SINCE 2010
Septic tank repair in Southwest Florida
Tank backing up, drains slow, or the alarm going off at two in the morning? Call the office and a real person answers. That is our direct office line. We repair septic tanks for homes and businesses across Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry, Glades, and DeSoto counties: cracked lids, broken baffles, failed pumps, stuck floats, and the backups they cause. You get an honest price on the visit, and we will take care of it.
When you need it
Most repair calls start with something the house is telling you. The drains got slow. The toilet gurgles when the washer drains. There is a wet, soft patch of grass over the tank, or a smell in the yard that was not there last week.
Sometimes it is louder than that. Sewage comes up in the tub or the floor drain. The alarm on the control panel is buzzing and a red light is on. Those are right-now calls, and we take them any hour with 24/7 emergency service.
Sometimes nothing has failed yet. A home sale is pending and the inspection found a cracked lid, a missing baffle, or a pump that does not run. That is a repair too, and we will get you on the schedule.
What we do on the visit
First we find out what is actually wrong. We open the tank and check the liquid level. Too high points to a problem past the tank. Too low points to a leak in the tank itself.
We check the baffles. A baffle is a short wall or tee at each end of the tank. It keeps the solids inside so only liquid, called effluent, moves on to the drain field, the buried trenches that soak it into the ground. When a baffle breaks, solids clog the field. It is one of the most common repairs we do.
We check the lid and the riser, the collar that brings the lid up to ground level. A cracked lid lets rain in and gas out, and it is not safe to walk on. We check the inlet and outlet pipes for cracks, sags, or roots.
If your system has a pump, we test it and the float switch. A float switch is a small float on a cord that turns the pump on when the water rises and off when it drops. A stuck float is a common reason the alarm sounds.
If the problem is out in the line, we run a camera down it and find the break before anyone digs.
Then we tell you what we found and give you an honest price before we start. No runaround. If you say go, we do the work and put the yard back the way we found it.
What affects the job here
Southwest Florida is hard on a septic system, and the ground tells us a lot.
The water table sits high for much of the year, and highest in the wet season, roughly June to October. A tank pumped empty in saturated ground can lift, so we watch the water level before we pump down for a repair. A drain field that stands in wet ground for weeks can look failed when the real problem is a broken baffle. We sort out which it is before we replace anything.
The soil here is sand over limestone and shell. Sand shifts. The joint where the house line meets the tank can settle and crack, and that is one of the first places we look for a leak.
Many homes here sit on a mound system or an aerobic treatment unit, called an ATU, because the water table is too high for a standard drain field. An ATU has more parts to repair: an air pump, a control panel, floats, and a spray or drip field. We are certified on Hoot, B.E.S.T., Cajun Aire, Fuji Clean USA, Aqua Aire and Aqua Safe, Norweco, and Jet, so we can service the unit in your yard.
Some repairs need a permit and some do not. Florida moved onsite sewage permitting from the Department of Health to the Department of Environmental Protection in 2021, and your county office still handles the paperwork. We tell you which kind of repair you have and pull the permit when one is needed.
Homes, businesses, or both
Both. Most of our repair calls come from homeowners in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry, Glades, and DeSoto counties, and most start with a backup or an alarm. Call the office, tell us what you see, and we will get you on the schedule. We are licensed and local, and we have done this work here since 2010.
We also repair systems for restaurants, property managers, builders, and contractors. A restaurant on septic cannot keep the kitchen open with a backed up line. A property manager with a failed pump at a rental needs one call and a fixed date. A builder whose system did not pass inspection needs it corrected before the county signs off. One call and it is handled.
Call (239) 225-2255. That is the direct office line, day or night, and a real person answers.
Common questions
Can a septic tank be repaired, or does it have to be replaced?
Most of the time it can be repaired. Lids, baffles, risers, pumps, floats, and the inlet and outlet pipes are all parts we fix or swap. A tank has to be replaced when the concrete itself is cracked through or has collapsed. We tell you which it is on the visit, and we would rather fix a tank than sell you a new one.
Why is my septic alarm going off?
The alarm means the water in the pump tank is higher than it should be. Usually the pump has stopped, a float switch is stuck, or the breaker tripped. Cut back on water use, do not silence it and forget it, and call the office. A real person answers any hour.
Do you have to pump the tank before you repair it?
Often, yes. To check the baffles and the walls we need to see them, and that means pumping the tank down. If it has been a while since the last pump out, the repair visit is a good time to do both.
How do I know if the problem is the tank or the drain field?
You usually cannot tell from the house, and that is fine. Slow drains and backups can come from a clogged line, a broken baffle, a full tank, or a saturated field, and they all look the same at the sink. We open the tank, check the levels, and run a camera if we need to. Then you know which it is before anyone digs.
Can you repair a septic system at night or on a weekend?
Yes. We offer 24/7 emergency service across all six counties. If sewage is coming up in the house or the alarm is sounding, call (239) 225-2255 and a real person answers. Not a call center, not a message service.
Do I need a permit to repair my septic tank in Florida?
Some repairs do and some do not. Work on the tank itself or the drain field usually needs a permit through your county office. Small parts usually do not. We tell you which on the visit and we handle the permit when one is needed.