Plumbing problems will probably plague you at some point in your life. Water is, after all, an absolute necessity, and the systems in your home that deal with water see a lot of use. Sometimes an issue with the plumbing requires serious professional help, and sometimes it’s a problem you can fix on your own.
Leaky Pipes
When you think of plumbing problems you probably picture a pipe dripping (or, if your imagination tends more toward disasters, spraying) water.
This could be a minor inconvenience—maybe a pipe under your kitchen sink has a slow drip and you can put a bowl under it to catch the water until you can get a plumber out. Or it could be a disaster in the making—like if a pipe inside one of your walls is leaking water into the structure of your home itself, where it can cause wood rot, ruin drywall and insulation, rust metal, and create unhealthy environments in the form of bacteria, mildew, or mold growth.
Leaky pipes may be reparable, or they may need to be fully replaced. If your luck has run out, an entire system may be outdated and need a full overhaul.
If the leaky pipe is easy to access and if you’re handy and have the right tools, you may be able to fix it on your own. Make sure you are aware of the requirements and risks of such a task before attempting an undertaking.
If the problem is more serious or harder to access, a professional plumber is the person to call.
Clogged Toilets
This is usually a very unpleasant but minor inconvenience that you can clear away on your own. You can use a plunger (one that you don’t plan to wear on your head) to clear the clog, and then be more careful about what you (or maybe your children) flush down the toilet, and then all you’ve got to deal with is a bit of cleaning up and probably a nice hot shower.
But if toilet clogs won’t clear, persists, or returns too often, it could be indicative of a bigger issue. In that case you’ll want to seek a professional’s help to deal with your problematic potty.
Running Toilet
Maybe your toilet doesn’t have a problem flushing, but a problem stopping. If you flush and your toilet continues to run and run, or if you don’t flush but it runs intermittently throughout the day anyway, this is generally indicative of a fairly minor problem. In most cases the stopper in your tank just needs to be replaced. If you do that and the problem doesn’t go away, call a pro, because this problem may seem minor but can result in wild amounts of water waste.
Dripping Faucet
The biggest problem with a drippy faucet is usually, again, wasting water. And also, if repetitive drip-drop-drip noises bother you, annoyance.
You may simply need to put in new o-rings, but you want to make sure you’re doing it correctly, and if you have a nonstandard type of faucet you still could need help with this fairly minor repair.
Slow or Clogged Drains
If your sinks or bathtubs take a long time to drain, or simply don’t drain, this is a clear sign that you have a problem.
Fixing it may be as simple as bending a wire coat hanger and pulling out the accumulation of hair and soap scum (hey, simple doesn’t necessarily mean pleasant) or pouring a liquid plumbing product down the drain.
If those routes fail you, this is a call a plumber will be very used to helping with and should provide them with few problems (unless they run into any unexpected surprises).
Problems With the Sewer Line
These problems tend to be ones you really can’t fix on your own, and that might be a blessing in disguise because they also tend to be problems that have a high yuck factor.
A common sewer line problem is a clog, this is caused most often by someone in your home flushing things they shouldn’t. (The list of things you shouldn’t flush is long, it includes pretty much everything but waste and toilet paper. Even “flushable” wipes are not actually flushable.)
But if the problem with your sewer line proves trickier than expected, a professional may need to do a little more work, including actually looking down the line using a sewer camera to find out exactly what the issue is so they can decide how to fix it.
Signs of Hidden Problems
Ideally you’d like to catch plumbing issues before they become plumbing disasters, but with so much of the workings of your water systems hidden away, it can be hard to tell when a problem is brewing.
One potential indication is a sudden, drastic, and unexplainable increase in your water bill.
Another is the sudden and unexplainable appearance of standing water in your lawn.
If you experience either of those warning signs, call a plumber to discuss what the problem may be and what next steps should be taken.
Keep Your Eyes Open
Plumbing problems will happen to almost everyone at some point in time or another. The key is to be alert to the potential issues, and if disaster strikes to stay calm and call a pro.