# What to do before calling a vacuum truck

Source: https://cantleyvidanjoraltyapi.com/en/blog/before-calling-vacuum-truck/

Published: 2026-10-17

## In short

- Decide where the truck can stand closest to the lid and clear that spot of parked cars.
- Find the septic tank or manhole lid beforehand, and remove any soil, plant pots or covers on top of it.
- If the hose will pass through a shared area or a neighbour's garden, tell the management and your neighbours a day in advance.
- Telling us the type of waste, the approximate amount and how far the truck is from the lid on the phone helps us choose the right vehicle.

What to do before calling a vacuum truck comes down to four things: clearing the road the truck will use, finding the lid and making it reachable, telling the neighbours along the hose route, and describing the job clearly on the phone. The owner or manager can handle all of these alone, and they save the crew from waiting at the door or hunting for a space in the street.

A vacuum truck is a large lorry that gets its suction from a vacuum pump and carries the waste in a sealed tank. Because it draws the waste through a hose, how close the truck can get to the tank or manhole directly affects how the job goes. You do not need to finish all the preparation before you call; it is enough to know what to look at when you give the details on the phone.

## Will the truck be able to reach your door?

Whether the truck can reach your door depends on the width of the street, the corners it has to turn and any obstacles along the way. If your street is narrow, the slope is steep or there is a height barrier at the entrance to your site, be sure to say so on the phone. For addresses like these, a mini vacuum truck suited to narrow streets and low entrances can be planned instead of the large vehicle.

Think about where the truck will stand, too. The spot closest to the lid is often in front of the garden gate, on the road inside the site or at the car park entrance. If cars are parked there, ask their owners to free the space at pumping time. If the garden gate is locked, having the key to hand is a small but useful bit of preparation. These are the obstacles that are easy to miss along the way:

- A height barrier at the street entrance, a low balcony overhang or hanging cables
- Neighbours' cars and motorbikes that are always parked in front of the door
- Thin paving, lawn or irrigation pipes on the garden path that the truck could crush
- Plant pots, a woodpile or garden furniture blocking the way to the lid

## Finding the lid and uncovering it

The position of the septic tank or manhole lid is not obvious in every home. In older detached houses the lid may have ended up under soil, grass or a newly poured concrete floor. If you know who arranged the previous pumping, ask them; the former owner of the house or neighbours who have lived there for years may also know where it is. The tank is usually near the side of the building where the toilets are, a few steps away from the house.

Once you find the lid, remove the soil, plant pots or cover on top of it and leave its edges visible. Do not try to lift a heavy concrete or cast iron lid on your own; a lid with a crumbled or rusty edge can slip out of your hands. If the lid is open, cover it with a sturdy board and keep everyone away from it. Do not lean over an open tank or manhole, as gas that builds up in closed chambers is dangerous.

## How to inform the management and neighbours

If the hose will pass over the garden wall, along a shared staircase, down the site road or through a neighbour's garden, a short message to the management and the neighbours affected is enough. In the message, say which day the pumping will take place, where the hose will run and where the truck will stand. In buildings and sites, pinning the notice on the board or posting it in the residents' message group makes things easier.

If you need to cross a neighbour's garden, get their permission before the day of the pumping. Mentioning that there may be a brief smell during the work gives neighbours the chance to close their windows and bring their washing in from the balcony. This small courtesy also makes your life easier the next time pumping is needed on the same street.

## Precautions for children and pets

During pumping there is a truck in the garden, a thick hose lying on the ground and an open lid. For curious children and pets, each of these is a separate risk. Keep children indoors or in a safe corner for the whole job, and tie up your dog or put it in a room. Cats like to sniff around open tanks, so do not let them out into the garden while the lid is open.

The hose vibrates while it works and may shift slightly. It matters for finishing the job without interruption that nobody steps on it, pulls it or bends it. If there are bicycles or toys parked near the area where the crew will work, it is a good idea to move them beforehand too.

## What to tell us on the phone

Describing the type of waste, the approximate amount, the distance from the lid to the truck and the access to the street decides which vehicle and equipment we send. If there is a detail you do not know, a guess is enough; the crew will confirm it when they see the site. For businesses, mention your opening hours and whether you would like the pumping done at a time when there are few customers. Have this information ready:

- Type of waste: household septic tank, overflowing manhole, rainwater flooding a basement, restaurant grease trap or construction site water
- Approximate amount: the size of the tank if you know it, otherwise when it was last pumped and how many people live in the house
- Distance: how far the spot where the truck can stand is from the lid, and whether there are stairs or a wall in between
- Access: the width of the street, any slope, the site entrance and a height limit if there is one
- Current situation: whether wastewater is coming back into the house, overflowing into the garden, and how strong the smell is

## What to check when the pumping is finished

When the pumping is finished, check that the lid sits properly in place, that no spilled waste is left around it and that the drains in the house flow freely. Running a sink and flushing a toilet once to see the water go away without backing up is a sufficient test. Ask the crew to tell you what they saw inside the tank; findings such as thick sludge at the bottom, a cracked wall or rainwater seeping in affect when the next pumping is due.

The waste taken into the tank goes only to authorised discharge points and licensed disposal facilities; a street grate or the sea is never part of this work. For addresses in Adalar, we first plan the job with you on the phone, because motor vehicle use on the islands is restricted.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can a vacuum truck get into a narrow street?

If the large truck cannot get in, a mini vacuum truck is used for narrow streets and low garage entrances. To plan this, you need to tell us on the phone how narrow the street is, whether there is a slope and whether there is a height barrier. The crew chooses the vehicle that suits your address based on this information.

### What should I do if I cannot find the septic tank lid?

If you cannot find the lid, tell the crew beforehand; the tank is often under the soil near the side of the building where the toilets are. Asking the former owner of the house or whoever arranged the previous pumping is usually the quickest route. When you uncover the soil, use a shovel slowly rather than a hoe, as old lids can be fragile.

### Does someone need to be at home when the vacuum truck arrives?

Yes, having someone at home at least at the start of the pumping makes the job easier. Someone needs to be there to show where the lid is, open the garden gate and test the drains together with the crew after the pumping. If you cannot be at home, you can ask a neighbour or the building attendant to do this for you.

### What determines the scope of a vacuum truck job?

The scope of the job depends on the amount and type of waste, how close the truck can get to the lid and how far the address is. A tank full of thick sludge needs different work from a flooded basement. Giving this information clearly on the phone means the job is planned correctly from the start.

## Call us when you are ready

Send us your address, the type of waste and the spot the truck can reach by calling 0212 923 66 85 or by WhatsApp message. Cantley works 24/7 and arrives with a vehicle that suits your street.

Phone: 0212 923 66 85 (tel:+902129236685)  
WhatsApp: https://wa.me/905315687185