FAQs
1. How often should I clean my septic tank?
Cleaning your septic tank is a maintenance service more than a remedy. Not servicing your septic tank regularly can result in major blockages or damages to your drains or disposal fields, which can become a major and costly issue to repair
How often you clean your septic tank is very dependent on the number of occupants in the dwelling, the size of the actual septic tank and what goes into the system, etc. We recommend cleaning your tanks every 2-5 years, and once we have serviced your tank we will be able to give you a more accurate recommendation.
2. How do I know when my septic tank is full?
This is what we try to prevent. When you tank is full it will simply overflow or you will have major blockages which can be very costly to remedy and a health hazard.
A sure sign that your tank is getting full is that you will notice strong smells or odours from your tank and your toilets/drains maybe slow at flowing away. You may also hear gurgling sounds when flushing toilets etc.
3. How long will it take for you to clean my septic tank?
This is a strong variable, but depending on the access to the site and septic tank and how regularly the septic tank has been emptied etc. we allow anything from 30 – 60 minutes to service a straight forward septic tank.
4. How close do you need to park your truck to the septic tank?
The closer we can get the better from our point of view. We carry up to 45 – 50 meters of pipe at all times on our truck.
If the distance is greater than this we will need to know so we can bring extra pipe to reach the septic tank.
5. My drains are gurgling/overflowing, why is this?
There is a number of reasons for this;
- Your tank is simply just full
- Your drains maybe blocked. This could be due to a build-up of fat/scum in the pipes or unsuitable items been disposed of in your drains, e.g. kids toys, excessive toilet paper, wipes, rags, excessive amounts of fats and oils etc.
- Your disposal field may not be working effectively. This means that the liquid may not be able to drain out from the tank, which could be due to the field simply been blocked or at a stage of needing to be replaced or could be due to significant amounts of wet weather, which means the ground has lost its effect drainage capacity.
- Your septic tank may have a filter which could be blocked and may need to be cleaned. See question below
6. How do I know if my tank has a filter and if so how do I clean it?
Generally if your tank has a filter you should have a second mushroom/cap that is visible, which can be removed to access the filter.
The filter should be cleaned every 6-12 months. To do this simply remove the cap/lid and pull up the filter handle and simply just hose off the filter in the garden or somewhere you desire.
7. We have a tidy and well maintained property, will you leave a tidy job?
Yes, we always do our best to leave the site as tidy as possible, but it does require us bringing a truck onto your property ( see question 9.) and generally it involves digging up your lawn or garden to access the manhole lid.
8. What areas do you service?
We cover the main Waipa and Waikato Districts, including Matamata, Morrisville Gordonton, Huntly, Whatawhata, and Pirongia and surrounding areas.
9. What access do you need for your truck?
We both have two axle and three axle trucks which are reasonably manoeuvrable, but they’re still a truck.
We need a minimum of 3.5M high – 3.5M wide and they are 6.5 -8M long.
Spare mirrors and parts and the paint job for the trucks are expensive and we will trim trees if we need to, to gain access.
10. Do we need to be at home/onsite when you do the job?
We employ a trustworthy team and providing that the mushroom is visible and we can access the property you do not need to be at home.
We are cautious about pets and prefer dogs to be locked away if we visiting your property when you’re not onsite.
1. How much water do your trucks carry?
All our trucks carry between 13,000 and 14,000 Litres in one load, we do also have the option of truck and trailer delivery if access to the property is adequate, delivering up to 23,000 Litres in one trip.
2. Is the water safe to drink?
Yes, our water is all taken from council fill points and is safe to drink.
3. How Long does it take to clean a water tank?
Cleaning out a water tank can take between 60 to 90 minutes dependant on the condition we find it in, we recommend you allow 90 minutes. It is also good to allow an additional 60 minutes for a water delivery following that before you can begin to use the water tank again.
4. Do you require the tank to be empty for cleaning?
Yes we do, for us to vacuum and waterblast the tank we need the tank to be empty. We have two options regarding refilling the tank, we can either store and refilter up to 15,000 Litres of the existing water or deliver a new load.
5. What is the standard cost for a delivery?
We charge per truck load, 13,000 – 14,000 litres and price is dependant on your location. For bulk water deliveries, we recommend getting them in the same day as this saves on travel and cost.
6. What access do you require onsite?
We need a minimum of 3.5 M High – 3.5 M Wide to access your property to avoid damage to our trucks can be expensive to repair.
We do ask that access to the water tank is clear so please be mindful and ensuring cars, fences or other obstacles are moved so we can do our job.