We’ve been monitoring several inquiries that we’ve received since the pandemic to see a pattern of the homeowners’ plumbing problems.

We noticed that there are five most common issues for which they needed help. We realized that these issues are all caused by the sudden increase in the frequency of home plumbing fixtures’ usage.

Today, we’re revealing these five common plumbing problems, and we hope you can comment down below if you’re experiencing the same issues.

A kitchen sink that needs replacement

Photo Credits: JacindaWalker

We have been receiving lots of inquiries for kitchen sink replacement over the past few months. Some say that a part of their kitchen sink got broken, while some think that their sink gets dirty and dusty so quickly. Some are getting frequent sink drain clogging problems these days.

One reason that we’ve seen is that some homeowners have not replaced their kitchen sinks for the past five years and more. Another reason is that the kitchen sink gets used more frequently in the past few months than ever before. Since kids are doing online classes and other family members are working from home, it’s not surprising that the sink gets used more often. Thus, your kitchen sink is more exposed to factors that lead to wear and tear.

Floor trap choke

The next common plumbing issue that homeowners call us to fix is a floor trap choke. There has been a noticeable increase in the number of homeowners who experience floor shower drain clogging these days. We’re not surprised at all because the more people use the shower, the greater the risk of hair, dirt, and other tiny objects clogging the floor drain.

Some causes for floor trap choke that we’ve seen lately are bits of food and small toy pieces that clog the drains. These causes happen more often in homes with little kids. Our previous post on how to address clog-related problems may be of help.

Broken faucet

It’s not surprising that a broken faucet has become one of the leading plumbing problems since the pandemic. This plumbing issue results from frequent hand washing, which is people’s response to the virus.

When you have everyone in the house washing their hands several times a day, you are more likely to have worn-out and broken faucets.

Broken toilet bowl flush

A toilet bowl flush that gets broken once a month is a typical case in schools. Kids are just reckless or negligent, to say the least when using toilet flush on their bathroom breaks. When you have these kids (and adults) staying at home every day, 24 hours a day, you can expect the same plumbing issue right at your home.

Foul bathroom smell

Last but not least is a foul smell inside the bathroom.

This is indeed a common scenario in almost all homes, but two things have changed this pandemic. First, foul smell in the bathroom quickly develops in just a matter of days. Second, the foul bathroom smell has become more noticeable because we often stay at home.

The main culprit to these two changes is the more frequent bathroom visits of people in the household than in the pre-COVID days. The frequency of bathroom visits at home is three to four times higher than it used to be. Imagine how many times you take bathroom breaks at work. Now, imagine that all those bathroom breaks now happen in your home bathroom.

Have you been experiencing the same plumbing issues at home since the pandemic? If you have, share them with us here and tell us additional thoughts that you might have. Watch out for our next post, where we will share the solutions to these COVID-related home plumbing problems.