Phone

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.

https://www.acehomeaz.com/blog/common-plumbing-problems-older-homes/

5 Typical Household Plumbing Issues and How You Can Fix Them

As a house owner, you will run into various plumbing issues that occasionally make a hassle. Some plumbing issues are extra common and can be easily repaired. Doing the repair work yourselves on these simple plumbing issues can save you lots of money. Take a look at 5 of the most typical ones listed below:

Slow Draining Sink

You can make use of a plumbing tool for angling out the particles. From there, you can use a store-bought drain cleaner to clean the lines.

Slow Tub Drain

This is another pesky annoyance because the bathtub is one of the most previously owned fixtures in your washroom. Much like the sink drain, hair, soap residue, dead skin cells, and also other substances swimming pool in the drainpipe typically. You must pop open the drain cover and use a bathtub claw to clear the debris. Do this ASAP before the drainpipe clogs up totally. After using the claw, you can pour drainpipe cleaner to refresh the drainpipe lines.

Low Tide Pressure

Is a person from your family complaining that there's low water stress from the sink? If yes, then the trouble is the aerator within the sink which may have a great deal of sedimentation resulting in reduced water stress.

Running Toilet

You may have experienced a running toilet, which can be rather irritating since the container will not load up. At the very same time, leaving it alone relates to losing water and spiking up your water costs.
Toilet fill shutoff
Leaking flush shutoff
Commode flapper

Malfunctioning Garbage Disposal System

This annoying trouble is additionally high on the list of common plumbing issues. Your device will feature a clever secret to unjam your equipment. If you lose it, you will certainly require an Allen wrench to fix the trouble. You have to go under the sink as well as search for the place where you can insert the key. Once you identify it, utilize your wrench to transform the device to free the motor. Do not forget to turn off the system and reduced the circuit breaker when servicing your garbage disposal system to prevent horrible mishaps.

If all of these sound tiresome for you, you can constantly contact a plumber to obtain specialist aid. Seeking specialist aid suggests conserving effort and time. Since you can relax guaranteed that your simple plumbing issue will not escalate, you may also end up saving cash in the long run. Just ensure you call a trusted firm with licenses and also certifications because you will be welcoming complete strangers in your home. Naturally, you need to make certain that you collaborate with someone you can trust.


As a house owner, you will encounter lots of various plumbing problems that sometimes make a hassle. Some plumbing issues are a lot more usual as well as can be quickly dealt with. Doing the repairs yourselves on these easy plumbing troubles can conserve you heaps of cash. You can use a plumbing tool for angling out the particles. You may even finish up conserving money in the long run due to the fact that you can rest guaranteed that your basic plumbing trouble will certainly not escalate.

Hopefully you liked our excerpt on Fixing Typical Household Plumbing Problems. Thank you so much for taking time to browse our content. Sharing is caring. You just don't know, you may be doing someone a favor. Thanks so much for going through it.

Best plumbers, one call away.