We heard you. Over the first half of this year, we received tons of requests from homeowners asking for professional help about their urgent plumbing problems.

Some have leaky water heater pipes, some have clogged toilets, while most experienced kitchen sink clogging. They tried to do DIY solutions from youtube before calling us but to no avail.

Sadly, some of these DIY solutions don’t work when the plumbing issue has been going on for a long time and the homeowner noticed it only weeks or months after.

To avoid this unfavorable scenario, we prepared a monthly inspection list to help you discover brewing plumbing problems before they get worse.

Leaks in bathroom water pipes

If you haven’t noticed it yet, your bathroom is surrounded by networks of pipes. Everywhere you look, you will see pipes connected to different plumbing fixtures which serve as passage ways of clean water going in and waste water going out of your home.

Since these plumbing pipes are always at work, they are also prone to different kinds of damage and leaking. That’s why it’s important to make it a habit to check these different bathroom pipes at least once a month for possible signs of leaks and damage.

Here are some pipes that you need to inspect monthly:

• Pipes under the toilet bowl
• Pipes under the bathroom sink
• Pipes connecting the shower system to the faucet, and
• Water heater pipes

Check for leaks and rust so you can replace them right away.

Toilet bowl clog

We’re sure you wouldn’t want a situation where the plunger doesn’t work anymore. Some homeowners that we helped with toilet bowl choke tried using the plunger, pouring hot water, and using a snake drain but they all failed in unclogging the toilet bowl.

To address a toilet clog before it gets worse, watch out for early signs such as:

• Water draining slower than it used to
• Water gurgling up in other bathroom plumbing fixtures after flushing

When you see these warning signs, chances are, something’s blocking the drainage ways of your toilet bowl. This is the best time to apply some DIY toilet unclogging techniques. At this early stage, you may remove the clog before it gets worse.

Other leaky pipes

Aside from water supply pipes in your bathroom, you also need to inspect other plumbing pipes for signs of leaks.

When was the last time you checked your basement? Some homeowners find out about molds, moisture, and leaks inside the basement late in day. Before they discovered it, some of their items in the basement have already been damaged. Check for possible pipe leaks in the basement to avoid the same scenario.

We also advice you to check the pipes under your kitchen sink and your outdoor pipes at least once a month to see if there are pipe breaks and rust that you need to address.

Blocked shower head

Not everyone is noticing this, but if you look closely on your shower head the next time you use it, you may see some mineral deposits sticking to its tiny holes.

These are lime, calcium, silica, magnesium, and other minerals that are usually present in hard water. Inspect your shower head at least once a month to detect these mineral deposits, and when you see them, clean your plumbing fixture right away using one of these shower head cleaning techniques.

Rusty faucet

Steel and metal faucets are prone to rust when exposed to different temperatures and elements over the years.

Since faucets are water supply fixtures, it can’t be helped that they would really be exposed to water and moisture every day. Before your faucets cause water contamination in your home, check them every month for possible signs of rust.

This way, you can replace them or get them fixed before endangering your family’s health.

Blocked bathroom drain

Some of the plumber requests that we’ve received in the past month involve bathroom drain problems.

Now that most people are working from home, the shower area is used more often than ever before. Thus, you can expect more reasons for bathroom drain clogging. In fact, we’ve listed floor trap choke as one of the 5 common problems that homeowners face this pandemic.

Nevertheless, you can prevent this from happening too often in your house if you inspect the floor trap every month for possible clogging issues.

This can be done so easily. The next time you take the shower, observe if water goes down fast to the drain. If you notice a struggle, use the baking soda and vinegar method right away to prevent further clogging. Some homeowners have even proven hot water and lemon alone to be effective in removing early signs of drain clogging.

These are the six steps that you can do to prevent any difficult plumbing problems. We advice that you each of them at least once a month to prevent the worst and most disgusting plumbing troubles in the future.