Drainage and septic tanks
What did the visit record about a cassette-style toilet, about a macerator, and about a pumped run the survey did not switch on?
The visit recorded a cassette-style toilet and a macerator as fittings that could be seen, and it recorded that the pumped run was not switched on. A macerator chops waste and a pump pushes it through a small pipe. Because the pump was not run, the survey has not decided that the unit works, that the run is clear, or where that run actually discharges. The appliances were identified. The pumped operation was not tested. Nothing in the note is a drainage test.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
A cassette-style toilet with a macerator is used where a normal soil pipe cannot leave by gravity, so the machine has to lift or push the waste. The surveyor can see the pan, the unit behind it and perhaps a small pipe leaving. They learn whether it runs only by switching it on, and this visit did not. The route of the pumped pipe through floors and outside was not followed under power. Identification of the machine is as far as the record goes.
If the toilet matters to how you would use the room, ask a drainage firm to run the macerator and trace the pumped discharge. The survey has not done that. Tell the solicitor the unit was seen and not operated, so it should not be described as working. Do not pour water through it as your own trial and treat that as the missing test. A pumped run can fail at a non-return valve or at the outlet. Keep the toilet, the macerator and the untested run apart.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Was the macerator integral with the toilet or a separate box beside it?
- How much of the pumped pipe was visible before it disappeared?
- Was the unit isolated, or simply not switched on?
What are the typical next steps?
- Record the toilet and macerator as seen and the pump as untested.
- Ask a drainage firm to run the unit and trace the discharge.
- Tell the solicitor the pumped run was not proved clear.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Is a macerator a normal gravity drain?
No. A macerator and pump move waste through a small pipe because gravity is not doing that job. The survey saw the cassette-style toilet and the macerator and did not switch the pump on. It has not decided the run works. Treat it as a machine, not as an ordinary soil pipe the eye has already cleared.
Can the pan be used if the pump fails?
Not in any reliable way. If the pump does not run, waste has nowhere to go by gravity. The survey did not switch the unit on, so it has not found that failure and has not ruled it out. Ask a drainage firm to run it. Until then, do not assume the pan is usable just because it is fitted.