Is Your Home Telling You That You Need to Call a Plumber?

There are times when it's obvious that you need to call a plumber to your home; when a toilet is so clogged that you can't address it with a plunger, or a pipe has burst and caused a flood, you want an emergency plumber in your house as quickly as possible. However, there are times when your home's plumbing needs some attention, but you may not realize that something has gone wrong with the pipes. Note a few signs of plumbing problems here so you know when your home is telling you that you need to call a plumber.

1. Gurgling or air bubbles

When you flush the toilet or have water go down any drain, you might notice some gurgling sounds behind the walls or from the fixture itself, and may also notice bubbles coming back up. This often means that there is a leak somewhere in the pipes or connectors and air is getting into those lines. 

While the air and bubbles themselves may not be dangerous, once there is a leak, this can mean added pressure on the area of the leak and any loose connectors. This can cause an eventual burst pipe. A water leak can mean the risk of mold growth on building materials, and it often simply gets worse with time. Rather than ignoring this because the drains and toilets do empty, it's good to have a plumber find the area where air is getting in and address it.

2. Bad smells

Your home's plumbing system should wick away sewage, food scraps, and everything else that goes down the drains so that you shouldn't notice any bad smells coming back up the toilet, in the bathtub, and other fixtures. If you do, this often means that you have a standing clog that isn't so big that it blocks the drain but it's enough to cause this odor. Ignoring the clog can often mean allowing it to get worse so that your pipes will eventually be blocked and you may experience a backup. Have a plumber check the area of the odor and clear any clogs, no matter their size.

3. Dripping

If a faucet is dripping, you can try to replace the washers in the nozzle. However, if this doesn't fix the problem, you may need to have a plumber adjust the water pressure setting on your hot water heater. If it's malfunctioning, it might be pushing water through the pipes, causing you to waste water and power as well.