Fosse friendly products...

[Nicos]

Having never had a fosse before, and just getting my head around

British Eco-friendly household products,I'm looking for advice!!!!

What French products are available which will not affect the fosse, but still do a decent job??

I'm thinking of toilet cleaners, washing powders

(conditioners???)washing up liquid....Or do people just use the French

equivelant of Persil/Fairy/Domestos with a Fosse?

I want to grow organic veg nearby too( I understand about the dangers

of roots too near the pipes) , so I suppose I'm concerned about 

affecting the inner workings of the fosse as well as any 

by-products which may affect the  soil ( and therefore veg) in

years to come.

Thanks![blink]

[cooperlola]

Look out for loo cleaner which has something like "Speciale Fosse Septique" on it.  Clarcyl is the one I use.  Do not use bleach.

I've never really thought about the washing powder aspect but I do stick to colourfast stuff which doesn't contain bleach.

You can also pop a sachet of "Eparcyl" down the loo once a week as it helps to revive the friendly bugs that nosh the solids!

[Pierre ZFP]

I was in the same position years ago so I contacted the main manufactures of the products we regularly used.  Without exception, the response from the likes of Lever Bros,  Johnsons and others was immediate and very helpful.  It was so long ago I can't remember all the details but basically most things without bleach were OK.  Whilst not advocating going back to green soap and a scrubbing brush I've always avoided harsh cleaners, well tried to, because of effects on environment and on my dodgy skin.   What we do now of course is to buy 'local' stuff which says that it's OK for fosse.

Edit:  Eparcyl is very good but get this.  Real ale is just as good for nourishing fosse bugs, and is EVEN MORE effective if it has passed through a human digestive system !!!!  (No dear, I don't really enjoy beer, I'm just keeping the tank in good condition)

[cooperlola]

Ah but Pierre, please can you now tell me where I can get real beer in the Sarthe?  That would make my day... and my year![B]

[Pierre ZFP]

Well you do have a couple of places

here  and here

but I don't know if they're near you, from the look of them, I'd go a long way to check them out [B]

 

[cooperlola]

I'll check em out.  Pornic isn't that far.   I love the "Liquide Inflamable" sign. 

Oddly, there's also a micro-brewery in the Cite de l'Europe, run by a M. Bernard Happiat.  Not quite the proper British bottom fermented ales but not at all a bad effort for a European![B]

[Pierre ZFP]

If it's the same Micro brew I thinking of then they do some nice stuff including some fruit beers.  Not something I normally go for but the rhubarb beer was gorgeous.

[cooperlola]

[quote user="Pierre ZFP"]If it's the same Micro brew I thinking of then they do some nice stuff including some fruit beers.  Not something I normally go for but the rhubarb beer was gorgeous.[/quote]I bet that did wonders for the Fosse too.

[suein56]

[quote user="Nicos"]What French products are available which will not affect the fosse, but still do a decent job??

[/quote]

You can use bleach and products with bleach in them but it recommended to use them sparingly, say once a week. You will quickly learn about the idiosyncratic nature of your fosse as, if you do something majorly wrong the bugs will suffer and so will you via a noticeable pong.

I use a monthly activator called WC Net - I have found this to be excellent.

Sue

[Nicos]

Thanks for this.... and what about things like fabric conditioners???

[Hoddy]

This partly depends on what kind of fosse you have. The water from our baths, the kitchen sink, the washer and so on do not actually go through the fosse so in theory it doesn't matter. I think the major problem is non-fosse friendly toilet paper.

I do try to use mild, that is those not containing bleach,  products where possible.

Hoddy

[suein56]

Ahh, now that's a good question. I use softener and hair conditioner and I've just looked at the products I use and on the associated web-sites and can see no clear evidence that they are OK - so I don't know. All I can say is - we have been here nearly 2 years now and the fosse smells a lot better than it did when we came!

Sue [:)]

[Nicos]

Will it say on the loo paper packet if it is fosse-friendly??

I presume most UK loo paper isn't????

[Hoddy]

The phrase you're looking for is ' convient pour fosse septiques'.

You are right; most Uk toilet paper isn't.

Hoddy

[sid]

Even Domestos says on the container "sans danger pour fosse septiques".

Sid

[moriarty]

I am confused about washing machine detergent and fosses.  In England we have a septic tank and were advised not to use biological powder - but in France I cannot find anything that isn't biological, so I have started taking UK non-bio powder with me.  Can anyone tell me if there is a French non-bio powder or liquid available?  Thanks.

Flossie

 

[cooperlola]

It's always seemed odd to me.  I thought that the idea of biological powders was that they contained enzymes (rather similar to those in our own digestive systems.)  So why would they cause a problem in a fosse?  I've heard this too, so it may well be true but what's the science behind the assertion that bio' powders shouldn't be used?

[Panda]

Hi

We use Masion-Vert washing machine liquid and washing up liquid, not really because of the fosse so much but because the 'grey' water after some filtering used to go into our lake.  It's available in most large supermarkets

Panda