Clear Plumbing Red Flags That Might Be Risky to Ignore

By Brian Sodoma, for Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning

As we move into winter, many homeowners tend to prioritize tuning up their furnaces and other heating equipment, often forgetting about other important systems. While supporting your heating is a smart move, your home’s plumbing system might need professional service too.

You may want to consider a yearly plumbing maintenance appointment. After all, plumbing issues are often only noticed once something breaks, but it’s also probably true that your system may have been trying to alert you to the trouble. To help you avoid more extensive repairs, here are five often overlooked signs that the plumbing or fixes could use some professional attention.

1. Poor Pressure

If the plumbing’s water pressure drops suddenly, that’s usually because of an issue with the water supply. It may be a failure somewhere inside the main line to your home or a pipe within it, explained BJ Richardson, a Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning plumbing manager.

However, if your water pressure problem is restricted to one room, like the bathroom or kitchen, it might be a fixture problem. It might be a simple fix, like swapping out a broken faucet aerator or addressing a water heater issue. Or it might be something a little more complex, like a supply line leading to that room.

“I always encourage families to look at their water bill too. If the pressure drop comes at a time when you’re also faced with a higher bill, there may be a deeper problem,” Richardson said. “It’s also a good idea to check your water meter to see if it’s running even when no appliances are turned on. That’s another way we determine you have a leak somewhere.”

Sometimes a sudden problem with your water pressure starts at the municipal supply – in these cases, that is easily corrected with a booster pump.

2. A “Sewer” Smell in the Home

“While kitchen or bathroom sink clogs can sometimes lead to unpleasant odors due to trapped remnants, a persistent odor of rotten eggs suggests a more serious issue. Drains have a trap and vent inside them and either one can fail. If the smell lingers, you could be dealing with a blocked sewer or even a sewer gas leak. Identifying and addressing these problems is best left to the professionals, Richardson said.

Be aware that while propane and natural gas have a distinctive smell, such leaks can be confused as a sewer smell. When in doubt, reach out to a professional.”

3. Rusted or Discolored Piping

Visible wear and discoloration on exposed pipes represent other signs that might be overlooked. If you’re in the basement or near exposed piping, it’s useful to examine exposed pipes. Noticeable wear and discoloration usually points to the presence of a leak.

Discoloration commonly occurs in areas where two pieces of piping meet. Ignoring such discoloration is risky when it comes to your main water lines because they are pressurized, Richardson explained. If the plumbing breaks, it can release a substantial amount of water into your home very quickly.

Depending on the type of pipe you’re looking at, discoloration can be caused by the different chemicals municipalities use to sanitize and treat the water.

4. Slow Drains

We understand it may be tempting for homeowners to fix this issue with liquid drain cleaner, but those chemicals are usually only a temporary option that might damage your plumbing system. Even if we’ve all heard of hair clogs, the truth is hair is not the main culprit. Products like cleaners, toothpaste, hand soaps and even the oil produced from our skin create an adhesive scum on the drain walls that catches hair and other debris, something most liquid drain cleaners won’t clear away. Employing a drain machine or snake is our recommendation for the most effective method to address this type of entrenched clog. Often, if the clog is just inside the pipes below the sink, clearing it out usually takes care of the problem. But if it doesn’t, it could mean you need to look for a more significant issue.

“The thing you really want to keep an eye on is if multiple drains are constantly clogging, and the problem doesn’t clear up itself even after you clean the drain under those sinks,” said Brian McMasters, a Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning division plumbing manager. “The sewer line might also be in need of cleaning, but in some plumbing systems, the cause of the problem is tree roots that slowly damage and crack a sewer line. Fixing this kind of damage is obviously more involved and requires trenching down where the leak is to repair it.”

5. Wet Spots in the Yard

Regularly check the exterior of your house, including your yard. It’s advisable to do so every week. Frequently, a broken underground water or irrigation line leak, or even a sewer main line leak, presents itself gradually, when lots of water has already leaked underground. Keep an eye out for soft, sunken spots in your yard as these could be a sign there’s a hidden issue.

“You also want to be vigilent for things including sudden green patches in typically dry or yellow areas of the lawn,” said McMasters. “In our experience, that’s a sign there is a problem a trained plumber can solve.”

Find out everything you need to know about avoiding common issues with plumbing systems and look forward to expert help at Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning.