Common Plumbing Problems You Need To Know
It doesn’t matter if you’re a first time homeowner, or you’ve been living at your current residence for a few years, taking care of your home should always be one of your biggest priorities. This needs to be done on a few fronts. In general, you need to make sure that certain aspects of your home’s infrastructure are in good quality, especially the various piping and plumbing systems. To help you in taking care of your home, here are some common plumbing problems you should be aware of and know how to spot or deal with.
Gas Leaks
Because they can be extremely dangerous, it’s important to know how to spot a gas leak and what to do if you come across one. Firstly, gas leaks can occur for a number of reasons, but they’re usually tied to poorly maintained piping and appliances like heaters/boilers, and fittings that were installed improperly or are just worn down over time. One of the the most telltale signs of a gas leak if the indistinguishable hissing noise that comes from the source of the leak. If you’re in your kitchen and you hear that noise, you need to leave the building, and call your gas company immediately. It can be dangerous to be inside a home where there is a gas leak, and you should not reenter until you have had a professional perform an inspection and make sure it’s safe.
Broken Toilet
At one point or another, all of us have probably had to deal with a toilet that either isn’t flushing, or isn’t flushing well enough. This can happen for a number of reasons, so it’s important to know a few potential causes so that you can act appropriately. In the water tank of the toilet, there are a lot of smaller components that go into providing the action of flushing. Sometimes, one of those components may have been moved out of place, or broken entirely. It’s very possible to perform a DIY fix depending on the complexity, along with your general plumbing knowledge.
However, a toilet that doesn’t flush properly can also be caused by deeper issues in your home’s piping.
Clogged Drains and Leaks
Unfortunately, most people don’t recognize that clogged pipes can lead to far-spreading issues throughout the home. Low water pressure can be attributed to an older piping system, or one that has accumulated minerals over a long period of time. When a toilet tank doesn’t flush all the way, or your shower doesn’t provide as much pressure as it did in the past, this can be a symptom of clogs or leaks. Leaks in particular are going to be harder to spot, especially if they aren’t on openly visible pipes. You have plumbing that runs throughout your entire home, which is why it usually takes a trained professional to spot these problems.
There are of course the more ‘surface’ level clogs that occur in sinks, the shower, and the toilet. These can often be resolved using a chemical de-clogging solution, a drain snake, or the old reliable plunger. That being said, if you’re ever uncertain of what’s wrong with your home’s plumbing, don’t hesitate to call a professional who can evaluate the situation and provide a timely and cost-effective solution.