When plumbing systems and plumbing repairs go wrong, they are not always visible. Some hidden plumbing issues may cause damage that you don’t notice right away, but can encourage bigger problems down the road if they’re not addressed.
There are different types of hidden plumbing issues that homeowners should be aware of, such as plumbing leaks causing damage below your home’s surface or drain clogs caused by hair and other materials going down your drains. Leaks from pipes leading outdoors can also damage your yard and landscaping features .
Main Culprit: Plumbing Leak
Plumbing leaks often occur without being noticed initially because seepage of water is slow at first. While some leaks are visible, many plumbing leaks are hidden from plain sight. Some plumbing leaks can be found through irregularly moist spots on the floor or discoloration of painted surfaces, but even these may be difficult to spot.
A plumbing leak is often hard to notice because it starts off as a minor amount of fluid seeping out of cracks in plumbing pipes, and this leakage becomes less noticeable over time. However, plumbing leaks will not go away on their own; they’ll keep sinking into ceilings, walls, floors, and anything underneath your house if not repaired. Furthermore, plumbing issues can lead to more damage if left too long without being addressed.
Hidden Plumbing Issue Indicators
Oftentimes these hidden plumbing issues go unnoticed for years before the problem becomes severe enough to be noticed by someone who looks around their home regularly. These types of plumbing problems can be dangerous if left untreated. Contact our licensed plumbing professionals immediately after recognizing any type of hidden plumbing issue in your house or building.
Here are the top signs that there may be a hidden plumbing issue in your home.
1. Higher Water Bills
A plumbing issue can cause your water bill to skyrocket without you knowing why. Sometimes plumbing problems aren’t easy to recognize because they don’t always lead to obvious issues like leaks or broken fixtures.
The biggest hidden plumbing problem is more often than not, a slow leak in the plumbing system of your house. These types of plumbing problems are also some of the hardest ones to notice at first because the leaking can occur on-and-off for days, weeks, or even months before there’s any noticeable damage that requires calling our professionals out for repairs.
However, this can be avoided by regularly monitoring your utility bills or water meter. If you notice a sudden spike in your monthly bill even if you’ve been using water like you normally do, there may be a hidden leak in your home.
2. Wall Discoloration and Damage
Watch out for any staining, warping, or bubbling on your walls. Drywall has the tendency to become soft when exposed to moisture. Water damage can also appear in the form of wallpaper or paint peeling. Wall discoloration and damage are major red flags when it comes to hidden plumbing issues in your home. This is because it can also lead to greater problems down the road, such as mold and mildew.
If you start noticing strange drops of water throughout the walls in your room, don’t wait until you start seeing black spots – call one of our plumbing professionals immediately.
3. Mold and Mildew
If you start to notice dark or musty spots on your wall, chances are you have a plumbing problem in the area. Once mold and mildew starts growing, it is difficult to stop and can spread rapidly through your walls and onto other surfaces in your home.
A physically present surface-level mold growth is often an indicator that you have a plumbing leakage somewhere around your house due to prolonged flooding from a burst pipe, which causes mold spores to seep into the air and land on surfaces. If left untreated, it can cause serious damage to both property and health.
Mold and mildew in your plumbing system can lead to respiratory problems such as coughing and wheezing if left untreated for too long. It’s important that you call our plumbing professionals immediately when you notice anything out of the ordinary about the air quality within your home – hidden plumbing issues could be affecting more than just the structural integrity of your house – they could be compromising the air quality inside as well.
4. Wet Spots on Floors and Carpets
If you notice water pooling up in your carpet, there could be a hidden plumbing issue lurking underneath your floorboards. This is especially true if the wet patch appears in a place that’s been dry for months or years at time prior to this incident occurring. Wet patches on floors and carpets can be a sign of a plumbing leak or malfunction hidden underneath your home.
5. Stained Areas Around Toilets and Drains
A dirty looking ring around your toilet bowl or drain lines could indicate a plumbing problem relating to your toilet fixture or piping. This type of staining is especially visible in areas with hard water where calcium and magnesium deposits tend to build up over time as sediments. When left untreated, this can attract mold and other types of bacteria to your plumbing.
6. Bad Smells to Watch Out For
If you notice a musty, damp or earthy smell in your bathrooms, or from walls or flooring near drains, you may have a hidden plumbing leak. These types of leaks can be caused by plumbing fixtures and pipes that have corroded over time. The chemicals in your water may also react with the plumbing system and that could trigger bad odors due to the presence of metals.
Look out for any distinct odor that smells like stagnant pond water. This is a major health risk as it can attract harmful pests and insects into your home. Standing water can attract mosquitoes and other pests that carry dangerous diseases like Zika virus, West Nile virus, malaria, yellow fever and others. These are very deadly conditions so it’s best to take care of plumbing issues as soon as possible before they get out of hand.
In addition, if you notice any lingering sewage-like smells that make it unpleasant to stay within or around your home, you may want to contact a plumbing professional immediately to inspect your plumbing system.
Got a Hidden Plumbing Issue?
We know that when your home’s plumbing fails, it can be incredibly stressful. That’s why we offer 24/7 service and hidden leak detection to help get your home back in working order as quickly as possible. Our team of highly trained professionals will arrive on time and treat you with respect throughout the process.
When you call Certified Plumbing of Brevard for an emergency, we won’t waste any time getting started on the job. You can rest easy knowing our technicians are equipped with all the tools they need to get your problem fixed right away so you don’t have to worry about it anymore. And if there’s anything else we can do just let us know – we take pride in providing the best service to our customers, no matter how big or small the job.
For 24/7 service and expert hidden leak detection, Call Certified Plumbing of Brevard now at (321) 676-0812
