GUIDE // EMERGENCY
Emergency septic pumping
in West Tennessee.
If sewage is backing up right now, read the first section and then call. Everything else on this page can wait until the truck is on the way. We are open daily 7am to 5pm with 24-hour emergency service.
THE FIRST TEN MINUTES
What to do right now
Step 1
Stop all water use in the house
No toilets, showers, dishwasher, or laundry. Every gallon you send down makes the backup worse and pushes sewage further into the house.
Step 2
Keep people and pets away from the mess
Raw sewage carries bacteria. Close the room off, keep kids out, and do not use a household vacuum on it.
Step 3
Check the tank lid area for standing water
Soggy ground or a puddle over the tank or drainfield tells us the tank is full and the field is not accepting water. Note it when you call.
Step 4
Do not pour drain cleaner into the system
It will not clear a full tank and it kills the bacteria doing the work. This is the most common thing that makes a bad day worse.
Step 5
Call for a same-day pump
Call (731) 300-7867. Tell us where you are, what you are seeing, and when the tank was last pumped. That is enough for us to plan the truck.
CALL TODAY
Signs that will not wait
- Sewage backing up into a tub, shower, or floor drain
- Every drain in the house is slow at the same time
- Toilets gurgling or bubbling when a nearby drain runs
- Standing water or wet, spongy ground over the tank or drainfield
- A strong sewage smell in the yard or around the house
- Alarm sounding on a pump tank or aerobic treatment unit
BOOK NORMALLY
Signs that can go on the schedule
- One slow drain in one fixture, with everything else fine, which is usually a local clog
- A faint smell after heavy rain that clears within a day
- A tank you know is due for a routine pump but nothing is backing up yet
Not sure which side you are on? Call and describe it. We would rather answer a question on the phone than pump a tank that did not need it.
ON SITE
What an emergency call looks like
- Locate and open the tank
- We find the lid, uncover it if we have to, and look at the water line to confirm whether the tank is the problem.
- Pump the tank down
- Liquid and sludge both come out. Pumping only the liquid buys a day and then you are back where you started.
- Check the inlet and outlet baffles
- A broken or blocked baffle causes repeat backups even right after a pump-out. We tell you what we see.
- Look at the drainfield
- If effluent is coming back at the tank, the field is saturated or failing, and you need to know that before spending money twice.
- Tell you what happens next
- Sometimes a pump is the whole fix. Sometimes it buys time while a real repair gets planned. We do not pretend otherwise.
WHERE WE RUN EMERGENCIES
Same-day and after-hours coverage across West Tennessee
We dispatch from Jackson and cover the towns below. Pick your city for local details, or just call and we will tell you the soonest we can be there.
SO IT DOES NOT HAPPEN AGAIN
Preventing the next emergency
- Pump on a 3 to 5 year schedule instead of waiting for a warning sign
- Spread laundry loads across the week rather than one heavy wash day
- Fix running toilets and dripping taps promptly
- Keep wipes, grease, and paper towels out of the system entirely
- Install a riser so the lid is at grade and a future emergency pump goes faster
- Keep vehicles and heavy equipment off the drainfield
FAQ // STRAIGHT ANSWERS
Emergency septic questions
Honest answers from people who do this every day. If you don't see your question, call us.