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Chemistry Forums for Students => High School Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: ch3mnovice on August 30, 2011, 05:04:53 PM

Title: Will laundry chemicals clog septic lines
Post by: ch3mnovice on August 30, 2011, 05:04:53 PM: I am wanting to make my own laundry detergent and have heard that the chemicals I wish to use will clog my septic line. I wish to use sodium carbonate, borax and a vegetable oil soap made with sodium dioxide. Does anyone know if these chemicals will react in a way which will clog my septic, or perhaps point me to more information on the web? The soap making sites I have visited have differing views on the potential problem.
Title: Re: Will laundry chemicals clog septic lines
Post by: Benzenelover on August 30, 2011, 11:13:43 PM: I don't know nearly as much as the other geeks on this forum, but as far as I see it should be fine,a s long as you have enough water to desolve it.

By the way, I think you mean sodium hydroxide.
Title: Re: Will laundry chemicals clog septic lines
Post by: vmelkon on August 31, 2011, 10:59:17 AM: Check out detergents.
Detergents don't produce "scale" while soaps do produce it. Soaps react with the Mg++ and Ca++ in the water and form a precipitate.

Check out the composition of detergents.
I doubt that any of them have NaOH but they probably have borax and sodium lauryl sulfate and stuff like this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Soap%26Detergents.png
Title: Re: Will laundry chemicals clog septic lines
Post by: Honclbrif on September 01, 2011, 10:40:51 AM: Your problem is essentially soap scum. It forms when detergent molecules react with calcium and magnesium ions in tap water to form a nasty insoluble precipitate. This is why modern laundry detergents contain so much lake and river choking phosphate. It is added to remove these ions from hard water so the detergent doesn't form scum which can clog pipes over time and makes clothes look dingy.

If you have very soft water, it probably won't be a problem, otherwise you can expect to get scum.
Title: Re: Will laundry chemicals clog septic lines
Post by: bobsmith on May 21, 2012, 03:33:19 AM: Whenever you drain the soap scum use high pressure water and it will not affect too much to septic line. Use high pressure water to clean drain line.