I need to explain you something controversial: sewage is captivating. Seriously. When other kids were burning through summers at the pool in 2008, my brothers and I were up to our waists in clay, watching a weathered installer named Carl swear at a misaligned septic tank. Dad thought it might build character. Apparently, he was right—though I didn’t thank him when I missed the complete soccer season. But that season? It rewired us. While other companies were just maintaining tanks, we were figuring out to build them from the earth up. Actually.

This is the septic truth nobody admits: anybody can dig a hole. But building a system that survives 30 years? Now that’s art mixed with science, with a dash of stubbornness. I found out that the difficult way in 2015 when we got cocky. Built a system near Mount Rainier using “industry standard” techniques. Six months later, the client phoned us—voice trembling—about sewage gurgling up like a nightmare. Apparently, “standard” won’t cut it when the groundwater table delivers curveballs. We ripped it out, ate the $12k loss, and invested the next winter getting licensed in hydrogeological assessments. Truth carved into our bones: certifications ain’t just paperwork. They become armor.

At Septic Solutions LLC, we live this stuff. Not figuratively—though Carl did slice his thumb open that first summer training us pipe welding. (“Hold it steady, kid!”) Our team does not just have licenses; we have got obsessed. Washington State mandates installers to clock 24 hours of continuing education. Our lead designer, Marco? He does 24 hours each quarter. Why? Because in 2019, we encountered a nightmare job near Woodinville where three “qualified” companies had thrown in the towel. The soil was like concrete soup, and the homeowner was on verge of suing everyone. Marco retrieved his International Association of Plumbing Officials (IAPMO) manuals—yes, he studies them for fun—and reimagined the whole drainage field using a specialized pressure distribution method. Two years later, that client delivered us a Christmas card with a picture of her flourishing garden… right over the septic field.

But I’ll get raw for a second. Certifications are useless if your crew sees them like decorations. Our secret? Each tech at Septic Solutions has individually screwed up. Seriously. Like me in 2015. Or Jake, our repair expert, who misdiagnosed a tank baffle issue in 2021 and had to apologize to a angry grandma in Snohomish. (He now runs our “Baffles 101” workshop.) Failure’s our best teacher—which is why we are obsessed about cross-training. Our installation team observes repair crews all winter. Why? Because observing how systems collapse teaches you how to build them better.

You want proof? Talk to the Hendersons. In 2022, they purchased a “perfect” 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 came in, looked at the permits, and noticed something weird: the original 1998 installer had never updated their certification for sand filter systems. As it happened, a straightforward recirculating sand filter retrofit—which our NSF/ANSI 40 certified team does regularly—spared them $18k. They are now newsletter subscribers. Yes, we have a septic newsletter. Please don’t laugh—2,300 people read it.

This is the reality: professionalism ain’t what you flaunt. It is what you grind through. I still think of Mom’s face in 2010 when we got our first business license. “You are gonna squander those college brains on sewage?” she sighed. But this job? It feels alive. Soil changes. Codes transform. And website when you’re buried in a trench at 3 PM on a Friday, rain soaking your collar, you discover certifications aren’t about pride. They’re about keeping a family’s basement from turning into a biohazard.

We have got collections of certificates—WSDA, OSHA, you mention it. But the one I feel proudest of? The scribbled note from Carl after he retired. “Never thought you brats would outlast me.” We didn’t either, old man. Not in a million years.

So yes. If you want a new septic system, six other companies will gladly take your call. But if you want a crew that has failed, adapted, and gone crazy over wastewater flow rates at 2 AM? We are the ones with earth under our nails and manuals in our trucks. Because in this business, the best credentials never hang on walls. You’ll find them buried in the ground—functioning.