Clear Plumbing Red Flags That Might Be Risky to Ignore
By Brian Sodoma, for Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning
As we head into winter, many homeowners often prioritize maintaining their furnaces and other heating equipment, potentially overlooking other important utilities. While maintaining your heating is always smart, your home’s plumbing system may need professional service too.
You may want to consider a regular plumbing checkup. After all, plumbing issues are often only discovered after something breaks, but it’s likely that your system might have been trying to warn you for weeks. To minimize your risk of needing serious repairs, here are five often overlooked signs that your plumbing system needs immediate attention.
1. Poor Pressure
If the plumbing’s water pressure decreases suddenly, that’s usually because of an issue with your water main. It could be a failure somewhere inside the main line as well as a pipe within it, explained BJ Richardson, a Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning plumbing manager.
However, if the pressure drop is isolated somewhere, like the bathroom or kitchen, it might be a fixture problem. It may be a simple fix, like swapping out a broken faucet aerator or addressing a water heater issue. Or it could possibly be something a little more complex, like a supply line leading to that room.
“I always tell people to keep an eye on their water bill too. If you notice these drops in pressure come at a time when you also have to deal with a higher bill, there may be a deeper problem,” Richardson said. “It’s helpful to check your water meter for changes even when you aren’t using water. That’s another sign there’s a leak somewhere.”
Occasionally a sudden problem with your water pressure is in fact because of a problem with the municipal supply – in these cases, that is easily resolved with help from a booster pump.
2. A “Sewer” Smell Somewhere in the Plumbing
“While a clog in a plumbing fixture like your sink can sometimes produce unpleasant odors in the plumbing, a persistent rotten egg smell suggests a more serious issue. Drains have a trap and vent inside them and either one can clog. If the smell never goes away, you might have a clogged sewer line or even a sewer gas leak. Diagnosing and fixing these problems is best left to the professionals, Richardson said.
Keep in mind that although propane and natural gas have a distinctive smell, those leaks are often mistaken as a sewer smell. When in doubt, reach out to a professional.”
3. Discolored Pipes
Discoloration and visible wear on exposed pipes can be other signs that can be easy to overlook. If you’re in your basement, outside or anywhere in your home, it’s a good idea to check all exposed pipes. Discoloration and noticeable wear usually points to an impending leak.
The most common discoloration appears in areas where two pipe pieces are joined together. Ignoring such discoloration is risky when it comes to the main water supply because they are pressurized, Richardson explained. If the plumbing breaks, it can start flooding your home very quickly.
For some sections of the piping, discoloration can be caused by the different chemicals local authorities have to sanitize and treat the water.
4. Slow Drains
We understand it may be tempting for homeowners to solve all clogs with liquid drain cleaner, but this is usually only a temporary fix that could backfire and damage your plumbing system. Even if we’ve all heard of clogs caused by hair, the reality is hair is not the actual culprit. Products like chemical cleaners, toothpaste, hand soaps and even the natural oils from our skin create a sticky scum on the drain walls that traps hair and other small particles, something most liquid drain cleaners won’t clear away. The use of a mechanical snake or drain machine is our recommendation for the most effective way to take care of this type of entrenched clog. Usually, if there is considerable debris inside the pipes below the sink, flushing it away usually takes care of the problem. But if that fails, it could suggest a more significant issue.
“The thing you should watch out for is if multiple drains are constantly clogging, and the problem doesn’t clear up itself even after you clean the drain under those sinks,” explained Brian McMasters, a Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning division plumbing manager. “The sewer line may need to be cleaned, but in some cases, the issue comes from tree roots that slowly damage and crack a sewer line. Handling this kind of situation is obviously a bigger project and requires trenching down to the exact location of the leak to repair it.”
5. Damp or Flooded Spots in the Yard
Regularly inspect all around your house, including your yard. It’s advisable to take care of this every week. Frequently, a broken underground water or irrigation line leak, or even a sewer main line leak, becomes more obvious gradually, when lots of water has already leaked underground. Look for soft, sunken spots in the grass as these can indicate a hidden issue.
“You also want to be on the lookout for things such as unusually green patches in typically dry or yellow areas of the lawn,” noted McMasters. “In many cases, that’s a sign there’s a problem a trained plumber can solve.”
Discover more about avoiding common issues with plumbing systems and receive expert help at Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning.
