Is "HG Service engineer" (Washing Machine Cleaner) Okay for use with Septic Tank?

pealy

I bought the HG Service Engineer product from Lakeland recently but when I asked about suitability for use with a septic tank they said that they had not been specifically informed that it was or was not suitable for use with a septic tank. I contacted another supplier of the product who got the following response from HG International:

"It is biodegradable, dilute very well because it is highly alkaline"

This doesn't really help, does anyone know the answer in a nice yes/no style? My stumbings on the internet suggest it contains caustic soda..

economiser

I am always very careful about what goes into my septic tank and work on the basis of if in doubt don't! I don't suppose it would do much harm though as I presume it is a small amount of product that would be well diluted in the tank. Can you not collect the discharge from the cleaning cycle without it going down the drain and dispose of elsewhere?

pealy

economiser wrote: »

Can you not collect the discharge from the cleaning cycle without it going down the drain and dispose of elsewhere?

Thanks for the idea, I was thinking about that myself but decided a washing machine would probably use quite a lot of water and the problems of storage and disposable made be decide against it.

pealy

I have just received an update from HG:

"Septic tanks are filled with bacteria.
When products are used which are not biodegradable the bacteria can be
killed.
When products have a too high or too low pH (acidity range) it can
affect the bacteria also.
Service engineer has a very high pH an undiluted it can affect the
bacteria, but when it is rinsed with plenty water it will be diluted and
the pH value will drop to an acceptable level and the bacteria will not
be affected."

Sounds to me like they're saying it will be fine..

kwatt

I've tried to resist it but...

What is it you're actually using this stuff for?

We don't rate Calgon or this as it's usually targeted at supposedly getting of limescale and, despite the claims that thousands of engineers that are supposed to recommend these products I've yet to meet one and, I know a few.

If you dose detergent correctly they are not required.

A bigger problem is bacteria build up in modern machines and, for that problem, we recommend maintenance washes and/or the use of Affresh to stop it from happening.

K.

pealy

kwatt wrote: »

I've tried to resist it but...What is it you're actually using this stuff for?

I'm pleased you caved in. The problem I'm trying to solve is a washing machine which smells like an old musty towel.

I'm not sure what a 'maintenance wash" is but the affresh seems to claim to be the very thing, even though there are some mixed reviews around..

kwatt

Hi pealy,

Yeah, it's a BIG problem these days I'm afraid and we're seeing more and more of it as people switch to ever decreasing wash temperatures. We think there's a connection to plastic tanks as well but we can't prove it but, let me put it this way, almost none of the repairers have seen it happen on a machine with an enamel or stainless tank.

But plastic is cheaper, a lot cheaper and people want cheap machines. Go figure.

But anyway, to enlighten the people that have this problem...

[url=http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=162[/url]Maintenance wash instructions[/url]

Smelly washing machines and what causes it

Affresh does work, we use it a lot to clean out stinking machines but you have to follow the instructions, i.e., if it is really rank use the three tablets on the first pass then get into a routine to keep it clean.

Where people slag it off I've found out what's happening. Basically it strips off the first layer of gunk and the next one is revealed which often smells worse but there's only two cures to get rid of it. Repeat and maintain it or you strip the machine down and clean it out with a brush.

Trust me, after having done a few, option number two is not the nice one on so many levels...

HTH

K.

pealy

Thanks a million Kwatt, looks like a bucket-load of Affresh might be on the cards. Like the maintenance wash idea too, will start doing them.