Get Your Septic Tank Pumped Regularly
Posted on: 7 June 2021
If you have just moved into a house with a septic system, then you are going to have some responsibilities that you wouldn't have if you were living in a house with a sewer system. A septic tank is a finite system, so when it gets full, there is nowhere for the new solids and wastewater that runs down your drains to go. That can mean that it ends up in your yard, in your bathtub, or in your sinks. The way to handle the problem is to have your tank pumped out on a regular basis. Getting your tank pumped is actually pretty easy.
Frequency
Generally, you should have your tank pumped every 3-5 years. If you have a large family or your tank gets a lot of use out of it, you might want to have it pumped at shorter intervals. You can talk to a company that handles septic tank cleaning so that you can get their professional opinion as to how often you should get your tank pumped out. If you have just moved into a new-to-you house, then you might want to have the tank pumped out just so that you know that the tank is nice and empty, ready for your family to use it.
Pumping
Actually getting your septic tank pumped out is pretty quick — at least once the service tech can get into your tank. The first part of getting your tank pumped out is to locate the tank so that the tech can open the lid and put the hose into the tank to suck up all the sludge in the bottom of the tank. Ideally, you know where your tank is located and exactly where the lid is, but circumstances aren't always ideal. You may have a pretty good idea as to where it is, and that can be a good place for the tech to start. Depending on where you live, the lid to your tank may be underground, which means that the tech will have to dig for it.
Once they get into the tank, the tech will stick the hose into the tank and vacuum everything into the tanker truck they brought with them. An average-sized septic tank will take 30-45 minutes to get emptied out. The tech may also ask you to flush a toilet before they leave so that they can check to make sure that everything is moving into the tank the way it should.
If you have a septic tank, you need to make sure that you are taking care of it so that you don't end up with a huge mess in the middle of your yard.
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