Clear Plumbing Red Flags That Might Be Risky to Ignore

By Brian Sodoma, for Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning

As we head into winter, many homeowners often prioritize tuning up their furnaces and any other HVAC systems, often overlooking other important systems. While maintaining your heating is always a good investment, your home’s plumbing system will sometimes need some attention too.

You may want to consider an annual plumbing maintenance appointment. After all, plumbing issues are often only discovered after something breaks, but chances are your system might have been trying to warn you for weeks. To avoid serious repairs, here are a few often overlooked signs that your home’s plumbing needs our attention.

1. A Drop in Water Pressure

If the plumbing’s water pressure falls suddenly, that’s a clear indicator of an issue with the main water line. It might be a failure somewhere inside the main line as well as 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, such as replacing a faucet aerator or addressing a water heater issue. Or it could be something a little more complex, like a supply line leading to that room.

“I always tell people to keep an eye on their water bill too. If these pressure drops happen at the same time when you also have to deal with a higher bill, there may be a deeper problem,” Richardson said. “It’s helpful to check your water meter to see if it’s running even when no appliances are turned on. That’s also pointing to a leak somewhere.”

Sometimes a sudden drop in water pressure can be related to the municipal supply – in these cases, that is easily fixed by a booster pump.

2. A “Sewer” Smell in the Home

“While a clog in a plumbing fixture like your sink can sometimes produce unpleasant odors due to trapped remnants, a persistent rotten egg smell suggests a more serious issue. Drains have a trap and vent inside them and either one can clog. If the smell lingers, you could be dealing with a blocked sewer or even a sewer gas leak. Solving these problems is usually best handled by the professionals, Richardson said.

Keep in mind that while propane and natural gas possess a distinctive smell, those leaks are often mistaken as a sewer smell. When in doubt, consult with a professional.”

3. Rusted or Discolored Piping

Visible wear and discoloration on exposed pipes represent other signs that are often ignored. If you’re in a room with exposed plumbing, it’s smart to check all the piping exposed to the open. Discoloration and noticeable wear usually indicates an impending leak.

The most common discoloration appears in an area of the plumbing where two pipes join. Failing to notice discoloration can be problematic when it comes to supply lines because they are pressurized, Richardson explained. When an exposed pipe breaks, it can release a substantial amount of water into your home very quickly.

With certain pipes, discoloration is in fact caused by different chemicals municipalities use to sanitize and treat the water.

4. Slow or Blocked Up Drains

We understand it may be tempting for homeowners to solve all clogs with liquid drain cleaner, but those chemicals are usually only a temporary fix and can potentially damage your plumbing system. Even if we’ve all heard of clogs caused by hair, the reality is hair is not the clog’s culprit. Items such as chemical cleaners, toothpaste, hand soaps and even the oil produced from our skin create a layer of scum on the drain walls that traps hair and other foreign objects, which most liquid drain cleaners won’t clear away. Employing a drain machine or snake will be the most effective approach to address this type of obstruction. Often, if there is considerable debris inside the pipes below the sink, flushing it away usually takes care of the problem. But if that fails, it could indicate a more significant issue.

“The thing you should keep an eye on is if multiple drains are clogged, and the problem doesn’t go away 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 situations, we also come across tree roots that reach and crack a sewer line. Fixing this kind of damage is obviously a bigger project and requires trenching down to the exact location of the leak to repair it.”

5. Standing Water in Your Front or Back Yard

Regularly check around your house, including your yard. It’s wise to do so every week. Many times, a broken underground water or irrigation line leak, or even a sewer main line leak, presents itself gradually, once a significant amount of water has already leaked out. Search for soft, sunken spots in the dirt as these can indicate a hidden issue.

“You also want to watch for things such as unusually green patches in typically dry or yellow areas of the lawn,” mentioned McMasters. “Sometimes, that’s a sign you’re dealing with a problem a trained plumber can solve.”

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