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Blog
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
drain care
Which State Chemical Biological Is Best For Your Lift Station?
It can be easy to tell that your lift station has a problem with fats, oils and greases (“FOGs”). Symptoms include foul odors, drain flies, needing to be pumped out frequently, or worse yet, a lift station overflow. However, finding the solution can be confusing and the vast number of products on the market can be overwhelming.
Many companies treat lift stations and most offer multiple solutions. For example, State Chemical has 10 products that can be used to treat a lift station and Ecological Laboratories Inc.’s (“EcoLab”) Microbe-Lift® Line alone has 12 different products.
This article focuses on biological products offered at State Chemical, a 112-year-old company with expertise in caring for lift stations. Biological products are made up of bacteria and/or enzymes that digest the FOGs that clog lift stations. State Chemical recognizes that many companies offer biological lift station products - this article focuses on what State Chemical can provide to you.
This article will clarify which of State Chemical’s options are right for you. It walks through four popular wastewater maintainers – Ecolution® Drain Line Maintainer, Line Bac’R, PrimeZyme, and Sta-Zyme Plus.
Biological Wastewater Maintainers Digest FOGs in Internal Lift Stations
These solutions are for internal lift stations, which are found in large buildings such as apartments, schools, and offices. The solutions for municipal lift stations are distinct from those listed here.
Two types of products can be used in an internal lift station: floating degreasers and biologicals. Floating degreasers are generally used to improve the smell of a lift station and prevent FOGs from sticking to the side of a lift station. In contrast, biologicals are generally used to break down FOG clogs that have already formed.
Biological wastewater maintainers work by breaking down and then digesting FOGs. In other words, the bacteria eat the FOGs that cause a lift station to clog. A biological product takes 30-90 days to work, but State Chemical can speed this up by adding BioMate or aeration to a lift station. After 30-90 days, instead of seeing a mass of FOGs, you will see water with small pieces of FOGs floating within it.
Ecolution® Drain Line Maintainer is Environmentally Friendly and Incredibly Effective
Ecolution® Drain Line Maintainer is an environmentally friendly wastewater maintainer made up of different strains of bacillus bacteria. It has met strict environmental, health and safety criteria set by EcoLogo®, a third-party environmental certification program. The bacteria in Ecolution® Drain Line Maintainer are incredibly effective at breaking down FOGs.
Ecolution® Drain Line Maintainer is a liquid product that can be set on an automatic pump. The pump drips a small amount of product into the lift station at regular intervals. State Chemical will set up the pump and regularly replace the bucket containing Ecolution® Drain Line Maintainer. State Chemical will do all the work – all you have to do is sit back and watch the FOGs disappear.
Ecolution® Drain Line Maintainer is the most effective product on this list for breaking down FOGs that have clogged a lift station. However, that effectiveness comes at a premium price – Ecolution® Drain Line Maintainer is also the most expensive product on this list.
Line Bac’R Breaks Down FOGs and Improves the Smell of a Lift Station
Similar to Ecolution® Drain Line Maintainer, Line Bac’R is made up of bacillus bacteria. Also, like Ecolution® Drain Line Maintainer, Line Bac’R is a liquid solution that can be set on an automatic pump. The main advantage of Line Bac’R is that it contains odor-neutralizing technology that attaches to odor molecules, thus eliminating those molecules. Line Bac’R has a Morning Fresh™ scent - it smells clean and refreshing, like newly washed clothes. If you add Line Bac’R to your lift station, you will notice within a few hours with Line Bac’R’s Morning Fresh scent.
Line Bac’R is more budget-friendly than Ecolution® Drain Line Maintainer, but is also less effective. Therefore, we do not recommend Line Bac’R if you have a severe FOG problem.
PrimeZyme is a Budget-Friendly Option, But it Contains Emulsifiers
PrimeZyme is a liquid solution that contains both bacteria and enzymes. The enzymes speed up the biological process by breaking down FOGs faster than bacteria alone. Like Ecolution® Drain Line Maintainer and Line Bac’R, PrimeZyme can be set on an automatic feed pump. All three offer a set-it-and-forget-it solution!
However, unlike Ecolution® Drain Line Maintainer and Line Bac’R, PrimeZyme contains emulsifiers. Emulsifiers change solid FOGs into liquids that can swiftly move out of the lift station. However, some localities limit the use of emulsifiers.
Some governments limit emulsifier use because emulsifiers liquify FOGs so they can slide out of a lift station. However, this liquification is only temporary - the FOGs can re-solidify further down the drainage system. When these FOGs re-solidify, they can cause a blockage in the city sewer system. To stop these blockages from happening, some governments do not allow residents to use emulsifiers. To determine if your local government allows emulsifiers, contact your city’s Department of Public Utilities.
Additionally, PrimeZyme is the most budget-friendly option on this list. We recommend PrimeZyme if your city allows emulsifiers and you are cost sensitive.
Sta-Zyme Plus is Great for Preventative Maintenance
Sta-Zyme Plus is the right solution if you recently installed a lift station. It is a powder formula made up of bacteria and enzymes that effectively prevent FOGs from forming in a lift station. The major drawback of Sta-Zyme Plus is that it cannot be put onto an automatic pump. The other products on this list are liquids that can be put on a pump, which automatically feeds the product into a lift station. In contrast, to use Sta-Zyme Plus, you must dump the powder into the lift station for the first 30 days after the lift station is up and running.
Sta-Zyme is very effective at preventative maintenance. It has 20 times the bacterial strength of most wastewater maintainers. It contains over five billion bacteria per gram.
The Bottom Line on State Chemical’s Wastewater Maintainers for Internal Lift Stations
Buying a wastewater maintainer can be a confusing and overwhelming process. It can be easy to tell that your lift station has a FOG problem. Problematic symptoms include foul smells, drain flies, needing to be pumped out frequently, or, worst-case scenario, an overflow. The remedy, however, is less clear.
This article explained which State biological products best treat internal lift stations. If you are interested in Ecolution® Drain Line Maintainer, Line Bac’R, PrimeZyme, or Sta-Zyme Plus, contact State Chemical and a local representative will reach out.
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