Septic Services
Locating
Sweet Pea prides itself in staying abreadst of all of the new technologies available to our industry, so that we can serve you better.
If you do not know where your septic tank is, and have a map without good measurements, we can help you find your tank with our state of the art locating equipment.
Our locators will indicate distance and depth and can give us an accurate location of where the septic tank and/or lines are on the property.
Cleaning & Inspections
At Sweet Pea, we don't just pump your tank down, we pump it all the way down. When available and in the spring/summer/fall seasons, we prefer to use a garden hose to wash the tank down. This is the best way to get a good visual inspection as to the condition of the tank.
If anybody tries to tell you that you need to "leave some in the bottom", don't believe them. The whole idea behind getting your tank cleaned out is to get the sludge off the bottom. The tank should be cleaned thoroughly.
Of course, if we are pumping through an 8" riser (our nemesis), then we're pretty much working in the dark... no we are working in the dark. This is a much harder tank to access and be able to determine if the baffles are in place, if there are roots or other issues.
How Often Should I Pump My Tank?
We use the EPA's Guide to Septic Tank Maintenance as our Yardstick. However, there are always exceptions....
If you own a garbage disposal and use it while on a septic system, you should cut the recommended time in 1/2.
If you use excessive amounts of bleach, harsh cleaning products (the kind with skull and crossbones on the label) you should cut the time in 1/2.
The idea behind the time frames is that the more people in the house who are using the system, the more frequently you need to have the solids removed from the system.
To use this chart, first determine your tanks size. Once determined, go across the chart to locate the column that corresponds to the number of people in the house using the system. This is the frequency in years, that you should have your tank cleaned and inspected.
Number of Users on The System
Tank Size | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 500 | 5.8 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| 750 | 9.1 | 4.2 | 2.6 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 1.0 |
| 900 | 11.0 | 5.2 | 3.3 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 1.3 |
| 1000 | 12.4 | 5.9 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 2.0 | 1.5 |
| 1250 | 15.6 | 7.5 | 4.8 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 2.0 |
| 1500 | 18.9 | 9.1 | 5.9 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 2.6 |
| 2000 | 25.4 | 12.4 | 8.0 | 5.9 | 4.5 | 3.7 |
| 2500 | 31.9 | 15.6 | 10.6 | 7.5 | 5.9 | 4.8 |