A running toilet may be one of the most annoying and wasteful minor plumbing problems in the modern household. While a running toilet is annoying, many people can ignore it until it becomes a messier more expensive problem. Running toilets are a flood hazard, and when your toilet isn’t adequately filled with water, you are more prone to having blockages in your toilet. Weak flushes, which are a common in running toilets, don’t send enough water into your pipes to push waste through your sewer. With the potential for so many problems, why do running toilets get ignored so often? The issues that seem insignificant could be a bigger problem than you realize or a warning that something in your plumbing is worn and needs to be repaired.
Your plumbing is a system comprised of little parts that all need to work as intended to prevent problems. A minor water leak in an obscure unused part of your home can still cause mold, just like a big flood. Mold needs specific conditions to grow, but it doesn’t need a massive flood of water to create mold and rot. According to FEMA, it only takes an inch of flood water to lead to $25,000 of water damage. So, it’s important that you don’t ignore minor plumbing issues, they can still cause major problems.
Here are 5 minor plumbing issues that you need to treat immediately if spotted in your home.
Ceiling Stains: Have you noticed brown spots on your ceiling or walls? Maybe you’ve noticed small stains that you covered with paint and ignored. A ceiling stain may seem like a minor aesthetic issue that doesn’t require your attention, but stains on your walls or ceilings represent can indicate a leak behind your walls or a leak somewhere in your ceiling. If you paint over the problem, you are ignoring a small leak that could grow into serious water damage. Even a small water leak can lead to serious water damage.
Sluggish Draining: If one drain in your home is emptying slowly, it’s likely not a huge concern. It could be hair or some other kind of minor clog, like soap scum. But, what about when there are several slow drains in your home? Many people ignore a slow draining sink if it’s not too slow. It’s easy to make accommodations for a powder room sink that drains slowly, but this is a mistake. If your shower is draining slower than usual and the powder room sink is stalling, too. You may have a blockage somewhere in your sewer line that needs attention. Ignoring this seemingly minor issue could leak to a backup in one or more of your plumbing fixtures.
Stinky Plumbing: Do you have to pinch your nose when passing by certain fixtures in your house? When your plumbing is working as designed, water should be delivered easily, and waste should be removed without notice. The gases and odors that accompany this process should be routed away from your house by your drain trap and roof vents. If you smell sewer near your plumbing fixtures, you may have a breakdown in the two systems used to route away sewer gases.
Noisy Pipes: Knocking or rattling pipes may not seem like an immediate problem, but constant rattling and knocking can loosen pipe fitting and make your pipes vulnerable to leaks. If your pipes are noisy or you’ve started to see signs of a leak, it’s time to stop ignoring this problem and call in a plumbing professional.
Next Steps for Your Minor Plumbing Issues
It’s easy to continue ignoring some of these minor plumbing issues because you’re worried something minor could be hiding a bigger problem. Usually, the minor problem can be fix simply and affordably when caught early. When you let the problem linger and persist, it can grow from a minor issue to a big problem with a more substantial price tag. Don’t delay! Contact the pros at Wallner Plumbing today for assistance with your plumbing issues. Call us today at (530) 223-5622 to schedule an inspection with one of our plumbing experts.
