Allow me to explain you something controversial: sewage is captivating. I mean it. When other kids were frittering away summers at the pool in 2008, my siblings and I were up to our shins in clay, observing a weathered installer named Carl curse at a misaligned septic tank. Dad believed it might build character. As it happened, he was right—though I certainly didn’t thank him when I skipped the complete soccer season. But that time? It changed us. While other companies were just maintaining tanks, we were discovering to build them from the dirt up. Actually.

Let me share the septic truth few people admits: any fool can dig a hole. But building a system that lasts 30 years? That’s art combined with science, with a splash of stubbornness. I discovered that the hard way in 2015 when we got cocky. Built a system near Mount Rainier using “conventional” techniques. Six months later, the client called us—voice trembling—about sewage erupting up like a horror movie. Turns out, “conventional” won’t cut it when the groundwater table throws curveballs. We ripped it out, absorbed the $12k loss, and spent the next winter getting licensed 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 figuratively—though Carl did slice his thumb open that first summer teaching us pipe welding. (“Keep it steady, kid!”) Our team doesn’t just have licenses; we are got consumed. Washington State demands installers to clock 24 hours of ongoing education. Our lead designer, Marco? He does 24 hours per quarter. Why? Because in 2019, we encountered a horror job near Woodinville where three “licensed” companies had given up. The soil was like concrete soup, and the homeowner was on verge of suing the world. Marco pulled out his International Association of Plumbing Officials (IAPMO) manuals—yes, he reads them for fun—and reconfigured the whole drainage field using a uncommon pressure distribution method. Two years later, that client mailed us a Christmas card with a snapshot of her thriving garden… right over the septic field.

But let’s get raw for a second. Certifications are meaningless if your crew sees them like wall art. Our edge? All tech at Septic Solutions has themselves messed up. Seriously. Like me in 2015. Or Jake, our repair specialist, who got wrong a tank baffle issue in 2021 and had to apologize to a furious grandma in Snohomish. (He now runs our “Baffles 101” workshop.) Failure’s our best instructor—which is why we’ve become obsessed about cross-training. Our installation team follows repair crews each winter. Why? Because witnessing how systems fail teaches you how to construct them better.

You want proof? Check with the Hendersons. In 2022, they purchased a “perfect” cabin near Snoqualmie Pass—only to find the existing septic system was a time bomb. Three companies quoted them $35k+ for a total replacement. We showed up, looked at the permits, and spotted something odd: the original 1998 installer had failed to updated their certification for sand filter systems. Turns out, a simple recirculating sand filter retrofit—which our NSF/ANSI 40 certified team does weekly—spared them $18k. They’ve become now newsletter subscribers. Yes, website we have a septic newsletter. Don’t laugh—2,300 people read it.

This is the reality: professionalism is not what you flaunt. It is what you grind through. I still recall Mom’s face in 2010 when we got our first business license. “You are gonna throw away those college brains on sewage?” she groaned. But this profession? It feels alive. Soil evolves. Codes update. And when you are stuck in a trench at 3 PM on a Friday, rain soaking your collar, you discover certifications are not about pride. They’re about keeping a family’s basement from becoming a biohazard.

We got collections of certificates—WSDA, OSHA, you mention it. But the one I am proudest of? The personal note from Carl after he quit. “Didn’t thought you punks would beat me.” Neither did we, old man. Not in a million years.

So absolutely. If you require a new septic system, six other companies will gladly take your money. But if you want a team that has stumbled, adapted, and gone crazy over wastewater flow rates at 2 AM? We’re the ones with earth under our nails and reference books in our trucks. Because in this industry, the best qualifications do not hang on walls. You’ll find them buried in the ground—operating.