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Hi, I am executor of my mother's estate and have been staying in her house (she's in hospice, but will likely pass this week).
I've noticed soapy water coming out of the overflow pipe when I do laundry. It goes all over the lawn.
I only just now found out from the neighbor that my mother has a septic tank, and it has no vent because the previous owner of the house didn't put one in.
I feel like there's probably an issue with the septic tank, which has probably never been cleaned out since my mother bought the house eight years ago - the bathroom sink is slow to drain too.
I don't have a septic tank at my house so am completely ignorant of all of this.
Do you recommend having it cleaned out and a vent installed, given that we will be selling the house as soon as we can probate wise? Or just leaving it alone? I have to investigate what is needed maintenance wise. I feel like soapy water from the washer should not be going out a pipe onto the side lawn, though my mother and the neighbor think that is perfectly normal...
If there is something amiss with the septic system, it will be revealed by the home inspection a potential buyer will get.
Unless you will be selling the house “as is”, I would get out in front of it and call a septic company to get it inspected, so you know what you are dealing with.
Perhaps you could use a laundry detergent that is more compatible with septic systems. If you have an HE high efficiency washer, use HE detergent and do not use too much of it. Too much chemical will kill off the bacteria/yeast in your tank that are breaking down the nasties. You can also add bakers yeast, flush it down the toilet, or buy some suitable inoculum at the hardware store.
Hi, I am executor of my mother's estate and have been staying in her house (she's in hospice, but will likely pass this week).
I've noticed soapy water coming out of the overflow pipe when I do laundry. It goes all over the lawn.
I only just now found out from the neighbor that my mother has a septic tank, and it has no vent because the previous owner of the house didn't put one in.
I feel like there's probably an issue with the septic tank, which has probably never been cleaned out since my mother bought the house eight years ago - the bathroom sink is slow to drain too.
I don't have a septic tank at my house so am completely ignorant of all of this.
Do you recommend having it cleaned out and a vent installed, given that we will be selling the house as soon as we can probate wise? Or just leaving it alone? I have to investigate what is needed maintenance wise. I feel like soapy water from the washer should not be going out a pipe onto the side lawn, though my mother and the neighbor think that is perfectly normal...
Thanks, signed, confused
You have a lot going on all at once. First thing is to verify just where the soapy water is actually coming from. A plumber could help here. When you say "overflow pipe" not sure what you mean. The house may have a clean-out valve for the plumbing. They tend to be right at the base of a wall or foundation, but vary. Might not be the septic tank itself.
Does that area of the lawn smell? Look constantly wet, boggy, soft underfoot? Do you have any idea where the septic tank is buried? Have a septic service locate it, inspect it, and pump it out. They may require you to locate and expose the tank lids yourself before they'll pump it. There are older systems that don't have obvious venting. As already mentioned, unless you plan to sell the house as is you'll have to provide information about the state of the septic anyway.
If too much water (with too much soap being used BTW) from laundry, showers, dishwasher use hits an already full tank all at once it can overflow or back up into the clean out. The second part of a septic system is the leachfield/drainfield. The septic tank traps the solids. Then the remaining water flows off the surface and down into the leachfield where it will be filtered by the gravel bed and soils. If the tank is full, some of the solids get pushed into the line connecting to the leachfield and start plugging the field up too. Not good.
Last edited by Parnassia; 08-12-2018 at 02:46 PM..
1. It needs to be pumped out. This is typically $200-300.
2. It needs to be inspected. For our parents' house, this was $1200.
3. In certain states, the seller has to pay to bring the system into compliance with the latest code. In Massachusetts, this is $20+K. We sold the house "as is" as it was going to be scraped.
People know which parts of town have septic tanks. Inspection of the septic system will be one of the first things done by a buyer. It will be very difficult to sell a house with septic system problems. You will either be facing a rather large price reduction, a required repair, or a lost sale.
This is something to sort out before putting a house up for sale.
If you have septic problems.... you would smell poo, it would smell really bad and be mucky out by the tank and drain field. I don't think you would describe it as just "soapy water".
I wonder if she didn't have some kind of separate drain for grey water from the laundry, to use to water the lawn, and maybe that's what you're seeing. It's actually a pretty good idea.
I don't know what you mean about venting in this context... septics don't typically have a vent pipe that is visible. Some newer fancy systems may have cleanout risers.
Have the septic pumped and inspected as a matter of routine maintenance, and preparation for sale, and learn about septic systems, from both the pumper, and the internet. And keep the papers, because it will likely be an important step in the selling process that will be done.
The washer water my be plumbed to drain on outside area (called gray water) not legal but we and a whole lot of people do it this way,a whole bunch of water will kill bacteria in septic flooding drain field.
As for vent septic is a closed system,the vent comes from drain pipe thru roof which vents toilet,sinks etc.
It sounds like the washer water just runs to yard, not the septic tank.
And the septic tank will be inspected once there is an offer on the house. If the system fails inspection, it will usually become county record, which means you can't sell unless its fixed.
Get a realtor that has experience negotiating a seller/buyer 50/50 payment to fix septic tank. Money goes into escrow to pay for the repair. That way you don't get stuck paying for the whole thing. In areas where there is a lot of septic systems, an experienced realtor can be a big help.
Thanks everyone. I bet the washer grey water does just run to the yard - crazy! I can't imagine doing that (and I don't like it one bit).
I'm definitely going to get that septic inspected. When we put the house on the market I need it to go smoothly; I don't even live in this state and settling the estate will be difficult enough with a challenging sibling (though I am executor).
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