorine if the proposed drinking water is cloudy with suspended solids.
No amount of chlorine could every make a bucket of poop safe to consume.
Recently I found several mouse messes in my tool drawers in the garage. I mixed up a strong bleach/detergent solution in a 5 gallon bucket to sanitize the mess. Then I went off to do something else and forgot to empty the bucket.
Two weeks later when I looked in the bucket there was a thick layer of pond scum on the remaining water.
Clearly the 8 ounces of bleach that I had added to the roughly 4 gallons of water had gone somewhere else.
Had I added some fresh poop to the mix and let it sit two weeks in a warm garage....... well........ I will let your imagination fill in the blanks.
Bottom line: Septic systems are re-inoculated several times a day with untold billions of bacteria and relatively huge amounts of organic material for the critters to feed on.
An occasional bolus of chlorine cannot possibly do long lasting harm to such a thriving, massive culture.
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Jacuzzi Tubs Bacteria Sanitize and Septics
I realized I just did something that others have done to me here- not answering you question or talking around it so...
"My chemistry days are a long way back, but I do recall from both my education and training that a 0.005% (1 part bleach for 20,000 parts of water) solution of household bleach will render most surface water safe for human consumption."
That is true, for most water. But, if you were to take just one s*** in that same water, that ratio doenst work any more. You have a tank full of years of s*** which eats up chlorine quicker than the dissipation factor. On the other hand, if you were to dump a gallon of undiluted bleach straight into the drain, that might cause some damage.
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