I need to tell you something controversial: sewage is intriguing. No, really. When most kids were binge-wasting summers at the pool in 2008, my brothers and I were up to our shins in clay, observing a grizzled installer named Carl swear at a off-center septic tank. Dad believed it would build character. Turns out, he was correct—though I did not thank him when I lost the whole soccer season. But that season? It rewired us. While other companies were just pumping tanks, we were learning to build them from the earth up. Actually.

Let me share the septic truth nobody admits: any fool can dig a hole. But building a system that endures 30 years? Now that’s art blended with science, with a hint of stubbornness. I found out that the tough way in 2015 when we got overconfident. Installed a system near Mount Rainier using “industry standard” techniques. Six months later, the client phoned us—voice quivering—about sewage gurgling up like a nightmare. As it happened, “standard” won’t cut it when the groundwater table serves up curveballs. We tore it out, took the $12k loss, and dedicated the next winter getting qualified in hydrogeological assessments. Reality carved into our bones: certifications ain’t just paperwork. They’re armor.

At Septic Solutions LLC, we bleed this stuff. Not symbolically—though Carl did gash his thumb open that first summer showing us pipe welding. (“Keep it steady, kid!”) Our team never just have licenses; we have got addicted. Washington State requires installers to clock 24 hours of ongoing education. Our lead designer, Marco? He does 24 hours each quarter. Why? Because in 2019, we hit a disaster job near Woodinville where three “qualified” companies had failed. The soil was like wet cement, and the homeowner was on brink of suing the world. Marco pulled out his International Association of Plumbing Officials (IAPMO) manuals—yes, web page he devours them for fun—and reconfigured the entire drainage field using a rare pressure distribution method. Two years later, that client sent us a Christmas card with a photo of her flourishing garden… right over the septic field.

But let me get honest for a second. Certifications are meaningless if your crew sees them like trophies. Our advantage? All tech at Septic Solutions has themselves screwed up. Big time. Like me in 2015. Or Jake, our repair guru, who misdiagnosed a tank baffle issue in 2021 and had to make amends to a angry grandma in Snohomish. (He now runs our “Baffles 101” workshop.) Failure is our best teacher—which is why we are fanatics about cross-training. Our installation team shadows repair crews every winter. Why? Because witnessing how systems collapse teaches you how to build them better.

You looking for proof? Check with the Hendersons. In 2022, they purchased a “dream” cabin near Snoqualmie Pass—only to learn the existing septic system was a disaster waiting. Three companies quoted them $35k+ for a full replacement. We arrived, looked at the permits, and spotted something weird: the original 1998 installer had not once updated their certification for sand filter systems. Apparently, a basic recirculating sand filter retrofit—which our NSF/ANSI 40 certified team does all the time—kept them $18k. They’ve become now newsletter subscribers. Yes, we have a septic newsletter. Do not laugh—2,300 people read it.

Here’s the kicker: professionalism ain’t what you show off. It becomes what you sweat through. I still think of Mom’s face in 2010 when we got our first business license. “You’re gonna waste those college brains on sewage?” she groaned. But this profession? It is alive. Soil evolves. Codes update. And when you’re stuck in a trench at 3 PM on a Friday, rain drenching your collar, you realize certifications aren’t about pride. They exist about keeping someone’s basement from turning into a biohazard.

We got walls of certificates—WSDA, OSHA, you list it. But the one I feel proudest of? The scribbled note from Carl after he retired. “Didn’t thought you brats would survive longer than me.” Neither did we, old man. We didn’t either.

So absolutely. If you need a new septic system, six other companies will gladly take your business. But if you want a crew that has stumbled, evolved, and gone crazy over wastewater flow rates at 2 AM? We’re the ones with earth under our nails and textbooks in our trucks. Because in this industry, the best credentials never hang on walls. They are buried in the ground—functioning.