There are few scenes more alarming for a homeowner than discovering their home has been flooded. Water can cause a huge amount of damage to a property, potentially rendering it uninhabitable until the problem has been addressed. Learning how to take good care of your home’s plumbing, and how to address some of the most common issues it is likely to suffer, will significantly reduce the chances of something going wrong and ensure that you are equipped to handle the situation if it does.
However, while any homeowner can learn to take care of some basic plumbing tasks on their own, there will also be occasions when it is necessary to call in professional help. Knowing which signs indicate the need for a professional plumber and a problem too big for most homeowners to handle on their own will help you to take care of problems before they snowball into something more serious.
The following are the clearest indicators that it’s time to call in professional help for your plumbing. No matter how skilled you might be as a plumber, there are some jobs that should just be left to the professionals.
Slow Drainage
This is one of the easiest signs to notice and it appears just like it sounds. When your sink or bath is draining slower than usual, or not at all, this usually indicates the presence of a blockage in the system. This could be a blockage covering the plug or drain of the appliance in question, or it could be a blockage in the pipes themselves. The nature of the blockage will depend on the appliance in question and how you use it. If you make a habit of putting things down the drain that you shouldn’t, you are more likely to have problems with blockages forming. Make sure that you check the above link for a guide to what you can and can’t put down your drains.
Backflow
Backflow is among the worst plumbing problems that a homeowner can encounter. Backflow causes dirty water to back up and flood the property. Even clean water would damage your property, furniture, and upholstery, but the dirty water that floods your home due to backflow causes even more problems than usual. This foul-smelling water will ruin your flooring and seep into wood and fabric.
The most common cause of backflow is a sudden change in the water flow. This causes water to back up and flow in reverse until it overflows. Sewer backflow is the worst kind because, well, it’s sewage. If backflow occurs, you should call in a professional to deal with the issue. They will also be able to tell you if the backflow has caused any lasting damage to your property.
Low Water Pressure
You will be able to spot low water pressure because the flow of water out of your tap will be much slower and weaker than it should be. This is usually caused by debris building up in the faucet; dust and other particles can clump together in the presence of water and the resulting gunk can prevent water from flowing properly.
It is possible to take apart your faucet and fix this issue yourself if you are confident that you know what you are doing. However, if you do it wrong it’s possible to damage the interior of the faucet pipe, ultimately causing it to leak. It is, therefore, worth calling in a professional plumber who knows what they’re doing.
Bad Odors
There are a couple of different things that can cause bad smells, depending on where they are coming from. For example, if you don’t clean your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher, your machine’s filter will soon become clogged. When this happens, food debris can build up.
When this happens, your dishwasher won’t drain properly, the water inside will become stagnant and gather grime from its surroundings. If it isn’t cleaned, it will soon start to smell as the water and the food turn bad. Make sure that you clean your dishes of large debris before you put them in the dishwasher.
If your sink has a garbage disposal, be aware of what you can and can’t put down there. There are limits to what a garbage disposal can handle. If you make a habit of putting things through your disposal that you shouldn’t, the chances of it becoming blocked or suffering a mechanical failure are greatly increased.
No Water Flow
This can be the ultimate plumbing disaster if it strikes at an inconvenient time. A lack of any water flow at all usually indicates a serious fault in your plumbing. You will want to get a professional plumber to diagnose and solve the issue, as this is a difficult one to troubleshoot yourself. This may be because of a leak in your pipes, which could potentially cause water damage in your walls.
Finding a Plumber
It’s always a good idea to have a plumber on standby. Keep the contact details of a couple of different plumbers stored in your phone so that if there’s an emergency you can get it sorted as quickly as possible. Look online for plumbers operating in your area. Make sure to take note of which plumbers offer which service so that you call on the right one when you need them. For example, if you live in Oklahoma, visit this website. Crazy Plumbers provide plumbing services to homeowners and businesses and offer just about every service you could possibly want.
Even the best-maintained home will suffer the occasional difficulty. Plumbing issues are common, and some of them are easy to solve on your own. There’s no sense in hiring a plumber for the most minor incidents. However, there are a number of relatively common plumbing issues that require the attention of a trained professional. Make sure that you know what signs to look out for as an indicator that there’s a serious issue with your plumbing. if you don’t address these issued promptly, they can quickly evolve into something much worse.
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