Fall has arrived, and the holiday season is right around the corner. While residents in West Palm Beach, Florida, won’t have to worry about cold weather conditions causing problems, there are myriad issues that can ruin your holidays. If you notice any of these three plumbing problems, contact a professional immediately to avoid a disaster.
LEAKING PIPES
What starts as a minor leak can turn into major water damage in a matter of weeks, days or even hours. The cost to repair that water damage can number in the thousands. That’s why it’s important to periodically inspect your property for leaks, and contact a professional plumber if you find wet spots on the ground or ceiling in your home.
SIGNS OF A LEAKING PIPE
- Hear the sound of running water behind walls
- Receive higher-than-usual water bills
- Find cracks in your property’s foundation
- See grass growing unevenly around the foundation
- Feel unexpected warm spots on slab flooring
- Notice floor coverings have become discolored
RUNNING OR CLOGGED TOILETS
The last thing you want to expose your family and friends to after a holiday feast is a clogged toilet. In most cases, you can use a plunger to unclog it. But there are instances when there’s a bigger problem located deep in your piping. To avoid flooding your bathroom, you’ll need a plumbing professional to visit your home to take a closer look.
Unlike a stubborn clog deep in your piping, a running toilet is usually repairable without professional help. To prevent a running toilet from wasting thousands of gallons of water and flushing away your money, take these steps to fix it:
- Turn off the toilet and drain the water out of it.
- Remove the toilet tank lid and look inside the tank.
- Make sure the chain’s length is appropriate.
- Examine the flapper for any issues, such as wear.
- Soak a dirty flapper in vinegar to clean it.
- Replace the flapper if it’s too worn or damaged.
If your toilet continues to run, you might need to replace the fill valve.
- Turn off the toilet and drain the water out of it.
- Disconnect the supply line for the water.
- Remove the original fill valve by removing the lock nut.
- Install the new fill valve, and reconnect the supply line.
- Attach the fill tube to the water output nozzle.
- Adjust the float to the correct height and test the fill valve.
If needed, a plumbing professional can help you fix a flapper or replace a fill valve in a matter of minutes.
FAULTY WATER HEATER
If you have family and friends staying at your home this holiday season, you don’t want them to suffer through a cold shower. And you probably don’t want to stand in one, either, no matter how warm the winters in Florida. That’s why it’s imperative to maintain your water heater and repair it right away if it’s experiencing an issue.
Whether you own a tankless water heater or a hybrid unit, these systems are complex pieces of equipment. To avoid damage or injury, you should never try to repair an issue on your own unless you’ve been trained for it.
SIGNS OF A FAULTY WATER HEATER
- The water heater has been operating for longer than 10 years.
- You notice rusty water leaking from your water heater or flowing from your faucets.
- Hardened sediment has collected at the bottom of the water heater and makes a banging sound.
- You’re not receiving any hot water throughout your home after increasing the water heater’s temperature.
- There’s corrosion around the pipe fittings attached to your residential water heater.
- You see burn marks on the bottom of your water heater, which can indicate a damaged flue pipe.
The holiday season is a fun time of the year. But it can also quickly become a nightmare if you don’t pay careful attention to your plumbing. If you suspect your home has plumbing problems, contact Hi-Tech Plumbing & Air at (561) 220-3107 . With more than half a century’s worth of experience, there’s no plumbing problem we can’t solve.
