I need to tell you something the majority of septic companies refuse to: there are two kinds of people in this world. Those who think septic systems are simply “underground boxes for waste,” and those that have had raw sewage bubbling into their yard at midnight. I understood this distinction the difficult way in 2005—standing in sludge, trembling in a Washington deluge, as my brothers and I helped a grizzled installer repair our family’s failed system. I was 14. My hands blistered. My jeans were wrecked. But that evening, something changed: This isn’t just manual labor. It’s people’s lives we’re protecting.

Most companies begin by maintaining tanks. We launched by creating them—literally. Back in the beginning of the 2000s, when other kids were glued to Xbox, Art Nikolin (our operations head) and his family were carving out trenches under the careful eye of a septic veteran their old man hired. Hour by hour, that installer saw something in us. Maybe it was our stubborn refusal to give up when a PVC pipe failed at 9 PM. Or how we’d argue about soil absorption rates like kids argue about pizza toppings. By 2008, we were no longer just helpers—we were certified installers. But this is the twist: we learned this craft in reverse.

Understand, 90% of septic companies begin with pumping. They get how to pump a tank but can’t tell you why the drain field failed three years after construction. We got our hands filthy from the foundation. Actually. I remember this one hellish summer—2006, I recall—when we constructed 17 systems across Snohomish County. One client’s yard had soil like concrete. The “pro” crew before us quit. But our teacher taught us a trick: saturate the ground overnight, dig at first light. We finished by noon. That system? Still working flawlessly 18 years later.

Jump to 2023. We get a frantic call from a terrified homeowner in Woodinville. Their recently installed septic system—put in by a “discount” crew—went belly-up during Thanksgiving dinner. Raw sewage leaked into their yard. The company disappeared on them. We arrived at 10 PM. Art took one glance at the tank placement and groaned. “They put it above the house? Gravity ain’t gonna work that way, friends.” By sunrise, we had redesigned the entire layout. Spared them $20K in landscaping restoration too.

This is what makes Septic Solutions LLC unique: we build systems like we’re gonna live with them. Because actually, we did. That first tank we put in as teens? Our family depended on it for a long time. Every pipe we installed, every tank we placed, had our reputation on the line. When you’ve actually eaten dinner 10 feet above a septic field you installed, you do not cut corners.

Let’s get real—septic work isn’t glamorous. But there is an craft to it. In 2015, we tackled a nightmare job near Lake Stevens. Stone-riddled terrain. Limited budget. Three other companies claimed it couldn’t be done without dynamite. We invested a week hand-digging around stones, fine-tuning the drain field inch by inch. The client teared up when we completed. Not because it was affordable—but because we had saved her hundred-year-old oak tree.

Our advantage? We are not just installers. We’ve become historians of soil. We know which brands of PVC fail in Washington’s freeze-thaw cycles (avoid the blue-striped stuff). We’ve memorized which counties have clay that will clog a drain field in 5 years. Hell, we even improved our tank baffles in 2019 after observing how grease buildup destroys pumps. Small tweak. Major impact. Maintenance crews appreciate us for it.

You looking for stats? Sure. Since 2010, 92% of our systems have gone 10+ years without significant issues. But data do not stink when things go bad. Ask Mrs. Henderson from Monroe. Her previous installer used cheap aggregate that turned her leach line into a cement-like tomb. We used New Year’s Day 2021 demolishing it out. She delivered us cookies for a whole year.

This is the harsh truth: nearly all septic failures take place because someone missed a step. Failed to test the soil correctly. Used inferior tanks. Got wrong the water table. We’ve personally fixed dozens of these messes. And each time, we record another insight. Like in 2022, when we started adding dual-access risers to each install. Why? Because Randy, our senior tech, got tired of watching homeowners destroy their lawns during checks. Now maintenance is a 15-minute job.

I won’t lie—this work ages you. Art’s got a photo from our earliest commercial job in 2009. We seem like youngsters playing in Tonka trucks. Now, we’ve developed laugh lines from squinting at soil reports and laugh lines from clients who turned into friends. Like the elderly couple in Bothell who demand we stay for lemonade after all service calls. Or the brewery in Everett whose tank we improved last fall—they branded a beer “Septic Solutions Sour.” (It is… an interesting taste.)

So yes, we’re not the lowest priced. Or the fanciest. But when a storm knocks out power and your tank’s backing up? You will not care about coupons. You will want the team who have been there, web page done that, and still smell like faint regret. The team that picks up at 2 AM because we’ve all been that homeowner stuck ankle-deep in catastrophe.

In retrospect, it seems funny. That installer who trained us as kids? He retired years ago. But his words still ring in our heads each time we disturb ground. “Push deeper,” he would say. “Future you will thank past you.” Apparently, he hadn’t been just talking about septic tanks.