29 September 2021 ~ Comments Off
4 Common Plumbing Problems Every Homeowner Needs To Watch For
What are the most common plumbing problems that homeowners need to watch out for in 2021?
Below we will discuss a few of the most common plumbing problems, that with routine maintenance and a bit of know-how can be handled before they become a major issue.
Low water pressure is troublesome even if you’re not in the shower. It’s possible that you have low water pressure from the utility, which can be checked easily with a pressure gauge. It’s also possible that there are problems within your home. It could be as simple as trying to do too much at once. If you run the dishwasher and water the lawn, your shower might not be so great. Of course, you might also have blocked pipes. To find out if the low pressure exists throughout the home, check different locations, one at a time.
Check your water valve. It could only be halfway open. Run each faucet and showerhead and make note of any with low pressure. If there’s just one location with low pressure, that particular fixture or set of pipes is probably blocked in some way. If the whole house has low pressure, one or more main pipes has an issue.
Expensive Water Bills.
Sudden increases in your water bill can result from a variety of reasons. A drip a second from a single faucet adds up to just under 6 gallons daily. Normal use for a family of four is about 200 gallons daily. Over the course of a month, that will be 6,180 gallons instead of 6,000 — and that extra 180 gallons adds up over time. The weather can also impact your bills; dry weather increases water usage as you strive to keep your lawn from dying. Extra people living in your home also results in more water usage.
Your utility may use estimates for your bill based on previous consumption. If they’ve estimated low, then you might see a sudden spike as the bill “catches up.” Installing water-saving fixtures and other such devices can offset a rising bill or reduce a static bill. It’s also good for the environment to use less water.
Downspout Issues
While pipes and fixtures can cause problems at or below ground level on your property, faulty downspouts can be problematic both below and above ground. If they become disconnected or the connections become stressed or broken, water can seep down around the foundation. This can cause sweating walls and foundation damage below the ground. Sweating walls, not to mention water that seeps out of the foundation, will result in a wet basement.
If downspouts become clogged, they might overflow back into the gutters, which then causes the gutters to overflow. That’ll contribute to your “water-in-the-basement” problem. Overflowing gutters can also adversely affect the wood to which they’re connected, as well as the soffits, fascia and shingles near the overflow point. Even if you clean your gutters, if you don’t clean your downspouts, you might wind up with gutters that fall off your home.
Water Heater Not Working Properly
Water heater problems might require the services of a plumber, an expert natural-gas professional, an electrician or any combination of the three. Some common issues include:
- Valves giving way, causing the water heater to flood the surrounding area
- Corrosion or rust interfering with water circulation in the tank
- Bacteria invading the tank and making your water smell terrible
But the most common problem with a water heater is that it doesn’t live up to its name providing either too little hot water, or none at all.
If it’s the latter, it might be as simple as needing to relight the pilot on a gas heater or replace the heating element on an electric heater. Corrosion, rust, or sediment in the tank must be cleaned out for your tank to function properly, and that requires an expert. A leaking water heater, however, cannot be repaired. It’s done for, and it must be replaced.
Harvey L. Baker is a certified Orlando plumbing contractor licensed in the State of Florida. He has been in the residential plumbing and commercial plumbing industry for the last 25 years.
To learn more about us and our other services visit Harvey Baker Plumbing. Providing 24hour Residential and Commercial Plumbing in Central Florida. We proudly serve Orange, Osceola, Seminole, West Volusia and East Lake County.
