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Your home’s plumbing is arguably the most important part of your household – one that never gets the credit it’s duly owed – operating silently behind the scenes never to be acknowledged or credited. The continued, streamlined operation of our home’s plumbing is something we all take for granted, to bring our attention it starts crumbling down under the weight of overuse and overdue maintenance, coughing up various signs that the plumbing of your house is about to collapse and become obsolete.
The following red flags herald something bad is about to happen. If you deliberately continue to ignore these signs then it will be too late and when you do end up hiring professional help, it will take a heavier toll on your wallet.  

1) Your faucet has irregular flow of water
An inconsistent flow of water from your faucet is a sign that air has sneaked its way into your water pipes, disrupting the streamlined passage of water by causing blockades. This could be warning that there is a breakage or leak somewhere between your home’s pipes. Air flows wherever there is empty space which also increasing the possibility of water leaking out of the pipes. Some homeowners don’t recognize the problem early on; instead prefer hitting the tap hoping to knock some sense into the non-living thing. This is a situation that requires the urgent attention of professionals from Benjamin Franklin Plumbing located at Fort Worth.  

It could also mean that there are mineral deposits on your pipes. This problem could actually have been avoided by installing proper filtration systems in front of the main water pipes.

2) Constant drips from a pipe or faucet
The iconic “tap-tap-tap” sound of water dripping is something most American households tend to get used to. Completely ignoring the obvious fact, that this is not the sound of an unwelcome ghost in your house but of water getting wasted by dozens of gallons every day. You’re wasting water, accruing increased utility bills. Meanwhile, you can’t bother getting up from your recliner to call up a plumber from Benjamin Franklin to fix the faucet which is in obvious disrepair.  

3) Blocked drains
The drain is that magical place where we flush away all our problems, both the liquid side of things and the slightly solid side of things. Except it isn’t a black hole which seamlessly whisks away all your kitchen’s drivels into nothingness. Over a period of time, all this mess accumulates into one giant clog in the drain that just won’t let anything flush down into the sewage. You first got lazy by dumping your potato’s skins in there, and now you’re getting lazy by not hiring professional service. Take care of your plumbing before it starts regurgitating all your rubbish into your face!

4) Problems with the toilet
Cracks in the porcelain of the toilet bowl usually don’t require your urgent attention, but depending on where the crack occurs, it might result in water leaking out. This can quickly become a problem for you on the wallet side of things – you will face increased utility bills. If the crack occurs somewhere else on the toilet however, it is time to get it replaced. Fixing the porcelain is not worth the time, effort and money since it can quickly become a recurring problem. It’s like trying to put together pieces of broken glass – you’ll never get the original piece ever again. It is better to get the toilet replaced. If you don’t take action now, that little crack will eventually compromise the entire porcelain structure of the otherwise sturdy toilet.  

If the toilet handle requires too much wiggling before it properly flushes, it is time to get the inner apparatus of the toilet bowl fixed. This is a problem better left in the hands of professional plumbers who know what they’re doing. It is tempting to fix the toilet bowl yourself by watching a few DIY videos on YouTube. However, this could be a very bad idea and you might end up making a bigger mess which might actually weigh a lot more on the wallet.  

5) Bad water heater
Water heaters are usually the most resilient part of your house, lasting from somewhere between 8 to 12 years – more if you allow professionals to perform maintenance on a regular basis. There are however signs that your water heater needs to be replaced:

1. The hot water faucet does not give you any hot water, this could mean that either the pilot light is out or that your water heater has reached the end of its life
2. There is severe discoloration of the water, it is rusty instead of the usual clear look, this could mean that the iron plumbing of the piping has corroded with the passage of time
3. There is a lot of sediment accompanying the water
4. It takes too long for the water to heat up
5. Water is pooling underneath at the bottom of the tank

Professional plumbing services and insurance companies

The best things you can do to avoid all these above-mentioned problems is by hiring professionals at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing in Fort Worth. By establishing a proper maintenance schedule with them, and having checkups every month or six months help you spot major problems and fix them before they can cause serious damage. For those terrible times when you do need expensive plumbing services, it is better to get some plumbing insurance. That way all you have to do is ring up the plumbers who will perform the much needed repairs while you let the insurance agency deal with the excessive fees.