Tips For Locating A Septic Tank Prior To A Pumping
Have you recently moved into a home that has a septic tank, and now you need to bring out a professional to pump it? If so, know that a septic tank pumping company typically charges to locate and dig out the opening to the septic tank. Thankfully, this is a task that you can do yourself if you know the following tips.
Get A Soil Probe
One tool that will be very useful to have is a soil probe. It looks like a very long metal pipe with a handle attached to the top, and the purpose is to be able to push it into the soil to see what is under the ground. It's fairly inexpensive, and most home improvement stores have them in stock so you can purchase one right away.
Find the Sewer Exit Point
All of the sewage in your home will go through a single pipe that exits your home and goes to the septic tank. You'll want to take a moment and locate this pipe inside your home, which will help you locate the pipe outside of your home. The pipe typically goes in a straight line right to the septic tank, so you will use this exit point to point you in the general direction of where the septic tank may be.
Locate The Septic Tank
Finding the septic tank is easy to do with the soil probe. Once you've followed the sewer line out of the home and located where the septic tank could be located, you want to start checking the lawn with the soil probe. It will take some time, but you want to trace the outline of the septic tank by marking it above ground. Septic tanks are typically square or rectangular in shape, so once you hit the tank with the probe it is just a matter of finding the corners by expanding outward in each direction.
Dig Up The Opening
Now that you have an outline of the tank, you will be able to easily find where the opening is located. That's because the opening will be near the side of the tank that connects to the sewer pipe, which is the side that faces your home. The opening should be in the center of that side of the septic tank. Before you start digging, carefully remove the top layer of grass with a shovel so that you can place it back on top of the hole when you are done.
For more information on septic pumping services, contact a professional near you.