RV antifreeze in household septic system a concern?

[Mokulele]

Hi Folks,

The previous owner of my house plumbed a sewer connection for an RV next to the garage. It is connected to our homes' septic system. We're taking off South in a few weeks so I need to de- winterize the water system in our 26rl. It has about 3 gallons of the pink stuff in there. If I run it into the gray tanks with lots of water is there any concern of harming the flora in the septic system? Opinions seem to be all over on this subject-is there guru on this subject who will stick their neck out on this subject?

Appreciation in advance!

Peter

[Country Campers]

I have learned not to stick my neck out, but will say if you can just dump the pink stuff in your yard. I do this at home while flushing with water. I also would think that a couple gallons in a 1000 gallon tank should not be a problem. The pink stuff is suppose to be safe not like car antifreeze. Good luck on your decision.
(see how I did not stick my neck out there)

Brian

[Steve7]

I’m interested in this topic also....

[GeoffnCheri]

I would suggest that 2 or 3 gallons of pink stuff once of a year would have no impact compared to what goes down daily 12 months a year including dish soaps, laundry soaps etc......

[John303]

http://www.chemicalspec.com/Winter_C...Antifreeze.pdf is the MSDS for one brand of propylene glycol RV antifreeze. At the bottom under section 11...

Diluted aqueous waste may biodegrade, but avoid overloading plant biomass and assure effluent complies with applicable regulations.




So I would guess that a few gallons in a 1000 gallon tank would pose no issues...just a guess though. I certainly would not hesitate to do the initial dump on the ground, and then finish up by flushing into the septic.

Here is another interesting article, though it does not address your question... http://rvlife.com/techtipsrv-antifre...-all-the-same/

[TucsonJim]

Here is a link to the U.S. EPA site for RV and Boat owners who might need to dump into a septic tank. There is a list of chemicals which should not enter the system. Check your antifreeze ingredients against these chemicals. Some RV holding tank treatments contain formaldehyde which will likely kill the helpful bacteria in the system.

EPA Document

Jim

[MidwestCamper]

Hi Folks,

The previous owner of my house plumbed a sewer connection for an RV next to the garage. It is connected to our homes' septic system. We're taking off South in a few weeks so I need to de- winterize the water system in our 26rl. It has about 3 gallons of the pink stuff in there. If I run it into the gray tanks with lots of water is there any concern of harming the flora in the septic system? Opinions seem to be all over on this subject-is there guru on this subject who will stick their neck out on this subject?

Appreciation in advance!

Peter

Since the antifreeze is non toxic I wouldn't think this would be an issue. I've thought about installing a tap into my drain to occasionally empty those few extra gallons of waist that I haul home due to some poorly pitched drain stations at some campgrounds. I would never dump a full black tank in there due to throughput issues where unsettled waist could mess up the field IMO.

[sande005]

Not a guru...but have had a swimming pool for over 20 years, and routinely use 12 gal. per year to winterize. Never an issue discharging it almost full strength, in the spring, on to my lawn. That may be an option for you. In my area, it is not even counted as "gray water" discharge (I checked). Local government environmental agencies advise just dumping leftover antifreeze down the drain into the local sewer system. But, I probably wouldn't do that with a septic system - too much of anything can be bad. All versions I have ever encountered are labeled "non-toxic". The main (or only) ingredient is a food additive. The link TusconJim provided is mainly pointed at additives to a black tank, some of which can be very detrimental to a septic system. Automotive anti-freeze is a completely different compound, and should never be discharged in to a sewer system, or dumped on the ground (or ever, ever used in an RV system).

FYI - same info about dumping chlorine water used for sanitizing. If you follow proper concentration directions, again no harm to plants. It might not be advisable to dump into a septic system, however, as it would tend to sanitize that too before it quickly breaks down, which would be bad.

[Dick Noble]

We have a septic system at home and Mother Earth News had an article a number of years ago on what is bad for septic systems. Worst thing was laundry -- too much water all at once washes the tank into the leach field to fast. Another bad thing -- a real no-no -- is paint. Never mentioned RV ant-freeze. We are lucky, we have a separate vault to drain the RV into when we get home. Personally, I would not drain the pink stuff into a septic system.

[MidwestCamper]

The septic business would be booming if the pink stuff (reasonable amount) was harming septic systems as this is needed for P traps and toilet tanks and traps in cottages and vacation homes in the north. Traps must be treated or sewer gas would end up being the larger issue.