5 Commonly asked Plumbing Questions

When most homeowners or business owners deal with plumbing issues, it's a rather stressful and panicky time. You probably have a bundle of questions, questions like: How did this happen? Who can help me with this? What do I do now? But rest assured you aren't the first or last individual with such concerns and questions. We all tend to panic when something goes beyond the scope of our understanding, skills and mostly all of this is caused by lack of experience. But don't worry, we been around for a long time and like any other plumbing professional we probably heard your question or concern before, and without a doubt have an answer to provide.

Without further ado, let’s jump into some of the more commonly asked questions with professional answers from skilled plumbing professionals. Hopefully this will help you ease your mind when it comes to plumbing and any plumbing issue in your home.

1. Why is my Water Bill so High?

In our personal experience working in the plumbing trade for many years the leading cause of high water bill is run away water, or in other words wasted water. This often has few culprits that lead to this. The biggest elephant in the room is us usually a toilet, or a Water Closet as we plumbers call it. Many places still have old, inefficient toilets that use massive amounts of water and don’t always perfectly flush resulting sometimes in a second flush.

Modern day toilets often use 1.6 GPF (Gallons Per Flush) which is the same as 6.0 LPF (Liters Per Flush), now this is very little compared to older toilets which often use 3.5, 5 or even 7 GPF (Gallons Per Flush), that’s 13, 18 and 26 LPF (Liters Per Flush). Now this is however is only half of the problem, sometimes the components inside the toilet tank are old or worn out due to age or water mineral/chlorine content as such this components fail and cause the toilet to run non stop, releasing water into the toilet bowl and causing what’s known as a “Running Toilet”.

The other cause of water loss tend to be leaking faucets, this is often caused by age or tear and wear of the internal components, primarily the cartridge. As such the water is never completely shut off and drip by drip it escapes, adding up to a sky high bill in the end of your 1-3 months billing period. In most cases one call to a professional plumbing contractor will solve your problem, by either replacing the internal components and performing proper adjustments of internal components or by installing a newer toilet with larger flapper and better efficiency.

2. Whats causing the leak? Where is it leaking from?

A leak is usually indicated by a yellowish stain on the ceiling, damp ceiling or drywall. But the ultimate question is What is causing the leakage and what is its source and origin. This tends to be a tricky thing when it comes to plumbing as leaks can travel great lengths, as water slowly goes downstream with the slope and travels across the joins in the walls and floors. Leaks are very tedious little things that require a skilled tradesman like a plumber to apply their knowledge and experience in finding the source and repairing it. As plumbers we ran into tricky leaks before that resulted in us determining that the source of the leak was originating from the roof, yet this leak was showing at the other side of the house. Finding leaks is no small job and trust us it requires knowledge of plumbing and drainage system as well as a lot of practical skill. As leaks are different and sometimes are only caused under very specific conditions, like say a specific family member taking a shower/bath that causes a leak, yet if anyone else takes shower/bath there is no leakage.

3. How long do water heaters last?

Water heaters are designed to last around 15 years, but on average it is anywhere from 6 to 10 years. Usually the content of water overtime destroys the internal components of the water heater therefor reducing it’s exploitation time. Not only that but the older the water heater the greater the risk of insulation material breaking off and clogging the cartridges in kitchen, lavatory and shower faucets as well as clogging different parts in the toilets and other plumbing fixtures truthout the house. A regular maintenance of water heater can help to extend its shelf life. To learn more about water heaters please follow to this article; “How It Works: Water Heaters and Common Problems”.

4. Why is my water pressure low and what’s causing it?

Water pressure can be caused by many things. Most common is deposit buildup in the pipes like, stuff like calcium overtime build up reducing the internal diameter of the pipes that are supplying the water, therefore reducing the pressure. We suggest that you ask couple of your neighbours if they have similar issues, if not then it’s an indication that there are some problems in your house that are causing the low water pressure issue. In this case we suggest that you call a licensed plumbing contractor or licensed plumbing company.

5. My Main-Shut Off is Leaking, what should I do?

If you see a puddle around your water meter or see drips coming from the valve which shuts off water supply to your house you should call a plumber immediately. A leaking main shutoff valve is an extremely dangerous thing as you would have no way of shutting the water in case of emergency, and if it’s dripping that's an indication of internal damage or wear and tear of the rubber gaskets, letting water pass truth unobstructedly. So if you notice a non-functional or leaking main-shut off we advise to contact a plumber, after that you would need to contact your municipality water service provider and have them send a city employee to shut off the water to your house from the outside, so that a plumbing technicians can do the needed repairs. But be warned municipalities may not provide same day water shut off and often require a 24 hour notice to make an service appointment to close the water from the outside. You can find the contact number on your local Municipality Water & Wastewater Bill.

If you have any further question or looking to get some plumbing jobs in the Greater Toronto and Surrounding Areas feel free to give us a call, we at The Toronto Plumber .CA have been serving Greater Toronto Area since 2012 providing quality, profesional and affordable plumbing and drainage services.