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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.

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5 Typical Household Plumbing Issues and also How You Can Fix Them

As a property owner, you will certainly run into various plumbing issues that occasionally make a nuisance. Some plumbing concerns are much more typical and can be easily dealt with. Doing the fixings yourselves on these easy plumbing issues can conserve you lots of cash. Take a look at 5 of one of the most usual ones listed below:

 

 

Slow Draining Sink

This is one of the most common grievance of property owners, with the sink accumulating a great deal of hair, grease, debris, and also other crud in time. Unfortunately, the only way to get a smooth moving drain once again is to get rid of the particles. Initially, you can make use of a plumbing tool for fishing out the particles. From there, you can utilize a store-bought drainpipe cleaner to clean the lines.

 

 

Slow-moving Tub Drain

This is another pesky nuisance considering that the tub is among one of the most previously owned components in your restroom. Just like the sink drain, hair, soap scum, dead skin cells, as well as other substances swimming pool in the drainpipe typically. You must pop open the drain cover as well as use a tub claw to remove the particles. Do this ASAP before the drain clogs up entirely. After making use of the claw, you can put drainpipe cleaner to rejuvenate the drainpipe lines.

 

 

Low Water Pressure

Is someone from your family whining that there's low water stress from the sink? Check if this issue impacts both the chilly as well as hot water lines. The problem is the aerator within the sink which might have a whole lot of sedimentation resulting in low water stress if indeed. This is really simple to take care of as you simply require to take it out as well as scrub away the mineral deposits.

 

 

Running Toilet

You may have experienced a running toilet, which can be quite frustrating since the tank will not load up. At the very same time, leaving it alone equates to throwing away water and surging up your water costs.
Commode fill shutoff
Leaking flush valve
Toilet flapper

 

 

Malfunctioning Garbage Disposal System

This annoying issue is also high up on the checklist of common plumbing problems. Your system will come with a clever key to unjam your machine. However if you lose it, you will certainly need an Allen wrench to deal with the problem. You have to go under the sink and also try to find the spot where you can place the secret. As soon as you identify it, use your wrench to turn the equipment to free the electric motor. When working on your rubbish disposal system to avoid horrible accidents, don't forget to transform off the system and reduced the circuit breaker.

You can constantly call in a plumber to obtain professional aid if all of these audio tiresome for you. Seeking expert help implies saving effort and time. You may also end up saving cash over time because you can feel confident that your easy plumbing issue will not escalate. Because you will certainly be inviting unfamiliar people in your house, just make certain you call a reliable firm with qualifications and also licenses. Naturally, you need to see to it that you work with somebody you can trust.


As a homeowner, you will certainly come across numerous different plumbing issues that occasionally make a nuisance. Some plumbing concerns are extra usual and can be easily dealt with. Doing the repair work yourselves on these simple plumbing problems can conserve you heaps of cash. You can use a plumbing tool for angling out the particles. You might even end up conserving money in the lengthy run due to the fact that you can relax guaranteed that your basic plumbing problem will not intensify.

 

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