Posted by Maria Dimitrova

Read this: To be prepared against common home disasters. 

Save: A fortune in plumbing call-out charges and building repairs.

Cost: A plunger (between $5 and $40), a plumber’s snake (between $15 and 40$), and an insurance policy.

One of the most common home adversities are plumbing disasters. I had such an extremely unpleasant experience a few months ago in my apartment in a newly-built block of flats. You wouldn’t expect this when all the pipes are brand-new and assembled by a professional with a lot of experience. And yet, it happened. [editor note: to me, last year too!]

I learnt about the problem from a neighbour, living in the apartment below mine, who complained that there was water dripping from his bathroom ceiling and more precisely from one of his bathroom lights. He stopped my water supply and I was left on my own searching for an urgent solution. Luckily, my father is a really skilful DIY guy and he came a few hours later.

I noticed that moisture had been appearing on the outside walls of the bathroom near the floor.  When my father came, the main problem he encountered was to find the location of the leak. He started breaking my lovely new tiles from the wall. Until he found the leakage, about 6-7 tiles had fallen victims to the plumbing disaster and I watched in hope that the shop I bought them from would still have the same model. My bathroom was a total mess with pieces of tiles and cement everywhere.

The problem proved to be poorly tightened pipes behind the sink. Luckily, the leakage was very weak and apparently it had begun days before the first signs appeared, slowly drenching the bricks. Imagine what would have happened had it been stronger. It took about a week to dry the walls with an electric heater to prevent the paint from falling and mould from forming.

Some people will get more than my “lucky” small leak. A severe plumbing failure might  flood an apartment and cause damage to flooring, carpets, walls and furniture for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Sometimes it’s just bad luck which can’t be predicted or prevented but in many other cases it’s preventable and you can save a lot of money as well as huge frustration and discomfort with preventive maintenance and consideration of some risky factors.

These are the most common plumbing disasters and ways to deal with them :

Clogs

Most often they are caused by an accumulation of  hair and oily grease debris. In such cases you can easily unclog with a plunger. A blocked toilet will already have enough water to plunge with, but you may need to add some water to the bottom of your sink or tub to help the plunger work. Make sure you’ve got a strong seal by placing the plunger tightly over the drainage hole, then use a quick push/pull motion to dislodge the clog.

Another option is to use a plumber’s snake. They cost between $15 and 40$. Wear rubber gloves while unclogging, and place the auger in the toilet bowl, bent tip up. Push down on the handle and crank the entire cable out, then back in by cranking while pulling up. Try it three times on the left and right edges of the hole, and straight down the center.

Drain cleaning solutions are a third DIY variant. You can avoid using toxic chemicals if you solve the problem with baking soda and vinegar.

When you suspect foreign materials (model cars, crayons, or other uncommon toilet materials) are the culprit for the clogging, it’s better to call a plumber as trying to push hard materials through the plumbing will not be successful, and can even worsen the situation by moving the obstruction further into the pipes where it is harder to reach.

Burtsing pipes and leaks

Cold weather can be dangerous for your exposed water pipes. If a pipe remains frozen for a long period of time, the pressure built up will eventually blow the pipe apart.

The first thing to do when there is a leak is switch your water off at the mains. Then open all the household taps so as to drain the water system. Call a plumber, and use mops, buckets and cloths to clear up as much water as possible before it causes significant damage. If a ceiling is bulging with leaked water, you should make a hole in it and drain that water out, before it causes the ceiling to collapse completely. When the leak is caused by a burst section of copper pipe, or bad connection, their replacement requires soldering to get a firm fit.

One of the most common causes of leaks is a nail being hammered into the wall and straight through pipe work [editor note: oh, I did this too! I recommend using an electricity/metal/wood detector before hammering or drilling into a wall like these stud detectors]. If this happens, do not extract the nail – leave it to plug the hole and switch off the water at the mains. A plumber should be able to remove a small section of wall covering to repair the damage.

If the external water mains has burst look in the road to find the mains control and turn it off.

Very important: When your house or flat is flooded, before stepping into standing water, be sure to shut off  electricity at the main breaker.

Sump Pump Failure

Electrical failure is the major cause of flooding caused by sump pump malfunctions. The pump will not operate if it has no power. Check your fuses and breaker switches if you still have electricity in the rest of the house.

If your pump does not have a cover over it, it is possible that something fell into the pit and is blocking the float switch from turning the pump on. Look for any foreign objects in the pump pit. Check the pump position, it may have shifted.

A clogged intake could be the problem. Check the area where the water enters the pump for blockage.

Twisted or misplaced pipes

These types of plumbing disasters are most often caused by homeowners trying to install new fixtures, or remodel a bathroom. The result of doing this wrongly is that the hot water comes out of the cold, and the cold comes out of the hot, or the shower comes on when you turn the sink water. The solution might include ripping up a large amount of construction to put the pipes in the correct place. If you are not confident that you can correct the mistake on your own, it’s most reasonable to call a professional.

Prevention of plumbing disasters

• Find out where your water meter”the box at the street”, or main house shut off valve is located and how to shut off you water in case of a emergency. A “meter key” is used to shut off the main water at the street.Once you get the “meter key” go out and shut off the main to see if it works properly. Most are 1/4 turn valves”clockwise off/counter clockwise on”.
• If you have older plumbing like galvanized water lines, the only permanent solution is to replace them as they tend to scale up inside, restricting water flow, until they eventually plug up completely.
• Keep pipes well insulated with fiber or rubber to avoid having frozen pipes in winter.
• Don’t flush anything down the toilet except toilet paper.
• If you have a garbage disposal, use a strong flow of cold water and keep it running at least 30 seconds after the grinding has stopped to flush all food particles through the drain line. Although garbage disposals are geared for vegetable matter, bear in mind that celery, chard, and asparagus ends, which are very fibrous, can cause problems.
• Trees and shrubs near drain lines are a risky factor as they tend to gravitate toward a source of water. Lines with any kind of leakage are particularly susceptible. As the roots grow, they can force larger cracks until the lines fail entirely. Replacing drain lines is hugely expensive, so keeping your existing lines healthy as long as possible saves major dollars.
• Take timely measures when you notice the first signs of a plumbing failure.
• A comprehensive Home Insurance policy with accidental damage cover will replace items damaged by plumbing disasters.
• Avoid undertaking a DIY plumbing repair if you have no experience in it as it can cost you much more to mend the damage you might further cause and the insurance company won’t agree to cover the costs.
• It’s good to have information in advance about a skilful plumber or plumbing company in your region. The best way is through word of mouth. Ask family, friends or neighbours for recommendations. Your local Trading Standards department may also have a list of approved tradesman and many companies will offer testimonials from satisfied customers, and some even place these on their website.You can check a plumber’s qualifications and, should you need a plumber to undertake gas work, you must ensure that they are Corgi registered.
• If you are going away for a weekend or on a longer vacation you can shut off your water mains and turn you water heater to “vacation setting on the red control,dial If it gas” or shut off your electrical breaker if its electric.