A house will need all of its utilities in fine working order, and if something goes wrong, professionals can be contacted to make repairs. This includes the plumbing, too, and most plumbing repair requires more tools and expertise than the average homeowner may have to offer. Drain cleaning, water leak repair, burst pipes replacement, replacing an old toilet, and more can all be done when local plumbing services are hired for the job. A homeowner suffering from backed up toilets or a worn out water heater can find local plumbing crews with an Internet search, and use their city or ZIP codes to find a crew and hire them. Plumbing contractors will probably also have their own website, and these sites include videos and photos of the work being offered. Drain cleaning may be needed for the kitchen or bathroom, and a home may also need loose water dealt with in its basement. Local plumbers may never be far away. What exactly might go wrong in the home?
Typical Plumbing Issues
All sorts of problems may affect a home’s plumbing utility. For example, drain cleaning or pipe clearing may be needed if a homeowner keeps pouring fat and grease down their kitchen sink where it is not meant to go. Although organic, fat and grease can wreak havoc on the plumbing. Drain cleaning or pipe clearing may be needed when these materials build up down there in the pipes. Fats and oils will gather and harden on the pipe walls like plaster, and they can cause serious clogs that ruin the home’s sewage disposal. For this reason, disposing of fat and grease in the trash is a better idea. Similarly, non-degradable items such as chewing tobacco, cigarette butts, baby diapers, and moisturized hand wipes will clog up the sewage system when they are flushed down the toilet. These materials don’t break down the way toilet paper will, and that causes problems.
The issue may also be a mechanical one. In winter, water in pipes may freeze into ice, and ice is known for expanding and taking up more volume. This can crack the pipes that the frozen water is in, and when the ice melts, leaks will start. Other times, the pipes may get rusty or their joints may come loose, allowing water to spray or leak as the pipes are used. What is more, even if an old toilet or shower head is not damaged or leaking, it may not meet modern water standards. Modern low-flow utilities can save water, but older models will not, meaning that water is being wasted even without leaks present.
Leaking water does more than drive up the electric bill. Standing water down in the basement will pool on the floor as pipes leak, and this loose water can foster mold growth due to the heightened moisture levels. On top of that, standing water can erode the walls or floor, and it can cause water damage it items being stored down in the basement. And elsewhere, leaking pipes in the walls can short out electrical components or cause water damage to drywall. This means that further repairs will be needed, adding to the overall expenses.
These are not isolated issues. Many American homes leak, and around 10% of all homes today have leaks that each waste around 90 gallons of water per day. This can add up fast, and every year, around one trillion gallons of water is wasted collectively, a staggering amount. However, repair may never be far away for leaking pipes or drain cleaning.
Plumbers on the Job
Once a homeowner finds and hires a local plumber crew, nearly anything relating to water or sewage can be repaired. Leaking pipes can be replaced or fixed as needed, containing that issue at once. Flooding basements can have sump pumps installed to draw out standing water, and sewage pipes can be dug up and unclogged. Or, an old toilet or shower head can be replaced with a modern, low-flow model. These items can save 20% of the water if installed properly, resulting in savings on the water bill. Old water heaters can be replaced as well, to restore flow of hot water to the home. A bigger, better heater may be best.