Can You Use the Bathroom While Your Septic Tank Is Being Pumped?

More than 21 million homes are connected to a septic system in the United States. However, we’ve found that there are many homeowners who don’t know much about their septic system, and they have a lot of questions to ask about septic systems.

Many of the questions are related to pumping the tank. One of the most common questions we get is whether the homeowner can use the bathroom when we’re pumping and inspecting their system.

The answer is no. In addition to not flushing toilets or using the bathroom, you can’t even turn your water on while we’re servicing your system. We know that’s an inconvenience, but we can’t accomplish the task if there’s any water running into the tank.

How frequently should a tank be pumped?

One of the best questions to ask about septic systems is how often you should hire a professional for pumping. The time frame for pumping depends on the size of your tank and your household size. The larger your tank, the less frequently you have to pump, but if you have a big family, you may need to pump more frequently.

Tanks should be pumped when they’re between 30 and 50 percent full. Waiting longer than that can result in some nasty backups. It generally takes three to five years for your tank to get that full, but, again, that varies from home to home.

With the holiday season coming up, we recommend having your tank pumped and inspected now. The last thing you want is septic problems when you have guests over for holiday festivities.

What’s involved in septic system pumping?

Another common septic question is about what goes into the process. While the whole thing doesn’t take very long, there are quite a few steps involved. Here’s what you can inspect when you call a septic contractor:

• Locating the tank: The first step is finding the tank and opening the lid. You can do this yourself, but your contractor will gladly handle it for you.
• Pumping: Next we use a vacuum hose attached to our truck to suck up all liquids and solids from the tank. The high-powered vacuum works quickly, so you won’t be stuck without a bathroom for too long.
• Additional cleaning: We’ll then use a tool called a septic spoon to loosen the remaining sludge from the tank walls. Next we’ll rinse the tank down with clean water to ensure it’s 100 percent clean.
• Inspection: The final step is a visual inspection. Our technician will look inside the tank for any cracks, holes or other visible damage. If anything’s amiss, we’ll need to come back out and make the necessary repairs.

Hire our team today

As we touched on above, now’s a great time to schedule septic pumping and an inspection. By preparing your tank now, you can rest easy knowing you’ll be free of plumbing problems for the foreseeable future. Call Cleveland Septic today to get your free estimate or to ask any other septic questions.

Categorised in: Septic Pumping