Water softener waste line

[tomd999]

Hi,

Any issues putting the waste line from the water softener system into the septic system?

Tom

 

[MossRoad]

Hi,

Any issues putting the waste line from the water softener system into the septic system?

Tom

I have never heard of any problems. Ours goes there. Your shower, sink and toilet go there. The real problems come from washing machine lint and kitchen grease. That tends to plug up leach fields eventually.

 

[Tig]

It is not ideal, because salt (like soap and grease) is not good for the bacteria that makes the septic work. On the other hand, options range from limited to nil.
A dry well (pit) may be legal. You'll have to check local regulations.
In my last place I discharged into the sump pump hole, which in turn was pumped out into the ditch. Before I moved I re-plumbed it into a recently discontinued dry well.

 

[beenthere]

I've been told that the bacteria working n the septic take a 24 hit everytime the softener dumps/recycles. I dump mine in a rock bed outside.
When I built 40+ years ago, the state rules were that everything in the house had to go out through the septic. Even garage drains, washer, and all gray water. That isn't true anymore.

 

[MoKelly]

Here (St. Louis area) you are not supposed to attach the water softener to the septic system ... it will not pass final inspection.

However, many people add the softener to the system once the inspection is over.

MoKelly

 

[JohnBoyMD]

I dump mine into the sump pit also. Pumps it out under the deck where we have perforated corrugated plastic pipe that allows it to flow out into the stones we have under there.

 

[dodge man]

I have an aerobic system, and yes, at times it causes problems. I'm not sure if it kills the bacteria or what, but it will cause it to overflow sometimes. Normally it doesn't, but lately it has been.

 

[WVBill]

Mine has been going out into our septic for 11 years now with no ill effects.

I have been using potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride since the beginning.

 

[Toyboy]

I suppose it matters how much water you use and how often it regenerates. Most of the older units regenerated every 7 days whether you needed it or not sending a lot of unnecessary brine water to the septic.Now days, anyone who has a modern unit, they regenerate on water usage, not time. Now if you have a house full of people and also have to do laundry every couple days, it may be detrimental to your bacteria in the septic and you may have to add commercially sold bacteria every now and then. Mine goes into the septic but then again there are only two of us 90% of the time.

 

[Dmace]

Don't do it! Those who have without ill effects just have been lucky enough to not use their septic systems to their limits. The salt will cause a huge decrease in bacteria growth in your leach field bed which is needed to break down the effluent. Also, the liquid waste from the water softener can overflow your tank if it's not sized properly. Some of the newer water softeners regenerate much less as they go by gallons of water used instead of a timer but they are still quite a load on a septic system.

Ours runs into a small dry well buried about 5ft deep with a crushed stone base.

 

[heehaw]

i ran ours out on the ground for many many years: it didn't even kill the grass??? i never could figure that one out?? but it worked fine...i buried a one inch pvc pipe about 50 ft or more, an let it go thru it, to get it away from the well or any buildings etc etc...
heehaw

 

[skipmarcy]

i ran ours out on the ground for many many years: it didn't even kill the grass??? i never could figure that one out?? but it worked fine...i buried a one inch pvc pipe about 50 ft or more, an let it go thru it, to get it away from the well or any buildings etc etc...
heehaw

Same here, doesn't even kill the weeds or grass for going on 5 years now.

 

[CurlyDave]

I plumbed mine out into the ditch beside my driveway and then into ABS drain line to get it past a tree I did not want to kill. Every winter, a lot of water flows through that ditch into a winter creek, so I figure it all gets diluted and flushed away in the winter.

 

[MossRoad]

Seeing how the outflow from our water softener is only a 1/4" plastic hose and regeneration only takes about an hour, I fail to see how that is going to overflow a septic system. A shower uses more water than the regeneration cycle. There are 4 showers taken in our house every day plus gosh only knows how many toilet flushes. If the regen on your water softener is overflowing your septic system, you have MUCH bigger problems.

 

[Tig]

Interesting to get some feed back about dumping on the lawn. You'd think that that would add up over time. but on the other hand I think it's only the first flush that has brine. After that it's just water. And come to think of it, the grass in my ditch grew very well.
Moss is right about the regen. It's not real fast and the septic should be able to handle it. I think mine uses around 30 gallons. 50 gallons is one person's daily usage of water. In this age of low flush toilets, a blast of water might be a good thing for the system.
This is a good read on the subject of septic and brine. Different studies, different conclusions.

 

[MossRoad]

Also, salt does not evaporate. If you dump it on your lawn, or on rocks, etc... the salt is going to stay there in the immediate area for a long, long time until it is flushed away elsewhere.

 

[bearhawk]

Hi,

Any issues putting the waste line from the water softener system into the septic system?

Tom

The salt helped kill my enviro-septic system. I don't think it is as bad for an older pipe and stone system.

I would dump it to a dry well.

 

[MikePA]

I have been using potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride since the beginning.

Same here because our softener waste line runs into the sump pit and I didn't want salt water corroding the pump. The sump pipe dumps into a drainage ditch.

 

[dfeck]

I had a house that was 6 years old and had to replace my distribution box due to it being eaten away and caving in. I'm not sure if it was my softener system dumping into it or not but a 6 year old box shouldn't have been replaced after 6 years. I was told by a few septic companies to never dump your softener into a septic system. First, it's not good for bacteria and second it's corrosive to concrete. However, the water softener company tells me there are no problems dumping into septic systems. From my experience I would not have my softener dump into my septic system.

Doug

 

[dodge man]

Mine regens every 3 days, and I think it dumps 50 gallons every time. There are 4 of us, and I think we are near maximum capacity for our septic system.