Water softener discharge to septic?
My water softener is over 20 years old and needs replacement. My current system backwash hose/pipe is routed though the cement block foundation and empties under my deck. We bought the house 11 years ago and never had a problem with freezing. My plumber says he wants to route the brine discharge into the septic system and if the line froze in the winter it would back up and flood my basement.
Now, my uncle, an engineer that designs septic systems and actually designed my system shortly after we bought the house (septic inspection failed and we took the cost of the new leech field off the price of the house) said in a text earlier:
“I have heard pros and cons of backwash into septic but I would never tie backwash into my septic. If worry is freezing, add heat tape to backwash line or discharge underground to recharge pit.”
I have my trusted plumber saying something on one hand and my uncle who designed my system saying something different on the other. Not sure what to do.
ConsigliereFirst of all, I'm not an expert. That said, brine freezes at a much lower temp than water does, so I wonder how cold it would have to get in order to freeze it as long as the end of it is at a slope and completely free of obstruction.
I really doubt if the brine would be a good influence on your septic system as salt water normally slows decay and a septic tank with attached field is supposed to allow the contents of the tank to ferment and break down the contents. Too much plain water itself is normally a bad thing if added to the system. I definitely have to side with your Uncle. What he mentions as far as heat tape sounds good, while discharge into a recharge pit (aka drywell) sounds even better IMHO.
Phil D. 28 years on a septic tank with a water softener connected to the system No problems. But maintenance is key on the septic tank it got pumped every 2 years.
Not In NJ Anymore That’s true, but what about the other gray water? Where does your washing machine discharge go? That’s filled with soap, chlorine etc and that goes into the septic, no?
I do think sending the brine to the septic is the wrong move especially since my 20 year old softener has been shooting the waste water outside under the deck since it’s been installed and never had a problem. My well is 260’ deep so the likelihood of contamination with the well water is probably zero. I’m leaning towards hooking it up the same way it’s always been (outside under the deck) and adding the heat tape. More replies and opinions are certainly welcome.
One other footnote...brine, being saltwater, accelerates the deterioration of steel, including a steel tank.
My recommendation would be to call the health department and confirm what the current code is.
Stymie I think code says it goes to the septic just like your washing machine. Mine goes to septic.
Some further info:
-Most brine water won’t freeze until below -6F
-that temp drops if the water is flowing (which it is)
-softener only regens/backwashes for a little over an hour. Chances of freezing are slim in this area
Years ago I used to install Septic systems. I was taught that if something said harmful or fatal if swallowed, do not flush it into your Septic. Septic's rely on bacteria to digest and breakdown the material flushed into them. That is why I have a greywater system for my washer and my softener regen.
I have my septic pumped every three years and always add a bacteria to it to keep it healthy.
So in short, if you can avoid it, I would not put the regen in my septic, plus why add all that extra water to a system unless you absolutely have to? Septic's are not cheap to replace.
Mr 4Paws Apparently the Septic industry usually says not to do it and the water softener industry states that there's no harm done. Of course both are invested in their own$$$
Here's a good article that talks about the various possibilities. Their recommendation is to have it drain to the distribution box after the tank and thereby avoid the issues that may arise from dumping into the tank itself, such as organic matter displacement into the leach field before it's been broken down. They say that it likely can be done for approximately $100. Another several sites do mention using Potassium Chloride, rather than Sodium Chloride, as it has less detrimental effects on the system overall, as well as on people drinking it as treated water in the home.
https://www.waterworld.com/home/article/16221840/water-softener-discharges-do-harm-septic-systems-and-the-problem-is-easy-to-solve
Thanks Phil. Interesting read. The problem I have is my leech field sits about 100’ away and 30’ lower than my house (I live on a giant hill) so it seems next to impossible for anything close to $100. Still, the article reinforces my anxiety about shooting concentrated salt water into my system. I read something earlier where some people use the brine to de-ice their driveways. That’s not possible for me either but I thought it was interesting
Since you are getting a new system anyway- get rid of the softener and put in an anti scale unit.
I did and love it.
Josh Thanks Josh but the plumber already picked up the unit and is installing tomorrow at 8am. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I’m going to have him install the new unit the same as the old one was—through the foundation and under the deck. I’m going to construct a little French drain to disperse the water better.
One last question, in the unlikely event the that the discharge tube does freeze, wouldn’t the softener have a check valve of some sort to stop the flow of brine from backing up and flooding the basement? This is one of the most expensive units I looked at and is $1250 for just the unit. You have to imagine it has something like that, no? I’m not sure what you’d even call it so I can’t search it out. I guess I’ll call the company.
Holy cow. So the plumber installed the softener this morning and routed the line outside under the deck but instead of using the same hole through the block foundation, he patched that hole up and drilled another hole three feet above it through the wood siding/framing and attached the line to a rafter on the bottom of the deck. In my opinion this is way too close to the surface of the deck which will have snow on it and will melt and refreeze causing ice to attach to the line in the winter. I’m going to reroute the line back through the original hole and patch the wood. What should I use? Great stuff? Wood putty?
Ours discharges into our septic. When we hear the system doing its backwash cycle we know not to run water or flush toilets until it stops in approximately 15-20 minutes. It has a timer and can be set to do it on a particular day and time, but when the power goes out it changes and since we don't really know how to set it, just listen for it. We need to do this because otherwise the flow of water is too great all at once and it can back up. Other that that, we have no problem with it discharging into the septic.
MtBethel Consigliere
Depending on the size of the hole, I'd use a dowel that just fits the diameter of the hole and coat the diameter of the dowel and the inside of the hole in wood glue, then tap the dowel into place. A flexsaw can be used to cut the excess length off if you feel a need to because it's sticking out too much. I'm surprised the plumber didn't seal the holes in the block with hydraulic cement before they left, unless you told them not to.
Unfortunately, just sealing the hole in the wood with Great stuff isn't always effective, since some things like to eat it and wood putty isn't usually good, except for very small holes.
Wood putty and great stuff. Repaired some woodpecker damage that way and it worked well.
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