[M_Six]

We have a $175 annual maintenance contract with the septic company that installed our system. Sometimes it feels a bit like extortion. (That's a nice septic system you got there. Be a shame if something happened to it.) They supposedly come around once a year to inspect the system and they'll pump it free of charge if it needs it. In 22 years of living here, I've never seen them come by. But I have asked about it before and they always come up with a date and time they were here.

That said, the contract also covers labor should the system need repair. Last year our aerator died, so we had to have it replaced. We paid for the new one, but the septic company pumped and cleaned the tank and installed the new aerator and alarm system free of charge. I guess we're good to go for another decade or so.