Is water soluable stablizer septic safe? I want to keep anymore potential problems with this lovely home to a minimum and since I am not sure exactly how this stuff acts when it dissolves I was wondering if I can rinse the stablizer in the sink or do I need to use a bucket outside.

We have discussed this for years here and the common consensus is to throw is the rinse water out in the yard. Why take a chance. I will add, do not flush dental floss down the toilet.. My dentist told me that 30 yrs ago. We septic tank people have to watch out for each other. Kay

Just a response again. I too have a septic tank and no problems here. WSS is supposed to be cornstarch based which is a plant derivative. We use cornstarch to cook with and we eat it. I know when we dissolve it, it has a nasty smell so they've of course, added chemicals. There are a lot other worse things to put down a drain--powdered laundry soap, hair, grease--lots of things we don't think of in our everyday life. I'd say just run the water a little longer or boil some and pour down the drain. This stuff when thrown on the ground also gets in someone's drinking water from the water shed.

Thanks for asking this question. You have some good advice already I see. I know when I made lots of snowflakes at Christmas I dissolved the wss in a takeaway container. When I was done after the first rinsing the first batch I noticed the water was cloudy and felt sticky. I figured it wasn't worth risking pouring something like that down the sink to cause problems later so outside it went.

Well, I think I have a clue to this conundrum.

Yesterday I put a project with wss in the sink and filled it with hot water as I usually do. I was in a hurry and did not let it soak as long as I usually do. When I drained the sink I saw these little bumps about the size of a millimeter on the bottom of the sink. I'd never seen anything like this before. They were these little tiny bumps of wss that were stuck to the sink and had not dissolved in the water! Granted, I had used 4 layers of wss in this project, but I commonly do that. Just that it did not all dissolve in the short time I had it in water.

So I'm thinking that it must be those tiny bits of undisolved wss that is getting stuck inside the pipes. It would be hard to see because they are clear. With a little whishing, they dissolved. So now I know to not take shortcuts in allowing enough time for it to dissolve and whish it around a little before sending it down the drain.

I would never toss this down my drain. I always throw it outside. I can only imagine what it would it would do to my system and I sure do not need that type of problem.

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by snoukems 01 Feb 2016

Understand! We bought our house less than 6 months ago and the amount of discoveries have been painful. We already experienced a backed up septic thru no fault of our own and I sure do not want it to happen again if I can help it! Thanks to all for the words of wisdom!

Wellllllllllll the truth is no it is not safe cloged everything up here and the pump was full of slimy thick gooey stuff .Now i put it in a pail and heavy ioit out on the lawn or in the snowbank lol .Makes it grow lol hugs Carolyn

I wish I knew the answer to this. I have a septic tank and have it cleaned and checked every 2-3 years no matter what. My company has not found any problems with build ups in the tank. My water flow for drainage has checked out good also. I have been told to keep doing what I do. I use the RidX every month. However, if I am doing a lot of wash-out, I use a bucket and pour it on the grass.

I would say no. I pour mine out in the yard. It can build up in pipes.

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by noah 31 Jan 2016

You are correct!!!

You've asked a really good question, I have always just washed it down the sink but you've got me thinking now maybe better to send email to the manufactures and see what their response is.

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by blueeyedblonde 01 Feb 2016

That would be a good idea.

Thanks for asking this important question, which most of us probably don't think about at all. I will certainly now think about what i am doing, and use a dish or bucket and then use the water on the garden or grass . Sandra.

After reading the warning awhile ago from a Cutie about her blocked pipes ,I use a large plastic dish to dissolve it & throw the water onto the grass which seems to like it.

I think it is a pretty good idea to just use a bowl and toss the water then. Thank you all!

I'm with babash. I rinsed down an upstairs sink for about 3 years and them the pipe absolutely closed up. My son had to take it all apart and clean it out for hours. So, for me, the answer is, it will never make it to the septic! Use a bowl and toss in the woods.

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by noah 31 Jan 2016

You are correct:):)

If I only have one or two pieces I rinse down the sink with LOTS of water after trimming away as much stabilizer as possible. Because of the unknowns when additional pieces must be rinsed, I pour the water on outside where it is needed. I agree that a plumber should be consulted for a definitive answer.

I'm glad you asked this. I've seen answers saying it won't cause a problem and saying it will. Hopefully we will get a good answer.

Sorry don't know the answer. But do know the flushable toilet wipes that were supposed to dissolved in water caused a lot of problems with blocked pipes. I just throw my water out on the grass.

I've heard where people have gotten build up on the pipes. Since it is basically a starch, I don't understand how that happens.

I can see where if they don't trim away the extra wss, that sheets of it might settle in parts of the pipes. I've been washing it down the drain for 15 years with no pipe problems. But I cut away every little bit of wss before I put it in the water. I only put one design in water at a time. I fill the basin totally up with water and let it sit in the water for an hour, whish it around, and do it again, and a third time if I've used several layers of wss on it. I don't do this if I think the fabric dye (or thread dye in the case of rayon) might run. In that case, I put it in the washing machine.

I have a septic tank also. I try not to run it down the sink, but it sure would be nice to do so! Some say yes & some say no. But if it's water sol., I don't see how it can hurt anything in the pipes or anywhere else! Hope someone chimes in here!

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by spendlove 30 Jan 2016

Soap is water soluble and that can cause problems in drains!

I never let the wss water go down the drain, in case it builds up and causes a blockage.

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by peafarm 30 Jan 2016

Interesting question. Never heard anything negative--I've been letting it go down the drain--hopefully hear from a professional on this matter.