Has the time come to finally have your septic tank pumped? If so, know that septic tank pumping companies will often charge to locate the opening to the septic tank. Thankfully, this is something that you can do on your own to save a bit of money. Here are some tips for finding your septic tank's opening.

Find The Main Sewer Line Out Of Your Home

The first thing that you want to do is find out where the main sewer pipe leads out of your home. This may involve going into a basement or crawl space to find the place where the pipe goes out of your home and to your backyard. You're going to have one line leading out of your home, so it shouldn't be that difficult to track down.

Probe The Ground To Find The Tank

You want to use a soil probe to find the septic tank somewhere in your backyard, which can be done by following a straight line from your home where that sewer pipe exits. You can use the soil probe by sticking it into the ground every few feet until you hit something hard. This means that you've found the septic tank.

Mark The Perimeter Of The Tank

The next step will be to mark the perimeter of the septic tank. You will do this by using the soil probe around the area to find each edge of the tank. Start at that first spot where you hit the tank, then work your way outward in 4 directions. Start by checking the ground every few feet until you no longer hit the tank, then start going back until you hit the tank again. Mark this spot with some sort of marker.

Once you have all four sides of the septic tank located, you'll be able to guess where the corners are located. You'll then want to find the four corners of the tank using the soil probe and mark them off. 

Dig For The Opening

The opening to the tank is going to be located on the side of the septic tank that is facing the home, in the middle of that side. Look at the distance between both markers on the front corners of the tank and start digging. Just be careful with how you dig up the grass since you want to create a large patch of grass that can be put on top of the hole when the pumping is complete.

For more information about preparing for septic tank pumping, contact a local company.