I am a first time home owner. I have been in the house for a couple of months. I noticed that the toilets are gurgling for a few days and tonight I noticed septic seepage in the yard. What should I do?

Hi Jm...

I have to assume that the septic tank was required to be pumped out prior to your arrival so it really shouldn't be that the septic tank needs to be cleaned here, but it sure sounds like it does.

If the tank needs to be cleaned then you need to contact your real estate agent and find out why the tank wasn't pumped out prior to your arrival. The bill to pump out should be on the previous owner or the real estate agent, OK?

If it is not the septic tank then the main drain line going to the septic may be clogged. If this is the case, then it may be something you did (flushed paper towels, for example), or it could be something like a broken pipe and again, this should have been disclosed before you purchased the home. In this case, you would need to have the drain line snaked to the septic tank and if unclear on why the pipe was clogged send a drain camera down the drain to visually inspect the drain. Again, if there is an issue such as a broken pipe then most likely the previous owners knew about it and should have fixed it or given you a set amount of money off the price of the home to fix it... ;)

More questions? Let me know...

Mark