Septic Tank Pumping and Septic Repair Questions

The U.S. EPA says household septic tanks are typically pumped every three to five years. In our service area, the Mercer County Health Department's homeowner sheet says at least every three years. Household size and tank size both change the schedule. So do the water and the solids that go down the drains, and a garbage disposal adds solids.

Inside the tank, sludge settles on the bottom and grease floats on top as scum. The EPA says a tank is due for pumping when those layers build up close to the outlet. You cannot see that from the yard, so the date of the last pumping is the easier guide. Slow drains or a backup can mean a full tank, or a problem in a septic line.

First we find the tank and get down to the lid, even when it is buried. Then the truck pumps the tank out. We set the lid back and fill in any hole we dug. Tell us on the call if you do not know where the tank is.

We price each job on its own. Tank size matters, and so does how close the truck can get to the tank. A buried lid adds digging, and the time since the last pumping counts too. Call or text (304) 436-3409, and we put the quote in writing.

Yes. Emergency septic service is for sewage backing up into the house or standing in the yard. Call (304) 436-3409, and we tell you when the truck can be there. Until then, stop running water and keep people and pets away from the sewage.

Pump the tank on a schedule, and keep a record of each pumping. The EPA says to flush only human waste and toilet paper. The Mercer County Health Department warns against cooking grease and a garbage disposal, and says additives usually do not work. Keep cars and trucks off the system, and point roof drains away from it.

Not right before the home loan evaluation that many lenders want. A county health department sanitarian does that check, and the state says not to pump just before it. In Wyoming and Mingo Counties, the tank must not have been pumped in the last 30 days. After the system passes, those counties want it pumped if it has gone three years without one.

A septic installer does, and that is a separate trade from pumping. West Virginia certifies those installers, and the county health department issues the permit for the work. Our side of the job is the tank and the septic lines in and out of it.

Roderfield sits at the center of our service area, and most of our work is in Wyoming County. We cover McDowell, Wyoming, Mingo, Mercer and Logan Counties, up to about an hour and a half out. Now and then we take jobs across the line in Tazewell and Buchanan Counties, Virginia. The towns in our service area include Welch, Pineville, Logan and Williamson.