No one likes dealing with the incessant dripping of a leaky faucet or the constant fear of an overflowing toilet. Your plumbing is just as essential to your home as oxygen is to your family. But what happens when you do face a plumbing problem?
5 Common Residential Plumbing Problems (and How to Fix Them!)
Keeping your home in good working order means knowing when to DIY and when to call the pros. If you’re ever concerned about fixing a problem yourself, call for assistance from trained technicians immediately.
1. Dripping Faucets
The Problem: You’d never be able to guess just how much a dripping faucet can increase your water bill. Any leak no matter how large or small has the added danger of leading to water damage if left unattended. Plus, the constant sound of water hitting the sink is just annoying.
The Fix: Faucets have an inner stem that controls the flow of water. These stems have seals or rubber washers that close and open to control the water flow. With time and general wear and tear, these washers wear out and allow water to leak through. To fix a dripping faucet issue, you need to replace the washers in the faucet.
2. Slow Draining Sinks and Bathtubs
Slow draining sinks and bathrooms are likely the cause of a blockage in the plumbing, which means you can easily remedy this issue yourself. Some options to fix a slow draining drain include:
- Using a plunger to clear the blockage
- Using a mixture of baking soda and vinegar
- Purchase a commercial clog remover
- Remove the drain stopper and use a plumber’s snake
Preventing plumbing problems by stopping hair, heavy oils, lotions, and other debris from falling into drains is the easiest way to protect your drains. If all else fails, call in the professionals as you could have a more serious problem somewhere deep in your plumbing system.
3. No Hot Water
No hot water? This could be caused by your water heater losing power or the power tripping. First, check if the water heater circuit breaker has tripped. if it has, turn it back on, and the heater should work again.
If the circuit breaker did not trip, reset the high-temperature limit of the heater following these steps:
- Turn off the water heater circuit breaker
- Remove the access panel that covers the heating element
- Remove the plastic guard, and the insulation does not touch any of the exposed wires
- Press the high-temperature cutoff reset button; it is red and is located above the thermostat
- Replace plastic guard and access panel cover
- Turn on the power
If none of the above solves the problem, we recommend hiring a professional to help you.
4. Running Toilet
Toilet constantly running? Check the float! Toilets refill with water and recognize when to stop filling when the float rises to a certain level. If the float isn’t floating or the toilet tank isn’t filling enough to lift the float you could have an issue with the seal inside the toilet. Replace any faulty parts or contact your local plumbers to help!
5. Hard Water
Hard water contains minerals, magnesium, chloride, and calcium; this makes bathing very difficult in that it requires a lot of soap when cleaning and leaves your skin dried out and flaky. Another problem is that it leaves water spots on cleaned items. To get rid of hard water, you need to install a soft water filter to ensure that all the water in the house is soft.
Got plumbing problems? Contact Steve’s Plumbing & A/C Service today at (808) 563-4054 to speak to a member of our team and schedule an appointment!
