Also, I do a ton of laundry, should I have the water from my washer pumped somewhere else? I have never lived in a house with a septic system I do use bleach, but I‘ve tried my best to minimize the use of chemicals. Any info would be greatly appreciated!
No, have it pumped bi annually. That stuff does work but it send solids into your leach fields anyway. Most septic companies discourage using it because you get a false sense of security and stop pumping your septic tank. Then one day it's too late the damage has been done and you need new leach fields. $$$ You can use bleach but do not use liquid fabric softener it plugs the ground in the leach fields. Use bounce.
Boy, the septic haulers as a group have done a wonderful job of convincing the general public that if you don't have your tank pumped every couple of years something horrible will happen, like possibly the end of mankind as we know it, or maybe your cable would go out or something. I've lived in rural homes all my life, and that's a considerable time, and with the exception of two instances, one where some tree roots grew through some old oransberg piping going out to the tank, and another time when we had teenagers here for most of a summer using two and three times the normal amount of paper every time they used the bathroom, have had NO problems, and we don't add anything to it to help it. We are, however, fairly careful not to add anything that would hurt it, like bleach or strong detergents. We also have a separate DRYWELL for gray water, which is what your clothes wash, hand wash, shower water would all go into. If you simply treat it decently, it will give you a lifetime of service, with no problems.
I've used a septic system most of my life, and have never had to add an additive. However, I have been told that liquid detergents are better than powders, as far as avoiding clogs go. I go easy on the bleach, but don't worry about it when I do decide to bleach something. I do have a garbage disposal, and it does utilize an additive to make it septic tank usable, but again, it's something I rarely use, and don't worry about at all when I do use it.
