Buying a home is exciting. You go to a few open houses and have a real estate agent show you a few more. So many things to look at, it’s easy to get caught up in the aesthetics of a place. However, it’s critical that you look deeper and see if the house has major problems. Let’s look at five plumbing problems you need to watch out for when buying a new home.
An Aging Water Heater

A typical tank water heater should last anywhere from 10 to 15 years, with proper service and maintenance. If the property’s water heater is over 10 years old, or showing signs of leaking, it is nearing the end of its usable life. That means you would likely have to spend money replacing it in the near future.

A Leaking Toilet

Flush the toilet in each bathroom. Once the tank fills, listen for any sounds happening between the tank and the bowl. It may require replacing the flapper at the bottom of the tank or the seal between the tank and bowl. Press down of the floor surrounding the toilet base. The wood should be solid and have no spring. If it is soft or flexes too much, there may be a leak causing wood damage. Ripping up the flooring to replace the wood and repair the leak could be very expensive.

Brown Stains on the Ceiling or Walls

Look up whenever you enter a room in the house. Do the same in the basement. Those stains usually mean there is a water leak going on somewhere in the house, usually from faulty plumbing or a leaky roof. The leak may have been fixed, but the current property owners have not repaired the damage it caused.

Low Water Pressure

Turn on the faucets as you tour the home. The water pressure should be apparent. If the water is slow to come out of the faucet, or only dribbles when you turn the knob fully open, the property has low water pressure. This can be caused by leaking pipes or an aging water supply system, both of which can be costly to repair.

Slow Drains

Run a decent amount of water into each bathroom or kitchen fixture. Watch how fast the water drains. If it’s slow in one fixture, then it’s likely a clog in the local pipe. However, if several drains throughout the house drain slowly, there is a problem somewhere deeper in the drain system. A clog deep in the drain system could be costly to identify and clear. However, it could also be a break in the pipe that requires an expensive replacement.

Don’t let the looks of a place stop you from noticing these critical plumbing issues. If you need assistance with assessing the condition of a property’s plumbing, call Woodbridge Plumbing today. We have been serving our friends and neighbors in Woodbridge and surrounding communities since 1973.