If you’re a homeowner then you’re going to have common plumbing problems, especially if you live in an older home. Most plumbing problems are minor and the average person can fix them. Then there are those plumbing problems that require the experience of a plumbing professional. Most homeowners don’t know that many plumbing issues can be avoided by regular maintenance.
#1 Toilets that won’t stop running
On average, a leaky toilet can waste about 200 gallons of water per day, which equates to 6000 gallons per month. The usual culprit is a worn-out toilet flapper. It’s very inexpensive and you don’t need to be a do-it-yourselfer to replace it. While you can hear most toilet leaks, others may be a little harder to detect. Here’s how to identify a leak in your toilet: add about twenty drops of food coloring to your toilet tank, wait about fifteen minutes, and check your toilet bowl. If it’s clear, you’re good to go, but if it’s colored, then you have a leak.
#2 My water pressure is low when I take a shower.
First, make sure that the water pressure is not low in other parts of the house. If the low water pressure is isolated to the showerhead, then remove it and place it in a sealed plastic bag of white distilled vinegar overnight. The vinegar will remove limescale and mineral deposits caused by hard water. Chances are the mineral deposits are causing reduced water pressure.
#3 My spigot continues to drip.
Our spigot, also called a hose bibb, will begin to drip from years of use. Replacing your outdoor spigot is an easy job for the average do-it-yourselfer. Don’t put off fixing your dripping faucet another day. Here’s something to consider, a spigot that drips 20 times a minute will waste 86 gallons of water per month or 1052 gallons per year, costing a homeowner approximately $21.82 a year. A quality brass hose bibb will cost just over $15.00.
#4 Dripping faucets are another common plumbing problem.
Like all other fixtures and appliances, our faucet will eventually wear out. If you have a leaky faucet, think about replacing it before you think about fixing it. In most cases when a faucet leaks, the chances are it’s eight to ten years old maybe even older. If you want to know how much water your faucet is wasting, click here for a drip calculator.
#5 The drains in our bathroom are slow-moving.
This is probably the most common, especially if you have teenagers. The drains in the bathroom move slowly because, over time, soap, hair products, toothpaste, phlegm, hair, shaving cream, and skin cells cling to the drain creating a bacteria called black slime or black sludge. You have several options for clearing it. If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, remove the sink stopper and remove the clog with a coat hanger or a Zipp-It. The main clog is usually wrapped around the stopper or is accessible from the top of the drain. Once the ball of black slime is removed, pour boiling hot water down the drain. You can also clean the drain with vinegar and baking soda.
If you are not a do-it-yourselfer, pour baking soda down the drain then pour vinegar after the baking soda. You’ll hear it fizzing right away. Repeat the process. Once complete, pour boiling water down the drain. These steps should do the trick. If it doesn’t, repeat the process, easy fixes to your common plumbing problems. License #986152
