Leaking pipes are no laughing matter. When your pipes are leaking, they’re wasting water and costing you money. Pipe leaks can also cause water damage to your home, and leaks will almost always worsen over time and become a more expensive problem for your plumbing service to repair, and knowing some of the warning signs can be important to prevent a small leak from becoming a big problem that could have been avoided.
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Here are a few common causes of leaky pipes:
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- Clogged lines – When your pipes become clogged, they can eventually overflow or cause a burst pipe. Keeping your pipes clear of materials that might clog them and addressing clogs when they occur will help keep your pipes from developing leaks or worse plumbing problems where there’s wide open water flow that goes unnoticed, causing massive water bills and potentially terrible water damage. Something else like a burst water supply line can be a homeowner’s worst nightmare.
- Damaged joints – The areas where your pipes connect are often the weakest points in your plumbing system. Pipe joints deteriorate over time and will eventually form leaks. If you hear banging noises when you turn on the hot water, there’s a good chance you have a damaged pipe joint. Copper pipes and their pipe joints, can have corrosion and rust over time, and more easily allow for plumbing leaks in your supply lines and other copper lines.
- Tree root infiltration – Tree roots can, over time, puncture your water lines, water pipes, drain lines and sewer lines, as they seek out a new water source, causing damage. This is a common cause of clogged drains in homeowners’ main line. If you see wet spots, discoloration or sinkholes in your yard, there’s a good chance a tree root has punctured a pipe. Avoiding planting trees near lines can help you dodge this problem. Waste water lines, and lines going to your water meter, any pipe that has running water in it and is underground can be at risk.
- Temperature changes – Shifts in extremes of hot and cold can cause your pipes to expand and contract, eventually causing structural damage. Be sure to protect your pipes from cold weather by wrapping exposed pipes up and installing insulation in the crawl space of your home.
- Excessive water pressure – most faucets, bathroom faucets and kitchen faucets, are not designed to undergo high water pressure for sustained periods of time, causing a buildup of water pressure around the washer or seal and cause water leaks under the kitchen sink or bathroom sink.
- Water heater leaks – when a water heater has reached the end of its service life it can develop water leaks, which can start as small leaks and build up from there, causing a lack of hot water because the leak has become so substantial.
- Washing machine drain is clogged – your washing machine has to drain, and like all waste water drains, can become blocked from build up over time. Clogged drains for appliances can be tackled from a DIY standpoint, however often homeowners choose to work with a plumbing company for these issues.
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A-1 Sewer & Septic Service provides a 24-hour plumber for Kansas City and surrounding areas. If you need plumbing repair and service done right, contact the professional plumbers at A-1 Sewer & Septic Service today.
