Homemade Rid-X

If your home relies on a septic tank for waste disposal, you likely use a product like Rid-X to maintain your system. By breaking down the bacteria in your septic tank, Rid-X can help minimize the buildup of debris inside it. This helps prevent the sludge that can block the pipes of a septic tank and cause issues with its efficacy and safety.

But some septic tank owners find themselves concerned about using a commercial product like Rid-X. Luckily, there are homemade alternatives that are safer, more convenient to use and cheaper than the store-bought product.

As a Walmart Rid-X product page explains, Rid-X is a septic tank treatment designed to continuously break down bacteria and thus prevent septic tank backups. It's a powder that can be emptied into your toilet and begins breaking down paper, proteins, oils and starches to minimize the potential for blockages.

Over time, Rid-X claims it can help prevent blockages in the toilet by treating them before they happen. According to RBNA Info, the active ingredients in Rid-X are natural enzymes, which is what breaks down the contents of a septic tank to restore a healthy bacterial balance.

Some people are concerned that handling Rid-X during the application could be harmful. It can cause issues to the human body if ingested and is potentially dangerous around pets. On top of that, Rid-X is quite expensive and, if used regularly, can become a real financial burden. For these reasons, some septic tank users have discovered a cheap, safe and convenient homemade Rid-X option.

Using yeast can create a similar bacterial reaction to Rid-X within your septic tank. In other words, the yeast will react and break down the septic tank sludge in a very similar manner to Rid-X. By combining active yeast with warm water, sugar and cornmeal and flushing the mixture down just one of your toilets, you can help maintain a healthy bacterial level within your septic tank, as Septic Tank Care suggests.

Using Rid-X or a homemade alternative isn't all you have to do to maintain a healthy septic tank. You should be using a Rid-X-style treatment around once per month to keep it working to the best of its ability, but on top of that, there are other important facets to septic tank care.

According to Septic Tank Pro, maintaining the good condition of a septic tank relies on what you try to put down your drains. To make your treatment work to the best of its ability, you should avoid long showers or excessive laundry in the hours after treatment. Adding extra water to your tank could affect the treatment's potency.

You must also be aware of any rogue waste making its way into your septic tank. Sanitary towels, tampons, wipes and food from garbage disposals can all be very harmful to a septic tank.

It's important to limit the amount of antiseptic or antibacterial cleaner that enters your drainage system, as these products can disrupt the bacteria levels inside your tank. It's also important to have your septic tank pumped out regularly. This will minimize sludge buildup and help continue the work your Rid-X (or homemade alternative) is doing.