Saltwater down the drain?

[Len]

Who dumps saltwater down the drain? Is it safe for the piping?

I guess a better question is: how do you discard your old saltwater?

 

[iseeweed]

Down the drain(city sewer) I watched my lfs dump trashcans full of old salt water right into the street drain. Probably less toxic then the acid rain where I am!

 

[Anonymous]

I throw it out on the lawn. It doesn't hurt it one bit.

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

Down the drain into the septic system. Haven't had any problems with the septic field so it must be okay (crosses fingers)

 

[WRASSER]

down the drain and on the lawn... ...depends on which tank i am doing a water change. 8)

 

[Anonymous]

When I had my tank I would dunp it down the storm drain in the street. Small amouts of saltwater will not hurt the plumbing. If you have a septic system I would not be worried unless you are doing water changes that are 100's of gallons. Even 20 gal of salt water will dilute quite quickly in 1000 gal of poop filled water.

 

[Anonymous]

Down the drain for me, only 5-10 gallons at a time into the city system.

 

[Sea Turtle]

I have a septic system and I dump all mine down the drain. Also in the winter, I usually dump it on my driveway or walk ways. Help to keep the ice away or to a minimum at least.

 

[wade1]

Most often, the best case is a public/municipal system. Everyone should look at where they live and decide what the best option is... for coastal folks, dropping it into a local ditch may mean nothing. However, someone in a pristine mountain environment can cause serious damage in a small clear creek.

I am guessing that a septic system can handle it due to dilution. I would be wary of impacts to any wells nearby though as the salt will travel into the water table if released in a constant place for years.

 

[Anonymous]

On the Lawn? Really? While it might not kill the grass out right I would think that over time (especially if you have a large tank) the salts would definitely build up in the soil making it sterile... but then again I don't know if the grass and other plants/organisms can pull salt out at a quick enough rate.

That being said, public sewer system, mine goes down the drain. Most likely your pipes have so much crap (literally ) and other stuff caked on them that salt water won't actually touch the pipe

 

[Len]

I would think it kills grass too. I've always pumped it down the drain, but I'm afraid the high volume (like 50 gallons per water change) is going to do something bad to my pipes. I'm hesitant to dump directly to the street/storm drains because I don't want the water washing into local wildlife areas (for example, caulerpa infestations). I'm very far from the ocean, but better safe than sorry.

I can't think of any other way of disposal.

 

[wade1]

On the Lawn? Really? While it might not kill the grass out right I would think that over time (especially if you have a large tank) the salts would definitely build up in the soil making it sterile

Salts actually dilute and wash away very quickly. If you add too much, or you get no rain, then it will definitely be a problem. Most lawn plants (aside from many in coastal areas) cannot tolerate a whole lot of salt.

There are issues with salts being added to mountain streams due to mining operations. The salt appears to be harming organism health... but in urban areas, there is already a ton of salts being added (and has been for years) that a few reef tanks won't change a thing.

 

[wade1]

do something bad to my pipes.

FWIW - most newer construction (early 80s on) does not have metal pipes inside the house nor even to the main lines in the road. Most are pvc/abs plastics. If you live in an older place however, corrosion could result. I wouldn't estimate that it'll be any worse than tens of thousands of gallons of pee tho. The contact time would be very low.

 

[Anonymous]

I dunno know about that, the SF building codes specifically tell you that you can ONLY use cast iron as waste pipes, as of 2007 (unsure if that has changed). That being said, it hasn't stopped me from using ABS because it's just as good and much easier to work with! (I'd really like to know if the plumbing unions had any say in the whole cast iron code)

 

[WRASSER]

i would think that the rain would wash the sat from the lawn. unless it dont rain were you live. 8)

 

[Sea Turtle]

I live right down by the beach and my grass seems to grow very nicely. The salt from the water destroys everything but the grass. I guess salt doesn't bother it. I still wouldn;t do it though. Specially if it was very dry to begin with.

 

[Anonymous]

Perhaps it's a salt-tolerant grass.

 

[kevindub]

I have killed flowers by dumping saltwater into the soil. At least I think it's because of the saltwater :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

I dunno know about that, the SF building codes specifically tell you that you can ONLY use cast iron as waste pipes, as of 2007 (unsure if that has changed). That being said, it hasn't stopped me from using ABS because it's just as good and much easier to work with! (I'd really like to know if the plumbing unions had any say in the whole cast iron code)

Highly populated areas make it illegal to use PVC due to the toxic fumes created in large fires. If a whole city block went up there would be toxic fumes filling the air, putting first responders and the public in serious danger of toxic smoke inhalation.

 

[Anonymous]

I dunno know about that, the SF building codes specifically tell you that you can ONLY use cast iron as waste pipes, as of 2007 (unsure if that has changed). That being said, it hasn't stopped me from using ABS because it's just as good and much easier to work with! (I'd really like to know if the plumbing unions had any say in the whole cast iron code)

Highly populated areas make it illegal to use PVC due to the toxic fumes created in large fires. If a whole city block went up there would be toxic fumes filling the air, putting first responders and the public in serious danger of toxic smoke inhalation.

Well if there was a fire that got so out of hand that an entire city block went up then I think there's larger underlying issues than toxic fumes from melting PVC.

Nah, I'm sticking by my guns and saying this is some conspiracy by the plumbers union to prevent the average DIYer from replumbing their own drains