How does the pumping of a septic work in relation to a closing. Does it have to be done a certain time frame before closing or is it a percentage of "fullness" or how does the septic portion work? Part of the inspection??? Thanks in advance for your help!

thanks
Bre

Here in CA it's written into the contract that septic is to be pumped & certified prior to COE. I suspect every region has it's own customs/regulations on this.

The septic co comes out pumps & empties it. Not complicated here in the desert b/c we live on sand. They also inspect the leech lines & the tank itself to make sure nothing is leaking & all is up to code. Once it's all done the septic co issues a certificate which goes to the escrow so that contingency can be removed.

Again I imagine each area handles this differently.

In the past I have coordinated septic inspections at the same time as the home inspection. After that is done, and assuming it passes, the sellers are usually compelled to get the tank pumped.

I did have one where they helpfully (!) pumped the septic tank the day before the inspection, so everything was delayed for 10 days while it "filled" back up a bit.

Here in NY the requirements can change everytime you cross a town line! In over a decade in this business I haven't had to have one pumped yet; though in some of the adjoining areas they require an interior tank inspection which obviously requires emptying the tank. Most often I see a dye test requirement to show that the effluent does not come to the surface in the yard or enter a waterway. When the system is operating right it is always essentially full, the outlet line to the leach field is only a few inches lower than the inlet line from the building permiting flow by gravity. Interior baffles assure retention in the tank long enough for microbe action to break the solids down to a liquid before discharging them in the leach field. I know of many cases where the tank has never been pumped as a maintenance service, depends a lot on what people put down their drain!

In Illinois it is the County Health Department that does the inspections. If the system passes there is no requirement that it be pumped. That would be something you would include in the offer if it was something you are concerned about.

Yep,Here we use the dye packs also to test for leaks.

No pumping done here.