05/19/2026
A message from Paul Carroll himself:
"If you are one of those realtors who advises the seller to pump a tank within days of a scheduled septic inspection, please stop. You are giving the wrong advice. All too often lately I've been pulling up to do a septic inspection only to find out that the tank was just recently pumped days ago. Rest assured! I will fail the inspection. And the same goes for a home owner who has the tank pumped out just because you went under contract, thinking that you are doing the prospective buyer a favor, please stop.
By having the tank pumped prior to a septic inspection, only gives me suspicion and cause for concern that something nefarious is going on, or you have something to hide hoping that I will overlook it.
I have been inspecting septic systems for over 38 plus years, totalling over 50,000 septic system Inspections, spread across 20 county; from new Smyrna Beach, to Fort Lauderdale, over to Fort Myers, up the West Coast and the Orlando area.
Under the state statute, 64E - 6, by the Florida Department of Environmental Health, every single septic tank must hold water. No matter if the home has been unoccupied for many years or if the home is currently occupied, it MUST hold water.
The waste water in the tank does not evaporate, your tank is buried beneath the surface. So when I show up and I get out of my truck and I walk into your yard and I can see clearly that the septic tank had been recently dug up, I am amediately suspicious and will have a lot of questions.
You see! I cannot and will not rely on heresay or receipts from another contractors showing that you had the tank pumped out.
On their ticket or their receipt, they do not indicate where the liquid levels were in the tank prior to them draining the tank. Every single tank has a natural given watermark on the inside walls of your septic tank, that watermark is consistent with your point of exit.
When I pull the lid on your septic tank, I need to see if the liquid levels in the tank are equal to the natural water mark, that will tell me whether or not you have a solid sealed recepticle as the statute requires.
Just because you pumped the tank and you cannot physically see a crack with the naked eye in the walls of the tank or the floor of the tank, in of itself does not constitute a solid sealed recepticle.
Also please remember, that the drivers on the trucks, all too often are not state certified. They are a hired employee by the septic contractor and all too often the individual pumping the tank does not know or not familiar with the statue.
Six years ago I performed an inspection on a property where I had failed a tank because the liquid levels were less than normal. I understand that the seller was not happy with my findings and neither was the listing agent.
I had given them suggestions on about filling the tank back to its point of exit so I could take a measurement and then perform a wet-test on the drain field, then I would come back a couple days thereafter and take another measurement on the tank, to see if the liquid levels stayed consistent. Then I would amend the report to reflect That the tank did actually hold water, but my recommendations were not taken.
So the listing agent sought another opinion, and that is fine with me. But the other contractor was not honest in his dealing with the homeowner and the listing agent. The contractor reiterated in the report that the liquid level in the tank was less than normal, he should have concluded his inspection at that point.
But then he proceeded to pump the tank, pressure clean the walls of the tank, stated that he could not find a crack, and that the water in the tank, evaporated.
Soon after that I heard from the Florida Department of Environmental Health, that both the homeowner and the listing agent had received a citation and were required to bring the tank and drain field compliant. It is also my understanding that the contractor had got reprimanded as well.
So in short! Please do not do anything to your septic system or advice a seller to service the septic system prior to a pending septic inspection. Otherwise you are messing with the result and the outcome of a septic inspection."
