Our septic tank's second compartment appeared to be over-full last month, and since it had been three years since we last drained the tank, I began to look online for a reputable septic company. Goebel Septic was the only company in our range with an A+ Better Business Bureau rating and no bad reviews to be found.
We managed to reach the appointment date without a major poop disaster (appointments were a week out), and a Goebel employee came out and inspected the tank and pump. He showed me that yes, the tank was full and needed draining, but that the outgoing baffle was full, and this was why the second compartment was overflowing; the effluent was not able to enter the drain field due the baffle. The baffle, if you do not know, if a sieve-like thing that acts as a filter to prevent solid material from entering your drain field. Once he pulled our baffle out, the excess effluent entered our drain field.
At this point, he said, "Your pump is still running. It should not be doing that." We walked over to the pump, and one of the floaty things had detached from its hanging spot and had fallen on top of the box in the pump. Our pump had been running dry for a day! We were lucky that we had the tank drained when we did.
The cost for our 1,500-gallon tank to be drained was $420, tax and county sewer dump fees included. The employee then told me that I could have zip ties put back on the floaty things (I forget their names), or we could have a tree installed that would be more secure and not rust, break, or allow the floaties to, well, float away in the wonderful, odorous miasma that is the poop lake in our pump.
It is a good thing that we made an appointment for today, because last night, six days after our tank was drained, our septic alarm went off. Today, the company's pump technician came out and installed the pump tree as was explained. He said that the alarm was going off only because on one the three floaters had fallen off its cord. False alarm, he said. No need for worry. Once he plugged the runaway poop balloon back in, the red light on our alarm system turned green again. He installed the tree quickly and closed the pump back up tightly. The bill for the tree and service fee was minimal and reasonable, too.
Even better, he shared with me of some things that other companies have been known to do in order to get more money off customers, the trade secret scams, if you will. The one that stood out was that employees from scam artist companies, the likes of which you can easily find reviewed here, will break the ingoing or outgoing baffle in your tank when removing it, or worse, bust it up when you are not looking, if you are not attending them. Then they either tell you another baffle cannot be installed and quote some ridiculous repair price, or they will charge you upwards of $300 to install a new one. Oddly, seven or eight years ago, we had this exact same experience with a large septic company, one that has receive very bad reviews on Yelp. The entire bill for the day, that day, was $1,500. Our tank was drained, a new baffle was installed, and some bio-enzyme material was put into the pump. This means that the enzyme material, the baffle, and the service charge added up to $1,000. Yowza. And of all wonders, I was not watching when the employees from the other company "inspected" the baffle. And by inspected, I now think I mean boot-stomped.
I highly recommend Goebel for the follwing reasons:
1. The company is family-owned and depends on satisfied customers, not the volume of customers.
2. The two employees who came out were polite and had no qualms whatsoever with letting me watch what they were doing. They explained a great deal that I verified on online plumbing forums.
3. The price was right.
4. They arrived on time for their appointments.
5. They have an A+ BBB rating.
6. I can find no bad review of Goebel online, anywhere.
7. The employees put everything in my backyard--including a fence board--back exactly as it was before they arrived. No huge poopy mess or broken fence boards.
I will be calling Goebel for all my septic tank needs from now on. read more