SINCE 2010
Vacuum truck services in Southwest Florida
Need a wet well, a holding tank, or a catch basin pumped down and hauled away? Our own vacuum trucks run out of Fort Myers to all six counties we cover, Lee to DeSoto. Businesses and municipalities call the office. A real person answers, and we get you on the schedule.
When you need it
Vacuum truck work is rarely planned far ahead. It is usually one of these.
- A lift station alarm is on. A lift station is the pit and pump that push wastewater uphill to the sewer main, and the wet well under it (the chamber where wastewater collects before the pump moves it) is near the top.
- A catch basin has filled with sand and the parking lot floods in every afternoon storm. A catch basin is the box under a storm grate that catches silt and trash before they reach the pipe.
- A holding tank on a site with no sewer is full and the fixtures are backing up.
- A kitchen grease trap is overdue and the floor drains are slow.
- A tank, sump, or vault has to be emptied before anyone can inspect it, repair it, or take it out of service.
- A storm left pits and vaults full of water and mud, and you need them clear before your crews can work.
If it is any of those, call the office. A real person answers, asks a few questions, and gets a truck on the schedule. You explain the problem once, and no runaround.
What we do on the visit
The call comes first. We ask what is in the tank or pit, roughly how big it is, and how a truck reaches it. Most of the planning happens on that call, so the operator arrives knowing the job.
On site, the operator sets up on solid ground, opens the lid or lifts the grate, and runs the hose. The vacuum pulls the liquid first, then the sludge (the settled layer at the bottom) and whatever solids are down there. Where it helps, we wash the walls down and pull the wash water too, so the pit is clean, not just lower.
Before the hose comes out, the operator looks at what is left: the inlet and outlet, the floats on a lift station (the switches that tell the pump when to run), and the condition of the walls. If something is wrong, you hear it on the spot, in plain words, with an honest price for the fix. Nothing shows up on the invoice that was not said out loud on the visit.
Every load goes to a permitted disposal facility. Florida regulates where hauled waste can be taken, and you get a manifest, the record of what was pulled and where it went.
What affects the job here
Two things about Southwest Florida shape almost every vacuum truck job: water and sand.
The water table sits high for much of the year and highest in the wet season, roughly June to October. When it is up, groundwater finds its way into older tanks and wet wells through every crack and joint. The same pit holds more in August than it did in March, and it refills faster. That changes how long a pump down takes and how often a basin needs one.
The ground is sand over limestone and shell. Every summer downpour carries sand into catch basins and storm lines, and in the dry season the same sand blows and washes in from bare ground. A basin that looked fine in April can be half full by September.
Access matters too. A loaded vacuum truck is heavy. Tell us when you call about gates, low branches, tight turns, and ground that is soft after rain. We plan the approach so the truck does not rut a wet lawn or crack a driveway.
After a storm, the calls stack up. We pump down lift stations that lost power and pits that flooded in the order that matters most for keeping wastewater inside the system.
Homes, businesses, or both
This is a business and municipal service.
For a business, the vacuum truck is the crew behind the services you already know. Grease trap pumping for a restaurant. A holding tank at a job site or a rental property with no sewer. The wet well at a shopping plaza with its own lift station. A car wash pit or a settling tank. Property managers and contractors call us because one office covers all of it, and the basin at the end of the lot is a call to the same office, not a second vendor.
For a city or county, the vacuum fleet is what services the lift stations and catch basins your public works crew is responsible for. Call for a wet well pump down before a pump swap, a catch basin run before the rainy season, spoils off a hydro excavation, or an emergency pump down when a station goes down at night. On a schedule, on a contract, or on a single call, and 24/7 emergency service runs through the same office number.
If you are a homeowner with a full septic tank, that is septic tank pumping, and the same crews do it. Call the same number, (239) 225-2255, and a real person answers.
Common questions
What is a vacuum truck, and how is it different from a septic pump truck?
A vacuum truck is a tank on a truck with a strong vacuum pump. It pulls liquid, sludge and solids up a hose into the tank, then hauls the load away. A septic pump truck is a vacuum truck sized for home tanks. Ours handle the bigger and messier work too: wet wells, catch basins, holding tanks and vaults.
Can you pump a lift station without shutting it down?
We usually work with the pumps off so the operator can see the bottom of the wet well and clear it properly. We set the timing with you or your utility crew so nothing backs up while we are in there. Call the office and we will plan it around your station.
Where does the waste go after you pump it?
To a permitted disposal facility. Florida regulates where hauled waste can be taken, and we keep the records. You get a manifest for your files, which matters for kitchens and public works departments that need a paper trail on every load.
Do you haul the spoils from hydro excavation?
Yes. When a line is exposed with water and vacuum, the wet slurry goes straight into the tank on the same truck. If a site has wet spoils from another dig, call the office and describe what is on the ground. We will tell you straight whether it is a load for us.
Can I put vacuum truck service on a schedule?
Yes. Catch basins, wet wells, grease traps and holding tanks fill at a rate you can predict once we have seen them a few times. We put you on a schedule and show up before the pit is full instead of after the phone call. One contract, one number.
Do you send a vacuum truck out at night or on a weekend?
Yes. We offer 24/7 emergency service. Call (239) 225-2255 any hour and a real person answers, not a message service. Tell us what is overflowing and where, and we will take care of it.