Once Clogged Twice Dug: My Septic Tank Adventure
4/16/2025 8:55 am | Share to: 
I was sick last week, so I ended up taking most of the week off of work. By Friday I was turning the corner, which was fortuitous timing as our household had some plumbing issues that necessitated me calling in professionals.
When we bought our house in 2014, we made sure they had the septic tank pumped. And then... we didn't do it after that. I somewhat blame my parents who rented homes for most of my life and though it might have been on septic systems rather than sewer, I was never aware of those tanks being pumped - even though we lived in my childhood home for the entirety of my schooling. So I had internalized a 10-year timeline for getting the septic tank pumped (which is, as it turns out, very wrong.) Katie reminded me during this week that she had brought pumping the septic tank up a few years into being homeowners and I had brushed it off as a scam of companies wanting to do it more frequently. Oops.
You, dear reader, are encouraged to get yours pumped every 3-5 years as a homeowner. A lesson I'm now taking to heart after this.
So, this is why I wasn't terribly surprised when the house suddenly stopped draining. I figured "Oops! Tank's full, time to finally get it pumped."
So that's what I did. I knew where the access point was, and after getting a company which could come out the same day, they asked if they would be digging it out or if I would be. After disclosing it was an extra $150 if they pump it, I said I'd do it - even though I still didn't feel great. I get the shovel out and it doesn't take long, but I get to the lid and stop.
They arrive, the tank thankfully was not as awful as was feared. He pumps it out and off he goes. I stupidly didn't go and check the house. I go inside and immediately hop in the shower, only to discover that the shower is completely stopped and not draining.
Shit.
Well, the tank was just pumped, so maybe the fullness caused an issue in the actual plumbing under the house. So we get our plumbers out there and while I'm waiting for them to arrive, I go ahead and recover the septic tank to avoid any issues with the dogs in our backyard.
Which, as it turned out, was a mistake. The plumber who came out was a nice guy and the first thing he asked after hearing the situation was to see the septic tank.
Jokes on me. So out we go to the yard and I dig it up again.
Once we had access again, the plumber took a look for 5 seconds and apologized, thinking that it hadn't actually been necessary. As he's about to cover it back up, he pauses and changes positions and looks at the intake pipe and he realizes that the septic company hadn't cleared that pipe, and it was now fully blocked.
Thankfully he had a metal rod that he could use to reach in the tank and puncture the blockage, letting the trapped water from my shower and other water uses, begin to pour into the septic tank.
Okay, thank god we got into the septic and he was able to address the actual issue. Well worth digging it up twice.
I was diligent this time and we went into the house and confirmed that toilets, sinks, and showers were all draining. I did have him go ahead and snake out my shower drain as it had been slow draining before these recent issues - but otherwise everything else came back okay.
So, after several hundred dollars, the house plumbing is restored and that day enshrined me in the rarified homeowner pantheon for "those who have dug up their septic tank twice in one day."
