Septic Systems Explained by an Inspector
Every October, I run the same fall septic prep checklist on my own property that I’ve been refining for 18 years. I’ve seen what happens when homeowners skip it. Last fall, I got a call from a family in rural Georgia — flooded drainfield, sewage backing up through the shower, and a Thanksgiving gathering two … Read more
I got a call on a Saturday afternoon in July — July 4th weekend, to be exact. A homeowner outside of Tuscaloosa had 60 guests showing up the next morning and her toilets had stopped flushing. That septic heavy use weekend turned into a full-blown emergency pump-out that cost her $650 on a holiday Sunday, … Read more
I got a call one January morning from a homeowner outside of Meridian, Mississippi. She had noticed slow drains for a week but figured it would sort itself out. It didn’t. A hard freeze had moved in overnight, and by the time I arrived, the effluent line running from her tank to the drain field … Read more
Every spring, I get a wave of calls from homeowners who ignored their septic system all winter — and now something’s wrong. A soggy drain field. A backed-up toilet. A smell they can’t place. Most of the time, a proper spring septic startup checklist would have caught the problem before it turned into a $4,000 … Read more