I hand wash dishes, and instead of filling up a bowl of soapy water, and washing them in that, i like to rinse the dish with the faucest, scrub it with a sponge, then rinse it again with the faucet. Im pretty sure id be using more water then I would if I just filled a bowl, and washed them in that, but do you think it will mess up my septic, or leach field?
ron h
someone mentioned dumping washwater into an open pit instead of into a faulty or undersized septic system. In most places, that's illegal.
Karen L
I've been washing dishes that way for almost 30 years, and both of the septic systems i had in that time have been fine.
Anonymous
90% of leach field flooding and septic tank issues are caused by doing laundry.
This is why most people dig a separate pit and run the washing machine drain water to it instead.
Anonymous
Over-consumption of water can cause problems, but I doubt the amount of water you're using to wash dishes is going to push you over the threshold.
Of course we do not know your septic system's capacity, how many people you have living there and how much water residents are using for other things like showering, how efficient your appliances like washing machine is and whether you're running a bunch of things at the same time...
There are far worse things you could be doing to your septic system than hand-washing dishes.
Anonymous
Your septic probably contains thousands of gallons - a few more won't hurt it. DON'T run fibrous things down the disposer that the system can't "digest" such as coffee grounds, bones, too many stringy veggies like asparagus (ugh) orange rinds and such. . . . use septic friendly laundry detergents, minimal bleach, no paints, paint thinners, oil, gas, etc. Consider occasional use of a product such as Rid-X to reinforce enzymes and bacteria in the system.
I recently sold a house . . . lived there 23 years . . . the previous owner had clogged the leach field by running coffee grounds down the drain for years . . . . . entire system had to be replaced. When I sold the buyers had the tank pumped and inspected . . . there was less than an inch of sludge at the bottom after 23 years !