For the past few years my family and I have rented a home in the Poconos for a week's vacation. This year we stayed at the same home we stayed in 2 and 3 years ago. This is the first year the septic system was making a gurgling sound and after I notified the owner they had it emptied. We were told it did that because it is some sort of pressure system and because of all the rain recently it was making that sound. Today I went up to see the home again because we're thinking about possibly buying it and it was gurgling again. I'm not very familiar with septic systems but I can't recall ever hearing one make that sound. Plus it was just emptied in August and I was told when they did that it was the first time it was emptied in about 4 years. Is there a major problem with that one or is it something that is easily fixed. Of course if it is major I wouldn't want to buy the home and have to do a major overhaul myself.

Thanks.

 

It could be that the water level is too high. It could also be that a tenant poured bleach down the drain. Either way, the liquid that is supposed to leave the septic tank and be dispersed by the drain field is not. This should be fixed before you buy it.

You can bone up on how septic tanks work here:
Septic drain field - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It is axiomatic that selling a house to a tenant is foolish because the tenant know exactly what is wrong with it.

 

Generally gurgling inside the house and having to pump a tank frequently is a sign that something is wrong. Pumping offers a short term fix for most systems and is part of routine maintenance for others.

First I would find out what type of septic system your prospective house has. Different systems operate somewhat differently, and different things can cause them troubles and the cost to repair can vary greatly. So, until you know what type of system your prospective house has anything we talk about is just "fluff".

You can check with the building inspection dept, health dept, or environmental services dept which should have record of the system installed at your prospective house. Then with that knowledge you can start to educate yourself.

 

Thank you, Vey. I will be checking on that info before I buy.

 

Pilot Dane, thank you for your reply. I have some homework to do before I buy that house.

 

Make sure that anything that is done is properly permitted by your local county; regardless of how small the repair effort might be. Otherwise you could be liable for operational or health issues in the future.