Vol. 9, No. 5

Sunsets

As the sun sets on summer, autumn brings us so much to look forward to. Earlier sunsets create more time to read, dream, bake, craft, and whatever else brings joy and comfort to the darker seasons. For gardeners, it’s a great time to reflect on what worked well this year, mulch areas where plants have died back or have been harvested, and as always, keep up on the weeding.

Maintain your on-site septic system to care for and protect your investment.

• Inspect your septic tank and its components every year and have it pumped as needed. Most systems need to be pumped every 3-5 years and a yearly inspection will catch issues when they’re small and easier to repair.
• Hire a certified professional. Get three bids for the work needed and ask friends and neighbors for references.
• Know where all the components of your system are located and protect them from compaction and tree roots. Don’t drive or park over any parts of your septic system, never graze animals over them, avoid planting trees and other deeply rooted plants, and, in general, leave those areas alone. If you aren’t sure where the components of your septic system are located, look up your records at onlinerme.com
• Grass works best as a ground cover over the septic tank and drainfield. Here are some more ideas for shallow-rooted plants for landscaping the drainfield.
• Install risers over the inlet and outlet baffles on your septic tank if you don’t already have them. Risers make the system accessible from the ground, and that makes inspections and pumping easier and less expensive.
• Install an effluent filter in the outlet baffle if you don’t already have one. The effluent filter helps protect the drainfield from clogging with small particles.
• Choose water-conserving appliances and spread out water-using activities like laundry and dishwashing throughout the day to avoid overloading your system with water.
• Avoid garbage disposals because they send small pieces of solid food into the septic tank. Small bits of food can easily get pushed out into the drainfield where it can clog pipes.
• Keep fats, oils, greases, and hair out of the drain. These three items are the leading causes of sewage backups.
• Choose the safest products for cleaning and personal care and avoid products that say “danger” or “poison” on the label.

With regular care and maintenance, septic systems do a good job of treating the water and sewage from our homes and help replenish our drinking water!

Moss

As the fall and winter rains return, our landscapes transform into a lush emerald-green scene, something that so many of us enjoy. A star of this season is moss. Some of us may consider moss the villain, especially when it grows on our roofs and sidewalks. However, if we allow it to grow in our lawn and garden, moss can provide gorgeous color and even stabilize the soil surface where it grows.

Welcoming moss into our landscapes is a healthy choice for the environment because it doesn’t require any fertilizer or pest control and doesn’t need any water to thrive. Moss doesn’t require much if any, effort on our part to keep it thriving and beautiful, which saves us time to tend to other areas of the yard. Moss indicates low soil fertility and compacted soil so if it’s a priority to not have moss in the yard, aerate, add a layer of compost, and overseed with a shade-tolerant grass seed.

There are a few spots that moss may not be as welcome, like rooftops and sidewalks. Roofing materials can become damaged from moss growth, which can lead to leaks, rot, mold growth, and costly repairs. Sweep with a broom or use a leaf blower to clean off any twigs, leaves, or dirt particles once or twice a year to remove the debris that moss likes to grow on. Pressure washing is not recommended for composite rooftops because it can damage the shingles. Hire a professional if you need help with cleaning your rooftop.

When the weather is dry, existing moss on certain types of roofing materials can be treated with baking soda. Avoid using hazardous commercial moss killers, because these products can end up in our lakes, streams, and Puget Sound through rainwater runoff from our homes and yards. Check out this article by the Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides for more details on how to safely prevent and treat moss, and here’s a guide with prevention and treatment options based on the type of materials your roof is made of.

A thick carpet of moss can make sidewalks and driveways slippery. Remove moss from the pavement with a stiff-bristled broom or brush. Pressure washing is another way to remove moss from concrete surfaces. Prune any tree branches that overhang sidewalks or driveways to allow more sunlight to reach those areas and prevent moss growth.

Visit the Grow Smart Grow Safe website for suggestions on preventing moss growth and for help choosing the safest commercial products to treat moss. 

Rain Gardens

One major pollution problem in local streams, lakes, and Puget Sound comes from rainwater that runs off rooftops, sidewalks, parking lots, driveways, and compacted soils. Excess rainwater can carry oil, fertilizer, weed and bug killers, septic system runoff, and dog waste from our yards and driveways into the nearest stream, lake, and eventually Puget Sound through local storm drains and from water filtering through the soil.

You can protect water quality by slowing the flow of water so that it has more time to soak into the ground. Adding a thick layer of mulch around plants and trees increases the time water spends filtering through the ground. Adding organic matter like compost to the soil can also help water soak into the ground.

In areas that are likely to create water runoff like rooftops, driveways, and pathways, consider a rain garden. Rain gardens help water slowly filter into the ground, replenishing our available drinking water by returning rain back into the water cycle; instead of quickly running off of surfaces and damaging streams. Rain gardens don’t need irrigation, fertilizers, or weed and bug killers. They will need annual weeding and mulching just like any other garden bed. Over time, the need for yearly maintenance will decrease as plants grow bigger and out-compete potential weeds. There are many local experts that have experience installing rain gardens in our area.

For more information visit:

Native Plant Salvage

Rain Garden Handbook for Western Washington

If a product says, “flushable,” or “septic system safe,” can it be safely flushed down the toilet?

There are no regulations behind the terms, “flushable,” or “septic-safe.”  In fact, all “flushable” wipes and menstrual products should always go into the trash, not the toilet. Wipes can clog pipes whether you’re on a septic system or hooked up to a sewer. The only things that should get flushed down the toilet are what comes out of you and toilet paper.

Do you have a question for the Thurston Home and Garden editors or a topic you’d like to learn more about? We’d love to hear from you!

Please contact us at 360-867-2674 or send us an email at healthyhomes@co.thurston.wa.us

Spooky season is upon us! No matter how you like to enjoy this cooler time of the year, we can all agree on one thing - toxic metals in menstrual products are scary! Yet never fear, there’s good news! With just a few lifestyle adjustments, we can protect our health, our environment, and even our septic systems. 

Menstrual products, like tampons and sanitary pads, are commonly used to control menstrual bleeding. On average, a person may use between 10,000-20,000 tampons and sanitary pads during their lifetime; even more if they have heavier menstrual bleeding. That’s a lot of waste!

A recent study from the University of California Berkeley tested 30 tampons from 14 different brands and discovered 16 heavy metals among all the sampled tampons. Their results found that even organic tampons weren’t free from metals. 

One-way metals might end up in menstrual products is if the cotton for these products is grown in an environment that contains metals. Another way is during the manufacturing process of tampons and sanitary pads when chemicals are added as part of a pigment, whitener, fragrance, or antibacterial agent.  

While heavy metals can cause damage to the liver, kidneys, and brain as well as increase the risk of various diseases, it’s important to remember that scientists are still studying how much of a risk these metals pose when it comes to menstrual products. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched a literature review and study into the safety of menstrual products, to better understand how they impact both human health and the environment. In the meantime, opting for alternative menstrual products, is a simple way to reduce potential health problems.

Tampons and sanitary pads can also contribute to clogging and strain on septic systems. They should never be flushed down the toilet, even if they claim to be, “flushable,” or “septic-safe.” By switching to alternatives like menstrual cups, reusable pads, menstrual discs, or period underwear, we can create less waste. If you prefer disposable products, choose unbleached, fragrance-free pads, and always remember to throw them in the trash instead of flushing them. By being mindful of what we flush, we can keep our septic systems healthy, reducing the need for costly repairs or replacements.

So this spooky season, let’s leave the jump-scares to the scary movies and focus on positive changes that can benefit both our bodies and the spaces we live in. By choosing safer menstrual products and caring for our septic systems, we can avoid unnecessary fears for many seasons to come!