Is it the tank, or is it the line?
From inside the bathroom these look identical: something is backing up and it smells. They need two different people, and paying the wrong one first is the usual way this gets expensive.
We are the second of those two, and we will tell you when you need the first.
Which is it
- Everything low in the house at once Toilet, shower, floor drain, all slow together, worse after rain. That reads like a full tank. A siphoning truck.
- One fixture, or one branch The rest of the house normal. That is a blocked line, and it is ours.
- Smell, but nothing backing up Usually a vent or a dried trap. Also ours, and usually cheap.
Nobody should be climbing into it
This is the part worth reading even if the rest does not apply to you. Somebody will offer to go down and clear it by hand for a small fee. The gas that collects in a septic tank kills people who are in it for a moment, and it has killed several at once in this country: four men died in one tank in Quezon City in a single incident.
The Philippine Occupational Safety and Health Standards treat an underground tank as a confined space under Rule 1121. Approved breathing apparatus for whoever goes in, and a watcher outside who is familiar with the job, in contact at regular intervals, and equally provided with breathing apparatus.
A very low price for that job is a price for doing it without any of that. It is the one piece of plumbing advice on this site that is about somebody's life rather than your money.
What fills a tank faster than it should
A tank takes what the house sends it. What shortens the gap between emptyings is what should never have gone in: cooking oil, nappies, wipes sold as flushable, and rainwater from a downspout plumbed into the wrong line.
That last one is commoner than people expect and it is the one worth finding, because a tank taking a roof's worth of rain every storm is being emptied on a schedule set by the weather rather than by the household.
What we do on a septic call
Work out where the blockage is and what put it there. Which fixtures are affected and in what order, whether it is worse after rain, and opening the line where it makes sense rather than where it is easiest to reach.
What we do not do
We do not empty tanks. That is a vacuum truck and a different trade, and we have no interest in pretending otherwise to win the call. If what you need is siphoning, you need a siphoning company, and knowing that before you ring anybody saves you a visit.
Where this comes from: Occupational Safety and Health Standards, Rule 1121, on underground tanks and confined spaces. Checked 25 September 2026.
Questions about septic tanks
- Do you empty septic tanks?
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No. Emptying a tank is a siphoning company with a vacuum truck, and that is a different trade from ours. What we do is work out whether the tank is actually the problem, and put right the pipes, drains and vents that usually turn out to be.
- How do I know if the tank is full or the line is blocked?
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The pattern tells you. A full tank backs up everything low in the house at once and gets worse after heavy rain. A blocked line backs up one fixture, or one branch, and the rest of the house is fine. If only the downstairs toilet is slow and the kitchen sink is normal, it is not the tank.
- The smell is terrible but nothing is backing up.
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That is usually a vent or a dried trap rather than the tank. Every trap in the house holds a plug of water that keeps the smell out, and a floor drain nobody uses evaporates and stops sealing. Pour a bucket of water down every unused drain and see whether it goes in a day.
- Somebody offered to go down and clean it by hand, cheaply.
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Do not let them. The Philippine Occupational Safety and Health Standards treat an underground tank as a confined space and require approved breathing apparatus and a watcher outside who has breathing apparatus too. The gas in a tank kills people who are only in it for a moment, and it has killed several at once in this country. A cheap price for that job is a price for somebody doing it unsafely.
- Can a full tank be prevented?
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Partly. What fills a tank faster than it should is what does not belong in it: cooking oil, nappies, wipes marked flushable, and rainwater from a downspout plumbed into the wrong line. The last one is common and it is fixable, and it is the sort of thing we look for.
- What do you actually do on a septic call?
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Find out where the blockage is and what is causing it. That means checking which fixtures are affected and in what order, opening the line where it makes sense rather than where it is easiest, and telling you plainly if what you need is a truck rather than a plumber.
If you would rather text
A written message reaches us with the detail already in it, so we know what is wrong before we ring you back. If you would rather send it as a text, the number is on the contact page.
Monday to Sunday, 8AM–8PM
Emergency Repairs Available 24/7
Not sure which one you need?
Describe what is happening and when it started. If it is a truck you need, we will say so, and you will not have paid us to find out.
Emergency line open 24/7 Booked jobs Mon to Sun, 8AM to 8PM