Time to Pump Your Septic?
Pick your tank size and household size to see the interval from our pumping table.
Interval comes from BBB Septic’s pumping table.
| Tank size | 1 person | 2 people | 3 people | 4 people | 5 people | 6 people |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 gallons or less | 5.8 years | 2.6 years | 1.5 years | 1 year | 8 months | 4 months |
| 1000 gallons | 11 years | 5.2 years | 3.3 years | 2.3 years | 1.7 years | 1.3 years |
| 1500 gallons | 18.9 years | 9.1 years | 5.9 years | 4.2 years | 3.3 years | 2.6 years |
| 2000 gallons | 25.4 years | 14 years | 9.1 years | 6.7 years | 5.2 years | 4.2 years |
Reading the chart
The table and the calculator use the same figures. A 1,000-gallon tank with three people is 3.3 years. With two people it is 5.2 years. With four people it is 2.3 years. A tank of 500 gallons or less with one person is 5.8 years, and with six people it is 4 months. Those are the table values, not a quote for your house.
The general guidance is to pump every three to five years, the same as the Environmental Protection Agency 3 to 5 year range. The table is the schedule for your household. A small tank or a full house needs pumping sooner, and a large tank with one or two people can go longer. Household size, diet, certain medical conditions, a garbage disposal used like a trash can, and what gets flushed all change the real interval. If you cannot remember the last pump-out, or the seller cannot tell you, it is time to clean the tank.
When a tank is working, solids stay in the tank and have to be pumped. If solids wash into the drain field, there is a problem and the house may be using too much water. An effluent filter is there to stop solids from leaving the tank. How fast that filter fills is a clue. Our maintenance visits measure the solids in the tank and the distribution box, so you know where things stand.
Pick a tank size and a household size in the calculator, or read the same figures in the table. If your tank size isn't listed, call and we'll help you use the closest row as a starting point. A full house fills a tank fast: a 1,000-gallon tank with six people is 1.3 years.
Questions
About 3.3 years. With two people it's 5.2 years, and with four it's 2.3 years.
Not exactly. Three to five years, the EPA range, is the general guidance. The table is the schedule for your tank size and household size. If you can't remember the last pump-out, schedule one.
Schedule one. If the seller can't tell you either, it's time to clean the tank.
Get on our septic pumping schedule
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