The Pumper's Wife

As I have written several times in this blog, one the best things you can do for your septic system is pump it regularly.  And every time I discuss the subject of septic pumping, my brain always thinks about one of my favorite SNL skits with Hans and Frans....I'm sorry, I'm just that weird.  They wanted to PUMP.....YOU UP!  I want to PUMP...YOU OUT! Anyway... It is recommended that you pump your tank every 3-5 years based on activity levels in your home.  The more people you have living in your home the more solids you produce.  When we come pump the tank even though we take all the water with us, what we are actually after are all the solids that collect over time (your poo, toilet paper and garbage disposal items).  If too much of these build up they can seep out to your lateral field and plug it up. Here’s why…   The diagram above shows what an average septic tank contains on a daily basis.  You will see sewage or wastewater comes in from the house, then liquid, sludge and s

Winter is upon us and if you live in Nebraska you're aware of how the seasons do change!  I grew up in Kansas and thought our winters got plenty cold, but then I moved to the Lincoln area and wow....just a tad bit colder! (I might also note, I think I'm as far north as I ever want to really live -- God bless those who do!  Hardy people you are!  My hats off to you!) But what does this matter and why would I have a blog post about it? Well, if you've read anything I have posted over the last seven or eight years you might have picked up on the fact that the weather actually determines a lot of the work we get to do.  If it is rainy and the soil is wet we can't dig or sometimes pump because the ground is too soft.  If it is cold and the ground is frozen we also can't dig.  We always need the ground to work with us as we dig and do our install work.  So, unless we get an abnormally warm winter, we do not do much for installation work past November. How does that effect

With so many new people living on septic (at least in our area of Lincoln, Nebraska) I get this question a lot -- do I need to do anything to prep my septic tank before winter hits? If you live on an acreage this makes perfect sense to think that along with all the other items you make sure are "winterized" -- why not the septic system? But, on this issue you can relax.  Nothing needs to be done.  The best maintenance you can do for your septic system is just making sure it is pumped every 3-5 years.  As long as you're staying on top of that, all the rest should be good to go! Here is just my top "hit" list of other items to be aware of -- but not necessarily seasonal issues: 1) Keep tank pumped every 3-5 years 2) Know where your laterals are and stay away from them! Nothing heavier than a lawn mower should ever be on top of the djainfield.  Also, do not build on top of this area either 3) Use cheap, lesser play toilet paper -- no adult or baby wet wipes 4) Be m

It's that time of year that our family loves -- cool crisp fall days, deer season, sweatshirts, campfires, Thanksgiving...bring on the pumpkin spice too! But winter is coming... So does that mean we can't pump septic systems?  Well, not really.  In fact, many people like to have their tanks pumped in the fall and winter months because we don't screw up their grass since most of it is dormant at this point.   Whenever we pump tanks -- no matter what time of year it is -- our issues are the same, gaining access.  If the tank is too far from a driveway or road and we have to drive in a field, yard, pasture, etc, we have to be careful of the weather.  In the spring and summer, we have to be careful of rain.  (Well, we had to be careful of rain any year prior to this year...still wondering if rain has just decided to bypass the state for good...)  In the winter months, we have to be careful of snow and ice.  There is also that issue that some tanks have to be dug up to gain acce

What would we do without the luxury item of toilet paper?     None of us truly saw its value until 2020, but what a wonderful item it is, right?     However, as much as we appreciate toilet paper, it can be a stinker (no pun intended…) at causing problems with your septic system.   Here’s why…   Right out of the gate, all toilet papers claim to be septic safe which unfortunately they are not.  As a new homeowner living on septic, this can cause you issues.  How do you know what toilet paper is good when they all claim to be?  Toilet paper that is more expensive, quilted and 3 ply has a tendency to maintain its integrity even after it gets wet.  This becomes a problem in two ways.  One, when it reaches the baffle region of your septic tank and two when it doesn’t make it all the way to the septic tank but stops in the line on its way down.   Let’s deal with problem number one.  All septic tanks have a region known as the baffle.  It is a box-like area around the incoming line of the tan

Happy Thursday Folks!     It’s a cloudy day in Nebraska with a few sprinkles.     Most of the time I don’t like the rain because rain always slows our company down.     When it comes to installation work, we need the ground to work with us and wet soil does NOT do that!     However, currently in Nebraska we are experiencing such a drought that we could probably get a 4-inch rain and still not really notice it!     It is that dry.     So, I will take any rain that wants to come to Nebraska!   Why do I bring this up?   Well, unlike some businesses, ours is impacted A LOT by weather.  Just as I shared above, if it rains, we typically can’t work for 2-3 days.  We need the soil to be dry in order to dig for our installation work.  When it rains, we have to allow time for the soil to dry out, so rain (in a typical year) can give us grief.     Today though, I want to address the winter months.  As many of you know, Nebraska can have some pretty harsh winters.  Once the temperatures start drop