If you’re committed to using all natural cleaners like tea tree oil and white vinegar, you can install a greywater system that lets you use your household water on your landscaping. All the drain pipes from sinks, laundry, tubs and showers can be rerouted to the garden. Only the toilet pipe should remain connected to the septic tank. With less water running into your tank, sewage is less likely to back up into the yard, and you won’t have to have your tank emptied as often.

Some old homes still have cesspools instead of septic tanks. If there is good sandy soil in the area a cesspool can function well.  However, most cesspools were made a long time ago were not constructed to handle today’s bathing habits and multiple loads of laundry.  A greywater system is necessary to take some of the load off the cesspool. With only low-flow toilets going to the cesspool, very little water will end up there and waste will decompose much more quickly.