Septic Additives

What about chlorine?

There are lots of questions regarding chlorine in certain septics that we will attempt to answer here.

Q: Can I (legally) use swimming pool chlorine?
A: No.
Swimming pool chlorine has the wrong chemical make up for wastewater. It is not as effective as wastewater chlorine; it can create dangerous gases or form carcinogenic compounds when used in wastewater applications.

Q: Can the Service Provider put in chlorine for me?
A: Yes and No.
For the chlorine to work correctly, the chlorinator must be restocked approximately once a month.
Your Service Provider only visits your site once every 4-6 months. We can install chlorine every month, but we would have to visit to your site once a month at an additional cost of approximately $500 per year.

Q: Where can I get wastewater chlorine?
A: Many Home Depots and Lowes stores carry it. We stock and sell wastewater chlorine, as well. Our prices are a bit better.

Q: How long will the tablets last?
A: As a very general rule of thumb, most homeowners should plan on using a 25# bucket of chlorine per year – approx. $100/yr. Properly stored in the bucket, the tablets have about a 2-year shelf life.

In the chlorinator, the tablet life is directly related to the amount of erosion from the water that contacts the tablets. Some chlorinator designs cause rapid chlorine consumption, while other designs consume chlorine more slowly.

Q: Do I have to have chlorine?
A: If you have a system that sprays at night, you want to have chlorine in your chlorinator at all times. Chlorine helps protect your family, pets, and neighbors from the pathogens in the effluent you spray out on the ground.

Q: Is there some other alternative to chlorine?
A: Yes. An ultraviolet (UV) disinfection unit can be installed in lieu of your chlorinator. With our UV, you only have to change the $60.00 lamp once every two years.


Our UV unit, specifically designed for septic, runs $1,200.00 If you have a current Inspection Agreement with us, we will waive our standard installation charges. Because the UV requires electricity, there may be some additional electrical work needed to complete the installation.