We’ve been living in a house with a septic system for several years now, but we still don’t fully understand how to properly determine the interval between pumpings. We have a family of four, our water consumption is normal, and we haven’t had any major problems with the system yet. The previous owners said they had the tank pumped several years ago, but I don’t know the exact date.
Recommendations vary widely online—some say every three years, others wait five years or even longer if there are no problems.
How important is a fixed schedule? Should we base it on the number of people living in the house and the tank’s capacity, or is it better to schedule regular inspections and then base the pumping interval on the sediment level?