Typical Plumbing Issues: What Every Homeowner Should Know
Typical Plumbing Issues: What Every Homeowner Should Know
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What are the most common plumbing problems?
Clogs
Clogs are arguably the most common type of plumbing problem that homeowners run into. Drains clog all the time. Most of these clogs are pretty minor—you clear out a sink clog by running the disposal, or a toilet clog using the plunger.
But, many other clogs are much tougher to clear out. Some can even be a sign of a sewer line blockage—something that should never be taken lightly!
How to deal with clogs
This is how most homeowners approach a clog. They’ll try to clear it themselves and—should that approach fail—they’ll bring in a plumber.
After all, plumbers have access to specialized clog-clearing tools that most homeowners don’t have under their kitchen or bathroom sink. This includes a variety of snake tools, specialized plungers, augers, and more.
Should you use drain cleaning products?
When confronted with a clog, most homeowners are tempted to run out to the grocery store and grab a drain cleaning product. After all, this is typically cheaper than bringing in a plumber.
However, these drain cleaning chemicals don’t always work as well as they should. In many cases, they only partially clear the clog, which means you’re going to be dealing with a clog again very soon.
Plus, these harsh chemicals can be tough on your pipes. Repeated use can actually weaken and damage them.
Frozen Pipes
Throughout much of the United States—including here in Chicagoland—frozen pipes are a major problem in the winter.
All it takes is a particularly cold night and your heater going down for several hours (which are often related) for your home’s pipes to freeze. If your home has an electric furnace, a power outage could also lead to this problem.
What happens when pipes freeze?
For obvious reasons, pipes in exterior walls are at the greatest immediate risk. As the pipes freeze, the water inside of them expands.
If you’ve ever left a can of soda pop in the freezer overnight, you know what comes next: the expansion of water into ice puts immense pressure on the pipe.
Luckily, your home’s copper or PVC pipes are hardier than an aluminum can, but there’s only so much of this sustained pressure they can take. Your pipes are at risk of bursting at any time.
How should you thaw out frozen pipes?
Thawing these pipes out is trickier than you might think. Most homeowners instinctively reach for the hair dryer, but that can actually bring on a pipe burst, since rapidly heating the pipe’s surface may weaken it.
You’ll really want to bring in a plumber. We have specialized thawing tools designed to safely raise the temperature of the water inside of the pipe, defrosting it without damaging the pipe itself.
Leaks
Water leaks are a big deal—and a common problem. Whether they’re caused by frozen—and then burst—pipes, or just by aging pipes, water leaks can cause thousands of dollars in water damage to your home, relatively quickly.
For this reason, every leak—no matter how small it starts—needs to be treated like a major threat to your home.
Do you need leak detection?
Not all leaks start in convenient, easy-to-access places, either. Some leaks start behind walls, in ceilings, or underneath floors. Finding and accessing the leak actually might be the toughest part of the job.
This is where a professional plumber can really save you a lot of time, money, and headache. Using professional leak detection equipment—such as acoustic leak detectors—the plumber will pinpoint the location of the leak.
From there, they can make precision cuts into your drywall or slab to access and repair it.
Leaks and water damage
If you’ve got a leak, you’ve probably also got water damage and, potentially, mold growth. Once your plumber has fixed the leak, you’ll want to speak to a restoration and mold remediation specialist to make sure there’s no long-term, lingering damage to your home.
Exactly How to Fix Common Household Plumbing Issues
Some plumbing problems are extra typical and can be easily fixed. Doing the repair services yourselves on these basic plumbing troubles can conserve you tons of money. As a property owner, you will certainly run into several plumbing troubles that periodically make a problem. Take a look at 5 of one of the most typical ones below:
Low Tide Pressure
Is somebody from your family whining that there's low water pressure from the sink? Check if this problem impacts both the cool and hot water lines. If indeed, then the issue is the aerator within the sink which may have a lot of sedimentation causing low water pressure. This is really simple to deal with as you simply require to take it out and also scrub away the natural resource.
Running Toilet
You might have experienced a running toilet, which can be quite frustrating due to the fact that the container will not fill up. At the same time, leaving it alone corresponds to squandering water and increasing up your water expenses.
Bathroom fill shutoff
Dripping flush shutoff
Commode flapper
Malfunctioning Garbage Disposal System
This bothersome issue is also high on the listing of typical plumbing concerns. Your system will certainly feature a clever key to unjam your equipment. However if you lose it, you will certainly need an Allen wrench to deal with the issue. You need to go under the sink and also search for the place where you can put the key. When you detect it, use your wrench to turn the equipment to release the motor. When working on your rubbish disposal system to protect against horrible mishaps, don't forget to transform off the system and also cut the circuit breaker.
Slow Draining Sink
This is one of the most usual complaint of house owners, with the sink collecting a lot of hair, grease, particles, as well as other crud in time. Unfortunately, the only method to obtain a smooth moving drainpipe once more is to remove the particles. Initially, you can use a plumbing tool for angling out the debris. From there, you can make use of a store-bought drain cleaner to cleanse the lines.
Slow-moving Tub Drain
Just like the sink drainpipe, hair, soap scum, dead skin cells, as well as other substances swimming pool in the drain frequently. After using the claw, you can pour drain cleaner to freshen the drainpipe lines.
If every one of these audio tedious for you, you can always hire a plumber to get specialist assistance. Looking for professional assistance indicates saving effort and time. Since you can relax assured that your straightforward plumbing problem will not intensify, you may also finish up conserving cash in the lengthy run. Because you will certainly be welcoming unfamiliar people in your home, simply make certain you call a respectable business with qualifications and licenses. Certainly, you need to see to it that you collaborate with someone you can trust.
Some plumbing issues are more usual and can be easily dealt with. Doing the fixings yourselves on these simple plumbing issues can conserve you bunches of money. As a property owner, you will certainly run into several various plumbing problems that periodically make an annoyance. You can utilize a plumbing device for fishing out the particles. You might also finish up saving cash in the long run due to the fact that you can rest guaranteed that your simple plumbing issue will not escalate.
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