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Farmington (505) 325-9312Durango, CO →

M&R Service — Plumbing, Restoration, Electric, HVAC

Septic pumping and service

Tank pumping, inspections that include the pump-out, risers and lids, effluent filters, hydro jetting and the repairs that end up in the ground.

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Why one company

The tank, the line and the field are one system

A pump-out answers a question about the tank. It says nothing about the line running to it or the drain field running from it — and when the drains are still slow afterwards, that is exactly the question a homeowner is left holding.

M&R runs the trucks and holds the plumbing license, with cameras and line-locating equipment already on board. The tank gets emptied, the parts that fail get looked at while it is empty, and if the problem turns out to be the line or the field you hear it on the same visit from the people standing over it.

Our guarantees
An M&R crew working in an open trench on a buried line

What we do

Pumping, and everything the pumping reveals

An empty tank is the only time most of a septic system can be seen at all. These are the things worth doing while it is open.

Septic Tank Pumping

The service the whole system depends on.

Solids settle to the bottom of the tank and a crust forms on top; the clear layer in between is all that is supposed to reach the drain field. Pumping removes both layers so that separation can start over. The tank is pumped through the main access lid rather than through a small inspection port, because emptying it properly means reaching the sludge at the bottom instead of skimming the liquid off the middle. Tank size decides how long the visit takes and what we bring, so it helps to know roughly what you have before we arrive — and if you do not, that is a normal answer and we will find out on site.

Septic Inspection

Including the pumping, because a full tank cannot be inspected.

An inspection that means anything requires seeing the inside of an empty tank: the condition of the baffles or sanitary tee, whether the lid and riser are sound, how the effluent filter looks, and whether liquid is standing where it should not be. That is why our inspection includes the pump-out rather than treating it as an extra. It is the version a buyer, a seller or a lender actually needs, and you are told what we found in plain language.

Finding the Tank and Getting to the Lid

For when nobody knows where it is.

On a great many properties the tank was buried, the yard grew over it, and the paperwork left with a previous owner. We locate the tank and dig down to expose an accessible lid. If the lid turns out to sit well below grade, that is the moment to solve it permanently rather than dig the same hole again in three years — see risers below.

Risers, Lids and Sanitary Tees

So the next service is a visit rather than a dig.

A riser brings the tank access up to ground level with a sealed lid that lifts off, which turns every future pumping and inspection into a short job. Risers are built up in increments to match how deep the tank sits. We also replace cracked or deteriorating lids — a failing septic lid is a real safety issue on a property with children or livestock — and install sanitary tees where the original has broken down, which is what keeps the crust from migrating out toward the drain field.

Effluent Filters

Cleaned, or replaced when it is past cleaning.

Systems fitted with an effluent filter rely on it to catch fine solids before they reach the drain field, and a clogged filter is one of the most common reasons a healthy system suddenly starts backing up. It is cleaned as part of service and replaced when it has stopped sealing or seating properly. This is the cheapest part of a septic system to maintain and the most expensive one to leave alone, because the drain field is what ends up paying for it.

Blocked Lines Between the House and the Tank

Hydro jetting and camera work on the line itself.

When a tank has just been pumped and the drains are still slow, the line is usually the culprit rather than the tank. A camera shows what is actually in there — roots at a joint, a belly holding water, grease built up along the top of the pipe — and hydro jetting cuts and flushes it back to the full bore of the pipe rather than punching a hole through it. Where it makes sense, this happens on the same visit.

Drain cleaning →

Septic Repairs and System Work

When the fix is in the ground.

Collapsed inlet and outlet piping, a tank that has lost its baffles, a lid and riser assembly that needs rebuilding, a line between house and tank that is past repair. The machines and the licensed crews are on the same payroll, so the digging and the plumbing are one job with one company answering for it — and the surface is compacted in lifts and put back rather than merely filled.

Excavation →

Grease Traps

For kitchens on a service interval.

Restaurants and commercial kitchens run their traps on a schedule, and that schedule is what keeps a health inspection and a blocked line from becoming the same conversation. We pump and service grease traps at an interval that fits how the kitchen actually runs.

On the day

What actually happens when the truck turns up

Six steps, in this order. The two worth watching for are looking inside before the tank is emptied, and being told what was found afterwards.

  1. 01Find the tankIf the lid is visible this takes a minute. If it is not, we locate the tank and expose an accessible lid. Knowing roughly when the system went in, or which side of the house the line leaves from, shortens it considerably — and not knowing is normal.
  2. 02Open it and look before pumpingThe levels in a tank say what has been happening. Liquid standing above the outlet, a crust far thicker than the sludge, or a tank already backing up toward the house each point somewhere different.
  3. 03Pump it out properlyBoth layers come out, not just the liquid in the middle, and the corners get worked rather than left. A tank that has had the easy part skimmed off looks empty on the day and is full again within weeks.
  4. 04Check the parts that failBaffles or sanitary tee, the effluent filter if the system has one, the lid and riser, and the inlet and outlet piping. All of it is visible only while the tank is empty, which is the whole argument for looking now.
  5. 05Tell you what we foundIn plain language: what needs doing now, what can wait, and what to watch for. If the drain field is the real problem you will hear that too, because pumping a tank does not fix a saturated field and you deserve to know before spending again.
  6. 06Close it up and leave the yard rightLid seated and secure, any excavation backfilled and compacted, and the surface put back. If a riser would make the next service easier, we will say so and you can decide.

San Juan County

What you get beyond an empty tank

  • A pump truck and licensed plumbers on the same payroll, so a tank that turns out to need a repair is one company and one visit rather than a referral.
  • The inspection includes the pump-out, because the inside of a full tank cannot be inspected.
  • Camera and line-locating equipment on the truck, so a drain still running slow after a pump-out gets answered the same day.
  • Licensed and bonded in New Mexico and Colorado, serving the Four Corners since 1954.
  • Machines and crews for the work that ends up in the ground, with the surface compacted and restored.
  • After-hours, weekend and emergency service, because a septic system backing up is not a Monday problem.

Before you book

Septic systems, answered

How often should a septic tank be pumped?

The common guidance is every three to five years for a household system, and the honest answer is that it depends on tank size and how many people live over it. A large tank serving two people behaves very differently from a small tank serving a family of six. The reliable approach is to have it pumped and inspected once and then set your interval from what the tank actually looked like — a real number for your property rather than a rule of thumb.

What are the signs it needs pumping now?

Drains across the whole house slowing together, gurgling at the lowest fixtures, sewage odor indoors or out over the tank, or grass that is suddenly greener and spongier above the tank or the drain field. One slow fixture is usually that fixture. Everything slowing at once points at the tank or the line running to it.

I have no idea where my tank is. Is that a problem?

It is completely normal and we deal with it constantly. Locating the tank and digging down to an accessible lid is part of the work. If the lid turns out to sit well below grade, fitting a riser on the same visit means the next service never needs digging again.

Does pumping the tank fix a failing drain field?

No, and it is the most important thing on this page. Pumping empties the tank; it does not restore a field that has become saturated or clogged. A field in trouble will often behave for a few weeks after a pump-out and then return, and repeated pumping is an expensive way to postpone the real conversation. When what we see points at the field, you will be told plainly, so the money goes where it will actually do something.

What is an effluent filter, and do I have one?

It sits in the outlet of the tank and catches fine solids before they reach the drain field. Not every system has one, and plenty of owners have never heard of it — which is why a clogged filter so often turns up as a mysterious backup in a system that was fine last month. We check it, clean it, and replace it when it is past cleaning.

Can you pump in winter?

Yes. Frozen ground makes locating and digging slower, and finding a buried lid under snow is its own small adventure, but a system backing up in January is an emergency and is treated as one. A riser fitted before winter is worth a great deal when the lid has to come off in February.

I am buying a house with a septic system. What should I have done?

An inspection that includes a pump-out, so somebody can see the tank empty rather than report on the lid. Empty is when the baffles, the filter, the piping and the true condition of the system are visible. Ask for the findings in writing — that is the difference between knowing what you are buying and knowing that a tank exists.

What should be kept out of a septic system?

Wipes of every kind, including the ones sold as flushable, which do not break down and are the single most common cause of the blockages we cut out. Grease and cooking oil, which cool and build along the top of the pipe. Harsh drain chemicals in quantity, which work against the bacteria the tank depends on. Keeping those out does more for a system than any additive does.

Do you service commercial systems and grease traps?

Yes. Restaurants and commercial kitchens run grease traps on a service interval, and we work to a schedule that fits how the kitchen actually operates rather than interrupting service.

Book a pump-out, or tell us what it is doing

Slow drains, an odor, or simply due — call (505) 325-9312 and we will get a truck to it.

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