With the summer heat just around the corner, it’s easy to get distracted by the summer fun and forget about the potential damage that the hot days can have on your home like how the summer heat can impact your home’s pipes. Weather changes can take a toll on your property and can cause thousands of dollars in damage if left untreated – especially your leaky pipes.
Causes
The summer heat can have an impact on both exposed and unexposed pipes, causing threats to the value and safety of your home. Exposed pipes on the outside of your home face months of summer heat, which can cause warping in your pipes and lead to cracks. Underground pipes in your home, while not suffering from direct heat, take a beating indirectly. The heat can dry up the soil around your home which can shift your home’s foundation. This can lead to cracks in your underground pipes, which are even harder to spot than the ones in your outdoor pipes.
Side effects
Cracked or burst pipes have irritating and blatant side effects like low water pressure and higher water bills (a leak can waste up to 90 gallons of water a day in a single household), but the more serious side effects can be harder to spot until it’s too late.
Cracked pipes in your home can cause severe water damage – a homeowner’s worst nightmare. Water damage can weaken your home’s structure, destroy walls, and can corrode your home’s electrical systems – all of which can sink your home’s value and require costly repairs. What’s worse, water damage creates an environment where harmful bacteria, fungi, and mold thrive. Mold and bacteria can affect the air in your home and cause long-term effects on you and your family’s health, including respiratory issues and immune systems problems, especially in children or people that are immunocompromised.
How to spot a leak
There are a few things that you can keep an eye out for to spot a leak in your home:
- Low water pressure is one of the most obvious indicators of a leak, and one of the most irritating.
- High water bills without an intentional increase in your family’s water consumption could mean that water is slipping out elsewhere.
- Visible discoloration/warping in your walls and ceilings is an obvious sign of water damage – and means you should call a plumber ASAP.
- Strange smells in your home could mean that mold or fungi are growing nearby, which means there’s something damp in your home that needs to be looked at.
If you notice any of these signs, it’s time to call Michael J. Messick. Leaky pipes aren’t something to take lightly; DIY fixes almost never do the trick and can even exacerbate the issue. It’s important to consult the experts at Messick Plumbing as soon as you notice a leak in order to avoid costly structural repairs and a potential health hazard. Call Messick for a quick and affordable repair to your large or small leaks so you can stay focused on having fun in the heat, not worrying about what it will do to your home.