In performing home repairs and maintenance services, plumbing stands as one of the most challenging to track.
Since inspecting pipes and other plumbing features can be difficult due to their location, most homeowners rarely notice their deteriorating conditions until it’s too late.
The common plumbing problem that homeowners experience is a damaging leak. While there are spotted leaks, like loose water heater piping and dripping faucets, others might be beneath floors, behind walls, in the foundation, or inside the appliances in your home, making them hard to notice.
The outline below highlights some of the signs that can indicate leakage in your plumbing:
- Spiking Water Bills
Water bills go up typically during summer after watering the lawn and filling up the pool for your children to play in. However, if you haven’t changed your household’s water habits or added someone to your home and the water bill spikes, your plumbing might leak for which you can call affordable plumbing services from houston.
You can identify the difference in water usage through a month-to-month comparison of paid bills from your water company helping you detect if your plumbing leaks. The most frequent culprit of water leaks is the piping of your home.
You may call a professional for water pipe repair services to avoid unusual high-water bills.
- Visible Mold Or Mildew
It’s normal to have a little mold and mildew even in showers of the cleanest homes. However, if they happen to be outside the bathtub area, there could be a possibility of a pipe leak. Excessive moisture from leaking pipes creates the perfect conditions for thriving mold or mildew.
Cleaning the mildew or mold doesn’t fix the problem. Calling a professional to fix the leaking pipe can help prevent mold growth in your home.
- Low Water Pressure
One of the most well-known signs of a leak might be happening. Everyone expects high water pressure or the usual rush of water when you turn on the shower or your faucet. But when the pressure is lower than expected, water is possibly dropping through a leak before it reaches its fixtures.
Even though clogged pipes and faulty valves might be to blame for low water pressure, pipe leaks happen to be a significant reason. There are plenty of ways to resolve the issue if this sign occurs, but nothing compares to sewer jetting in getting rid of the obstruction.
- Unexplained Odors
The mold or mildew can be inside your walls, vents, or under your floors, producing an unpleasant odor. There could also be an accumulation of stagnant water in unseen areas.
The plumbing rule of thumb dictates that every drain requires a trap, and every catch requires a vent. These drains and traps are designed to block the sewer gas from entering your home. The drain traps are supposed to create a water plug that stands as the barrier preventing odors from coming through the sink drain. The vents channel the sewer odor up to the roof.
Having sewer odor indicates a dry trap or a cracked vent in your home. Tracking down broken sewer vents might be challenging since they are primarily enclosed in walls, hence requiring drywall surgery to repair.
- Stained And Damaged Walls, Ceilings, And Floors
If you experience moisture in your walls or ceiling, it can be because of plumbing leaks. Stains, cracks, bubbling, peeling off paint, or sagging ceiling may indicate water leaking from the other side of the wall. It may start like a minor and bearable situation, but when the problem isn’t fixed, you’ll end up with significant damage that can be difficult to solve.
Check ways to detect water leaks in walls to become one step ahead before the leaks worsen.
- A Running Meter
Logically, when you shut all the running water in your house, you expect the meter to stop because there is no water running, right? Well, it’s true to expect that, but if you notice your meter is ticking and there is no activity going on, your plumbing is probably leaking.
- Discolored Pipes
Suppose you happen to come across discolored pipes under the sinks or in the basement, especially around a union. If the lines are discolored, there is a possible sign of moisture present in the plumbing pipes. This moisture can be caused by water leaks from the sink, drain line, shower, or slow leaks in the supply pipeline.
When there are leaks in the line, it means the supply lines are pressurized, and that slow leak has the potential of causing a big mess to the drain.
- Green Patch In The Yard
One of the common signs of plumbing issues— is when one section of your yard is much greener than the other parts, which illustrates that the sewer line is leaking. Especially if the greener patch is near your house, the street where the original sewer line originates.
Leaking sewers also create hollow areas in the yard, causing that part to be different from other places in the yard.
Conclusion
Your home’s plumbing system is an essential feature of your day-to-day activities. Constant maintenance and repair ensure clean water in all your rooms and drainage out of the house to the sewer line. Leaks in your plumbing pipes can be difficult to notice. However, the guide above can help you know if your plumbing leaks.