Water, Water Everywhere — Is It Damaging Your House?
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Water is crucial for so many things we do every day — drinking, flushing, washing your hands, washing dishes and clothes — it’s a nightmare when something goes wrong and your flow gets disrupted.
Problems with your water system can be immediately obvious, like when a pipe bursts or when an appliance floods the house, or they can be slow and insidious, causing damage over time, such as a slow leak in the walls or under the house.
Either way, that life-giving force of nature can cause major damage when your system isn’t working the way it should. Here are some examples of water misbehaving courtesy of our inspectors in the field.
Here’s a Sign Something’s Wrong…
Watch where you put those yard signs!
This one punctured a sprinkler line, causing a little geyser in the yard. It’s not a major repair, but the line will have to be dug up and replaced.
Best practices when placing yard signs include looking for sprinkler heads and placing the sign in between them. The water lines run in parallel straight lines underground, so if you’re careful, they’re pretty easy to avoid.
Ever Wanted an Automatic Glass Cleaner?
This clogged sink was inadvertently transformed into one of those automatic glass cleaners when the disposal was turned on!
While such a change in function can come in handy (though I struggle to think of how), a clogged sink is a problem, and you do want your disposal to perform its designated purpose.
In this case, the pipe was clogged and leaking into the cabinet, so our inspector recommended a plumber be called for further diagnosis.
Crawl Space Spa
One place you don’t want hot water flowing is under your home. Well, you don’t want any water under your home, but especially hot water.
In this house, the line had been damaged and was spraying steamy water into the crawl space under the floor whenever hot water was in use, causing a pool to form. Such pools can damage the foundation, and they can also cause a massive amount of mold growth.
Where’s the Meter?
Do you know where your water meter shut off valve is? It’s probably in your garage. If you’re not familiar with its location, go find it now, and locate that switch that Adrian demonstrates in the video above.
Some homes, however, have the main shut off valve in the front yard under a manhole cover. For these, you’ll often need a “water meter key,” which is really more a wrench shaped like a pogo stick.
If you ever have water spraying from a pipe, an appliance flooding your house, or a leak from an unknown source, turning off the water is the best step to take to stop it right away.
While many of these issues develop over time, having a thorough home inspection can arm you with the knowledge to either prevent them from happening or handle them right away. With regular maintenance, you can keep your water system flowing and protect your home.
