MOST COMMON PLUMBING PROBLEMS IN OLDER HOMES
Galvanized Pipes
The galvanic process means coating an iron pipe with molten zinc to prevent the iron from corroding. The zinc lasts a while, but not forever. As the zinc erodes, the exposed iron begins to rust. This can cause pipes to fail, but the warning signal is easy to spot: Your water will become discolored from the rust in it.
The answer is to have galvanized pipes professionally replaced by modern alternatives, such as copper or PEX (Cross-Linked Polyethylene). A well-trained plumber and assistant can perform this work in relatively short time, ensuring a constant water pressure, no odd taste or color to your water and no leaks.
Pipe Bellies
As your Phoenix home rises and falls in its surrounding soil, the pipes leading into your home will rise and fall, too. When they buckle or bow, they form a pipe belly, a low spot that defies gravity’s pull on sewage. While this settling occurs slowly, you will eventually notice poor drainage, slow-flushing toilets and, ultimately, a clogged sewer line.
Similar to pipe bellies are pipe channeling, where hard water carves its own channel in the bottom of a sewer pipe, rendering it very weak.
Polybutylene Pipe
Once thought of as a great water pipe product, polybutylene pipe (PB) was used from the late ’70s into the early ’90s because of its low cost and easy installation. It breaks down with exposure to water and water’s dissolved solids, so it is not acceptable anymore. As time goes on, homeowners experience more and more polybutylene pipe problems.
If you have an entire house piped in PB, you need the services of an experienced local plumber to replace every run, every elbow and tee, and every connection to fixtures throughout your house. Otherwise a leak could destroy furniture, furnishings, flooring and more.
Sewer Lines
Sewers and sewer lines are definitely at the top of a lot of people’s old house plumbing problems. Sewer lines take your home’s gray and black water from drains to the sewer main, where it travels on to a municipal treatment plant. Sewer lines are always wet, so they attract tree roots. Cast iron pipes are particularly susceptible to cracking and intrusion by tree roots, which can completely clog a line.
Professional plumbers can send a camera into your home’s sewer pipe to diagnose channeling and bellies, and they can find and fix tree roots that clog your pipe. This is a much more affordable option than the disgusting and expensive issues created by a sewer backing up.
Drains
Fifty years of draining water, soap scum, sewage and shampoo can take a toll on your older Phoenix home’s drains. Clogs develop in pipes in all drains, but toilet, kitchen, and bathroom sink drains are particularly prone to clogs.
Toilets are infamous targets for children, fascinated by the disappearing act. While you may never know a small action figure or toy car went down the toilet, you will know a backed-up toilet when it strikes. A small item could start a very slow-building clog.
Kitchen sink drains also tend to accept things that should not go down the drain, like kitchen fats, bits of food that should go through a sink strainer and even bone. You can do your part, of course, by keeping waste out of the kitchen sink or having a garbage disposal installed, but in an older home you will not know what others have stuffed down there before you.
Original Fixtures
While some original fixtures are notably sturdier and of better quality than their corresponding modern fixtures, many older ones simply wear out with time. Washers and valves degrade and cause leaks. Stems and handles break. If your home still has its original spigots, faucets, handles and valves, you may not notice the tiny leaks that lead to higher water bills and unpleasant smells.
A worry spot in any home is the shut-off valve for a toilet. This little-used valve attaches where the rigid pipe exits the wall, down below the tank, and a flexible metal and plastic tube connects the water supply to the tank. That shut-off valve can get stuck in its typical, open position, so any attempt to close it may actually cause it to leak. A trained plumber can replace not only the flexible tube to the toilet tank, but the antiquated or stuck shut-off valve. This means you never have to worry about turning off the water to the toilet should a bowl clog cause your toilet to back up.
https://www.acehomeaz.com/blog/common-plumbing-problems-older-homes/
5 Typical Household Plumbing Issues and also How You Can Fix Them
As a property owner, you will encounter various plumbing troubles that sometimes make a problem. Some plumbing problems are extra usual and also can be conveniently repaired. Doing the repair work yourselves on these easy plumbing issues can save you tons of cash. Have a look at 5 of the most usual ones listed below:
Slow Draining Sink
This is one of the most common issue of property owners, with the sink gathering a lot of hair, grease, debris, and also various other substance in time. The only method to get a smooth flowing drain again is to get rid of the debris. Initially, you can utilize a plumbing tool for angling out the debris. From there, you can utilize a store-bought drainpipe cleaner to clean the lines.
Sluggish Tub Drain
This is one more pesky hassle considering that the tub is just one of one of the most used components in your restroom. Just like the sink drainpipe, hair, soap residue, dead skin cells, and other substances pool in the drain typically. You have to stand out open the drain cover and also make use of a tub claw to get rid of the particles. Do this ASAP prior to the drainpipe congests totally. After using the claw, you can pour drain cleaner to revitalize the drainpipe lines.
Low Water Pressure
Is someone from your family grumbling that there's low water stress from the sink? If yes, after that the problem is the aerator within the sink which might have a whole lot of sedimentation resulting in reduced water pressure.
Running Toilet
You may have experienced a running bathroom, which can be quite aggravating due to the fact that the storage tank will not fill up. At the same time, leaving it alone corresponds to wasting water and also spiking up your water expenses. For starters, find out what's causing it to run. You may need to change any one of the following bathroom devices:
Toilet fill valve
Dripping flush valve
Bathroom flapper
Malfunctioning Garbage Disposal System
This frustrating trouble is additionally high on the listing of typical plumbing problems. Your device will certainly feature a cool secret to unjam your device. If you shed it, you will need an Allen wrench to deal with the trouble. You need to go under the sink and also search for the spot where you can place the key. Once you spot it, utilize your wrench to transform the maker to free the electric motor. When functioning on your garbage disposal system to stop nasty crashes, do not forget to turn off the system and cut the circuit breaker.
If all of these sound tedious for you, you can always contact a plumber to obtain professional assistance. Looking for expert aid means saving time and effort. You may even wind up saving cash in the long run due to the fact that you can feel confident that your basic plumbing problem will not intensify. Since you will be welcoming unfamiliar people in your home, just make sure you call a trusted company with certifications and licenses. Certainly, you have to make sure that you work with somebody you can rely on.
As a homeowner, you will come across lots of different plumbing problems that occasionally make a problem. Some plumbing issues are a lot more usual and also can be conveniently dealt with. Doing the repairs yourselves on these straightforward plumbing troubles can conserve you tons of cash. You can utilize a plumbing tool for fishing out the debris. You may also end up conserving cash in the lengthy run due to the fact that you can relax ensured that your basic plumbing trouble will certainly not intensify.
I was shown that write-up about DIY Plumbing Fixes through an associate on another web page. Are you aware of another person who is enthusiastic about the subject? Why not promote it. Thanks a lot for your time invested reading it.
Phone