Septic Inspection in Northwest Arkansas

Which inspection do you need?

There are two kinds. A peace-of-mind inspection comes with a pump-out. A formal inspection is its own visit and ends with a pass or fail report. That's the one most often used when a house is being sold.

Both look at the same visible parts of the system: the tank, the baffles, and signs of trouble in the lateral field.

How a septic inspection works

1. Call the office, Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm. Tell us whether you're buying, selling, or just checking, so we book the right inspection.
2. Give us the address and, if you know it, when the tank was last pumped.
3. Know where the lids are? Tell us. Lids you can get to make the visit easier. Locating and digging are priced separately. Because it is hard to know how long they will take, we quote them as time and materials and set the total once the work is done.
4. We check the tank, the baffles, and the lateral field for signs of trouble. All the visible parts of the system get a look.
5. A formal inspection ends with a pass or fail report. A peace-of-mind inspection is part of the pump-out, which typically also covers the disposal fee and one back-flush.
6. If we find a problem, we'll tell you the next step: a pump-out, a repair, or drain field work. We don't pump metal tanks, so a metal tank means a replacement.

Buying a house? Ask the seller

• When was the tank last pumped?
• Have there been any repairs or backups?
• If there's a diversion valve, how often is it turned?
• Are there permits or records for the system?
• How many bedrooms does the house have? Systems are designed to the bedroom count.

Other times to call

Nobody can find the last pump receipt. The house has slow drains, odors, wet spots, an alarm, or grass that's greener over the lines than everywhere else. Those signs can also point to a repair or drain field work, and the inspection tells you which.

Selling? Getting it inspected first means fewer surprises when the buyer starts asking questions.