# Alternative to RidX



## uncleotis (Mar 14, 2005)

Does anyone know what can be used in the septic tank in place of RidX? It is so danged expensive and if there is something that works just as good I'd sure like to know.

Thank you.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

If you are using the septic under normal usage etc., there should be NO need what so ever to use that Highly advertised and High Priced Product as RidX is. IMO. 
Be interesting to what others have to say on this subject as well.


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## Ozarkian (Apr 27, 2008)

A local company that pumps out septics says to put a pkg of yeast down the drain every month. If you never put chlorine or anti-bacterial products into your septic, that will go a long way in preventing problems.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

How to describe...

Adding RidX to add beneficial organisms to a septic tank is kinda like trying to increase the speed of New York City banks by adding two new commuters to the population of the city and fifty cents to the tax base. 

Unless you have totally wiped out every living thing in the septic tank and leach field, flushed it to remove the causative agent, refilled with distilled water and been constipated for a month on a killer dose of antibiotics, you don't need RidX. Every poo you deposit has more bacteria.

If it makes you feel good, curdle some milk and pour it down the drain.


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## MaineFarmMom (Dec 29, 2002)

There's more than enough bacteria in poop to keep a septic tank in good condition. If that's not enough there's probably a problem RidX isn't going to take care of.


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## chickenslayer (Apr 20, 2010)

Harry Chickpea said:


> How to describe...
> 
> Adding RidX to add beneficial organisms to a septic tank is kinda like trying to increase the speed of New York City banks by adding two new commuters to the population of the city and fifty cents to the tax base.
> 
> ...



A friend of mine has a septic pumping service and he told me just about the same thing, I've had mine for 20 years and never added anything to it and have had no problems.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

I heard on the radio once,if you want to put something down the tank... a gallon of milk soured on the counter will work the same as Ridx. Tho I agree with everyone else, the tank and it's contents work their own magic.


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

An occasional packet of bread yeast or first rack wine lees are all I add to my septic system.


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## uncleotis (Mar 14, 2005)

Geeze...all this time we've been wasting our money buying RidX. Yeast, milk or nothing are much cheaper.

Thank you all for your answers.


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## starjj (May 2, 2005)

I don't know what it is but I had my tank pumped at the end of May. The septic guy sold me packets that you put in the toliet and flush once a month. 12 packets pre measured cost $20.00. Much cheaper than rid X. This guy is know to be honest and above board so I do trust him.


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## Farmerwilly2 (Oct 14, 2006)

I'll sell you 24 packets for $10 plus shipping. I'll even give you your choice of color: lime, orange, raspberry, cherry, grape. Mine works so great you only need to add one packet every 6 months. Now how's that for a deal. It also works great on compost heaps----just sprinkle a packet between the layers. Not too much, this is powerful stuff. Wait six months, turning heap every two months and you'll have great compost. I use it when I need to bury a carcass also. Dig hole--drop in carcass---sprinkle a packet of my super powder---cover with dirt. Within a year about the only thing you'll find if you dig it up is some bone and maybe a few feathers or a little hair, depending on what kind of carcass you needed to dispose of. Willys Magic Powder is great stuff.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

He is making money on that. Even after pumping there is still plenty of "good stuff" left in the tank. And then flushing wastes back into the tank will just keep it going.
Unless the tank was completely pumped dry next to impossible, but say it was, there is still plenty of stuff left on the sides, that will continue to do the job, without adding any enzymes in the tank..JMO


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## akmyilee (Apr 25, 2005)

I am not trying to hijack this tread - it is very timely for me - we have a septic tank and toilet that barely flushes and the other doesn't do much better and I was wondering if it was the septic tank - it might just be the toilets or the water pressure? I was going to buy some ridX this weekend - guess that theory is debunked - huh? - I don't know what else to do but there are 5 people that need to do their business in those toilets and I am the one that is always plunging and plunging and plung......well you get the idea.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

When was the last time you had it pumped?
Could be a number of things, from a vent pipe clogged, to a partial clog in the main line going into the tank. To maybe even roots getting in the way. Which if that is the case, putting RidX will not solve a thing, only a rotor rooter type clean out will help.


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## Randy Rooster (Dec 14, 2004)

uncleotis said:


> Does anyone know what can be used in the septic tank in place of RidX? It is so danged expensive and if there is something that works just as good I'd sure like to know.
> 
> Thank you.


I asked a man who had been pumping septic tanks for over 20 years, this same question when my system failed after a hurricane many years ago. I found out through him that my septic system had failed due to the collapse of one of the drain lines, not because of anything wrong with the tank or otherwise with the system.

i asked him specifically about ridex.

He told me flat out that there are more bacteria that digest human waste in one bowel movement than there are in a whole box of rid x.

Save your money.


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## starjj (May 2, 2005)

Let's put it this way if putting a packet of powder once a month in my toliet gives me peace of mind then to me it is well worth it. Now some people say that you need to pump your septic once a year, some 3 years, some say it has been 10 years and I have NEVER had it pumped. I knew the last owner had never had it done. The septic guy said he had pumped it but was not sure when maybe 5 or so years ago. My neighbor has NEVER had his pumped and he has 9 kids. I would rather get it done because once they fail it is too late. The ONLY one I would trust to answer this question about Rid X is Cabin Fever here on this board since he seems to have the knowledge from reading his past posts about the subject.


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## starjj (May 2, 2005)

Wind in Her Hair said:


> he is a man who knows his poop. :teehee:
> 
> he's off-line right now but I'm certain he would agree with the "RidX is a Waste of Money" bunch.


LOL well I didn't quite mean it THAT way but I agree he does. WIHH do you use anything in the tank in lieu of Rid X such as yeast or anything? I am sure after being married so long you have had some of the poop knowledge rub off so to speak. :hysterical:


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## rambler (Jan 20, 2004)

akmyilee said:


> I am not trying to hijack this tread - it is very timely for me - we have a septic tank and toilet that barely flushes and the other doesn't do much better and I was wondering if it was the septic tank - it might just be the toilets or the water pressure? I was going to buy some ridX this weekend - guess that theory is debunked - huh? - I don't know what else to do but there are 5 people that need to do their business in those toilets and I am the one that is always plunging and plunging and plung......well you get the idea.


You have something full that is slowing your waste disposal lines down:

Your toilet(s) have something in the trap - pen, toy, etc.

Your waste pipes are plugging up with gunk, tree roots, rusted through underground.

Your spetic tank is full of solids or grease & ruining your leach lines.

A baffle or Tee in your septic has broken off & is affecting how the septic works - again wrecking your leach lines.

A Tee or pipe in your leach field has crushed or borken & slowing down the flow from the tank to the field.

Your spetic tank/leach field is overwhelmed with either ground water (too much rain or watering or snowmelt etc.) or more people/ waste water than it was designed for, and is just plain flooded.

In short, there is no magic powder that will fix your problem. You (or a proffesional) needs to figure out which of these is causing your problem, and need to fix the problem.

First course of action typically is to pump the tank; that will prove if your tank is working well, waterlogged, broken, etc. This is fairly cheap & eliminates or proves many of the possible causes, and gives you a baseline of where to start.

The rest is then just eliminating possiblities, troubleshooting.

If you hope some magic dust will help you, I'm sorry - it ain't going to help.

There is no magic powder, and Ridex or any other powder does nothing at all for the septic; only parts you from your money. Yeast is the opposite of what actually happens in your septic; so it is only an extra powder that your septic needs to digest - it does no help at all either.

We keep hoping we can get by easy, so we keep paying hucksters for their magic powders.

There are none.

--->Paul


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## akmyilee (Apr 25, 2005)

thanks for the ideas Paul - I am under no delusion that my problems will be solved easily - I might try to be in denial for a while but that is for another thread I think  Anyway - I am going to find out when the last time it was pumped -my in-laws used to live here and they should know- It could very well be an over fill with water thing, my garden beds are near that area and could be getting some of the run off when I water - This house has also had only two older people living in for the last 15 years or so and now there is a family of 6 - with several ornery children.  Thanks again for the information


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## fetch33 (Jan 15, 2010)

I am not good with any kind of maintenance...our septic tank has only been pumped twice in 17 years. The septic man said never to put Ridx down the toilet. He also said our tank was 'healthy'... LOL.


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## uncleotis (Mar 14, 2005)

The other day we were going to get more RidX, we looked at the price and my husband said "---- I wonder if this stuff really works or if we need anything at all?" That's when I thought of this group and all the wonderful help everyone receives...I put the box back on the shelf and decided to ask here first before buying more, am I glad I did to. Thank you all.

Akmyilee I hope you get your problem figured out. We only have one toilet, it used to flush fine up until around Christmas time. We then had to flush at least twice or more to get 'it' all to go down. Finally we just used a bucket filled with water to basically flush with. We checked everything to make sure nothing was plugged. One time we happened to be in Menards looking at toilets, we got to talking to one of the sales people from that area. He was saying if your toilet is an older one and if you have hard water (which we do) it can build up inside the toilet where you can't see it. The toilet paper catches on this build up and slows the flow. My husband was skeptical but it made sense to me the more I thought about it and the way the toilet actually did flush. We installed a new toilet...no more flushing twice nor do we have to have a bucket sitting beside the stool now either. Not saying this is your problem nor answer, just what we found out.


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## copperkid3 (Mar 18, 2005)

rambler said:


> There is no magic powder, and Ridex or any other powder does nothing at all for the septic; only parts you from your money. Yeast is the opposite of what actually happens in your septic; so it is only an extra powder that your septic needs to digest - it does no help at all either.
> 
> We keep hoping we can get by easy, so we keep paying hucksters for their magic powders.
> 
> There are none.--->Paul


**************************************
already said it so well and besides, what usually happens to the 'messenger'??? 

But really people......you have this wonderful thing called the worldwideweb which 
is a 'source' to a mountain of information; should you choose to use it. Instead, 
most of you go to those who are "in the business" of selling you something that puts 
money in their pockets......check it out and discover the FACTS first!!!
A septic 
system works on the basis of anaerobic bacteria which has *NOTHING WHATSOEVER *to do with yeast!!!! 

*YEASTS ARE NOT BACTERIA!!!* It doesn't get much plainer than that. 
But for those who don't believe it......carry on......
Farmerwilly2 has made you an offer that can't be beat......
certainly a bargain over what 'the other guy' is offering. What a deal. 
However, if you 'think' there might possibly be another answer......
I'd advise you to check out the following hyperlinks which are short 
and sweet and even have diagrams which are self-explanatory. 
They will tell you the _*'REAL' *_story of how your septic system work. 

*http://www.keidel.com/resource/sewage/septic-know.htm*

*http://www.keidel.com/resource/sewage/septic-what.htm*


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## fetch33 (Jan 15, 2010)

Just another thought, years ago, I had a guy calling me to buy his septic system product... similar to RidX. I read the label of all the different kinds of bacteria in it... one of them was pseudomonas, which can cause nasty infections in people!


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## watcher (Sep 4, 2006)

uncleotis said:


> The other day we were going to get more RidX, we looked at the price and my husband said "---- I wonder if this stuff really works or if we need anything at all?" That's when I thought of this group and all the wonderful help everyone receives...I put the box back on the shelf and decided to ask here first before buying more, am I glad I did to. Thank you all.
> 
> Akmyilee I hope you get your problem figured out. We only have one toilet, it used to flush fine up until around Christmas time. We then had to flush at least twice or more to get 'it' all to go down. Finally we just used a bucket filled with water to basically flush with. We checked everything to make sure nothing was plugged. One time we happened to be in Menards looking at toilets, we got to talking to one of the sales people from that area. He was saying if your toilet is an older one and if you have hard water (which we do) it can build up inside the toilet where you can't see it. The toilet paper catches on this build up and slows the flow. My husband was skeptical but it made sense to me the more I thought about it and the way the toilet actually did flush. We installed a new toilet...no more flushing twice nor do we have to have a bucket sitting beside the stool now either. Not saying this is your problem nor answer, just what we found out.



Too late now but it'd been cheaper to buy some mercuric (hydrochloric, HCL) acid and 'burn' the build up away than buy a new toilet. "_The Works_" toilet bowl cleaner will do the same thing (its HCL as well) but it is more expensive.

Pour it in and let it set over night, then add baking powder (keep adding until it stops 'fizzing') to neutralize any acid left and flush.


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## uncleotis (Mar 14, 2005)

Thanks Copperkid, fetch and watcher for the links and info.

watcher it is to late now that we've got the new toilet but that is good to know about 'the Works' and mercuric acid.

Again thank you all.


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## swollen tongue (Mar 9, 2006)

Wind in Her Hair said:


> we don't use any additives - but we do believe in good septic maintenance - regular pumping BEFORE trouble arises :teehee: :hysterical:
> 
> and we do practice "septic friendliness" by not flushing cigarette butts or feminine products, and by reducing the amount of sand, hair, lint, and grease from entering the septic system from rinse water or flushing, etc.
> 
> ...


this is the basic truth to septic system maintenance. I pump mine every four years or it will get sluggish and full............it is five years old, 1250 gallon tank, but only half of it is used for the actual solids........two of us.......don't get caught with your pants down! pump man said it is in good shape but should be pumped every four years average.....this is a cold climate so decompositon is slower I guess..........


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## akmyilee (Apr 25, 2005)

update on our crappy situation - I have figured out where the septic tank is and the grass is dead in a perfect square over it - and I put a flower bed over part of it - eek! I have yet to talk to my FIL about it - no wonder he was making funny faces about all the raised beds that I was plopping in the middle of the back yard. WE have figured out the older of our two toilets is leaking - we hear it kick on and refill at weird times - so annoying and the water pressure in the sink in the OTHER bathroom is now all but gone. Anyone know a good (read inexpensive) plumber in SC?


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## rambler (Jan 20, 2004)

I was wondering if that would turn out to be your problem. I had a leaky toilet too last summer, kinda ignored it for a while. I knew better, but let it go....

I'm stil trying to get on top of allt he problems that caused me. Iron buildup in the toilet overflow; plugged - probably rusted through - sewer line under the basement floor; slow toliet.

I knew better, no noe to blame but myself, and some of the problems woulda showed up anyhow, but the leaky toilet made it badder quicker.

--->Paul


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## Michelle McKenzie (Apr 24, 2020)

I really hope someone can help me. I live in an apartment, and both of my toilets are stopped up right now, it doesn't seem to matter how much I plunged them, I get lucky sometimes and one with get unplugged. I was going to buy 2 boxes of Rid-x, but I can't afford it, I'm on a very limited income. So, I got some baking soda and vinegar and I'm going to put that in both toilets and I'm hoping and praying that it will work. I'm open to any other suggestions, I'm at my wits end!!!


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Call the manager. You should not be dealing with that. 

Rid X is not a solution for that issue.


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

If you live in an apartment, it could be a septic tank problem if the apartments use small septic tanks as a duplex apatment I once rented did or it could be clogged drains in need of snaking the crud out. Regardless, if a rented apartment, plumbing maintenance is the landlord's responsibility. Contact the building maintenance man.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

Michelle McKenzie said:


> I really hope someone can help me. I live in an apartment, and both of my toilets are stopped up right now, it doesn't seem to matter how much I plunged them, I get lucky sometimes and one with get unplugged. I was going to buy 2 boxes of Rid-x, but I can't afford it, I'm on a very limited income. So, I got some baking soda and vinegar and I'm going to put that in both toilets and I'm hoping and praying that it will work. I'm open to any other suggestions, I'm at my wits end!!!


My suggestion would be to buy a cheap toilet auger and use it. Likely something is caught in the S-trap of the toilet. The auger will remove it pronto.

You can get this one at Home Depot.
View attachment 86426


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

You know, if you break something or cause the problem to become worse, you will be financially responsible. 

If you don’t know plumbing, don’t mess with it. Call the proper people.


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## Chris in Mich (May 13, 2002)

Rid-X only good at destroying drainfields. Call the super.


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## Colorado Hillgirl (Apr 26, 2020)

fetch33 said:


> Just another thought, years ago, I had a guy calling me to buy his septic system product... similar to RidX. I read the label of all the different kinds of bacteria in it... one of them was pseudomonas, which can cause nasty infections in people!


Would this be a factor if you are open hole Manhole lids... Is it airborne?


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