Is Your Home in Trouble?
Sometimes we don’t notice it but our homes are already in trouble. This is often the case with often unnoticed symptoms of danger. What are these problem signs that you must be aware of to protect your home from potential damage?
Washing Machines
Not many homeowners would really consider the washing machine such a big threat, right? But when those hoses begin to bulge without you noticing it, then gushing water that can cost thousands of dollars in possible damage is not far behind.
What do you have to do? To protect your property one of the best solutions is to replace the rubber hoses of washing machines with braided stainless steel ones. Before replacing the hoses make sure that you turn off the water supply to the washing machine first. You also need to put in a pressure gauge that connects to the laundry room faucet. Why do rubber hoses bulge? Because of high water pressure.
Water Heaters
It is not often that homeowners would notice that the grommets of the water heater becomes melted. This is caused usually by backdrafts that damage the plastic at the top of the water heater. The hot exhaust is normally the culprit for this.
The most common cause of backdraft is a disconnected vent pipe or sloped downward. Why does this happen? Normally the reason is that the vent pipe is not properly installed to the vent hood causing the backdraft. This is an alarming condition because it can result in carbon monoxide coming into your home.
Aside from making sure that the vent is installed by a licensed professional, it is best to have a carbon monoxide alarm installed on every level of your home, especially in sleeping areas. The alarm should be anywhere from 5 to 20 feet from possible carbon monoxide sources.
Water Meters
How often do you check your water meter? Do you know that it is one of the best indicators of a possible water leak in your home plumbing system? When all of your faucets and fixtures are turned off and the water meter is still running, then you have a leak that wastes both water and money.
There are some obvious sources that you can easily check like worn out toilet flappers, dripping faucets, or even water stains. These are all telltale signs of possible leaks in your home plumbing. Do you hear hissing or running water sound behind walls or foundations? Then you may have a slab leak.
Water leaks outdoors can be detected as the water seeps into the soil and eventually forms a puddle. You cannot discount leaking faucets that are connected to your garden hose, sometimes these go unnoticed especially when they are rarely used.
Do you have an irrigation system? These are also common causes of hidden leaks in many homes. Try shutting it off and see if the water meter stops running. Malfunctioning irrigation or sprinkler systems will allow the water to continuously spill into your yard and may eventually find its way into your home or basement.
Checking the line between the water meter and your home can be done easily if all the connections are above ground. However, if many of your plumbing installations are underground or behind walls, then you have a huge problem to deal with considering that the source of most water leaks is found far from where the symptom is detected.
This is the reason why it is extremely important to have your home plumbing regularly inspected to accurately detect such leaks and potential causes of trouble. For your peace of mind, contact a licensed plumbing professional and schedule a plumbing inspection immediately.