We pump out the pits and tanks of outdoor and dry toilets at summer houses, gardens and private houses in Riga and the Riga region. Pumping costs from €75 for up to 4 m³. Send a request and describe how the pit can be reached.
What's special about pumping a dry toilet pit
In a septic tank or a holding tank, most of the contents are water, so they can be pumped out without difficulty. In a dry toilet pit there is little water, and over the years the contents compact. To pump them out, the thick mass is usually diluted with water and stirred, and only then pumped.
- If peat or sawdust is added when the toilet is used, the mass is drier, so it takes more water and more time.
- Rags, bottles, plastic bags and hygiene products clog the hose. They have to be taken out separately, and that makes the job more expensive.
- In winter, frozen contents can't be pumped. It is better to empty the pit in autumn, before the frost, or in spring once it has thawed.
Access to the pit: where to pump from
An outdoor toilet is usually at the far end of the garden, further from the road than a septic tank. That's why the most important information in your request is the distance from where the truck can park to the toilet, and how the pit can be reached.
- If the hut has a hatch or a removable cover at the back, we feed the hose in through it. That is the quickest and cleanest way.
- If there is no hatch, the hose is fed in through the seat opening. This is possible, but the seat must be removable.
- If the toilet stands on a concrete-ring well or a plastic tank, check that the lid hasn't been built over by the floor.
- Narrow paths, flower beds and greenhouses between the road and the toilet don't prevent the work, but they affect how long a hose is needed.
Sealed tank or earth pit
If a pit doesn't fill up for years, that is usually not a good sign: the liquid is soaking into the ground. Old outdoor toilets are often dug straight into the ground, lined with boards or set on concrete rings with no bottom. The building code refers to sealed dry toilets, and the national rules apply the watertightness requirement to all tanks in which faeces collect.
If you use the toilet regularly, a sensible solution is a closed plastic tank under the hut. It can be pumped out regularly, and the contents don't get into the ground or into your well water. If you are planning a proper sewage system for a summer house, see septic tank for a summer house.
Cabinet Regulation No. 384, point 3.3: the regulation applies to holding tanks in which untreated wastewater, faeces, etc. collect; point 4.5: a holding tank must be watertight. LBN 223-15 (Cabinet Regulation No. 327), point 152.1 provides for sealed dry toilets; point 111: the contents of dry toilets and holding tanks are fed into the mains sewer through septage reception stations. Sources: likumi.lv, checked on 30 October 2026.
How dry toilet pumping works
- Request Give the address, or the garden community and the plot number, the approximate size of the pit, the distance to the road and whether there is a rear hatch.
- Preparation Open up access to the pit and, if possible, take out any visible objects. Don't put lime into the pit just before pumping, because it dries out and compacts the mass.
- Diluting and pumping The thick mass is diluted, stirred and pumped out down to the bottom. A water tap or a water barrel on site makes the job easier.
- Disposal We take the contents to a wastewater reception point, and you receive a document stating the volume removed and the date.
When you don't need a pumping contractor
With container-type composting toilets that have a removable tank, the contents are usually composted according to the manufacturer's instructions. There is no point in getting a truck out for those. Likewise, cassette-type chemical toilets (camping toilets) are emptied by the users themselves. Our work starts where there is a pit or a tank that can't be emptied by hand.
How much dry toilet pumping costs
A dry toilet pit usually falls into the smallest volume band: up to 4 m³, from €75. Outside Riga we add a travel charge of about €1 per kilometre. A very thick or dry mass that needs diluting, objects in the pit and a long distance from the road can increase the price. If neighbours in a garden community book for the same day, the travel kilometres are the same, so a joint request usually works out cheaper.