The Most Common Plumbing Problems in Apartments

Living in an apartment building often means that you have to face more plumbing issues than you would if you were living in a house. After all, no matter how mindful you are when it comes to treating your drains, you can’t control what your neighbors do. However, when there’s a problem, you’ll have to be focused on fixing the issue, rather than placing the blame for it. One thing that could help is knowing what sort of plumbing problems to expect when living in an apartment. Here are some of the most frequent ones and what to do about them.

Clogged Toilet

Even when you’re extremely careful about what ends up in your toilet, you can still be confronted with an annoying clog there. The paper and other debris eventually accumulate to the point where your toilet is completely blocked and you’re left with a mess. If you don’t react instantly, your problem may also become the problem of the neighboring apartments. Fortunately, this is an issue you might be able to solve yourself with a plunger, as plunging the toilet over and over again may just do the trick and remove the blockage. If not, you may have to resort to the “snake”, which is another name for a drain auger. In case you don’t have one or you aren’t comfortable with using it yourself, call a professional plumber to help you.

Bathroom Floods

Bathroom flooding can turn into a significant nuisance, as it can damage your neighbor’s ceiling, and it’s generally a sign of a potentially huge plumbing issue. There are several reasons for bathroom floods to happen, including inadequate drainage, an overflow from a bathtub or your sink, but it can also be caused by damaged pipes. Pipes tend to crack due to freezing, especially if you live in colder countries, like Canada. Nevertheless, even if you live in Australia, drainage pipes could also burst because of clogging. If any of your pipes are cracked, you should call an expert straight away, since it can be illegal to do this kind of plumbing yourself, depending on where you live. For example, in Australia, only licensed plumbers can do this type of work, which is why Sydney residents hire reliable plumbers for high-standard pipe relining in Northern Beaches. This is a method that relies on the latest technology, with minimal disruption to your apartment and the building itself and it’s essential that you turn to a reputable plumbing company that has had experience with such work.

Leaking Faucet

Although this may not seem like that big of a deal, leaky faucets happen quite often and can end up costing you a lot. Namely, what looks like a minuscule drip right now can mean a huge loss of water down the road. Not only does this mean bigger bills, but it’s a waste of precious resources as well. This is a problem that’s easily noticeable and it’s something you should inspect if you’re trying to rent your first apartment. Replacing a worn-out rubber washer may be all it takes to fix this situation, or you might have to use some thread tape as a barrier to stop the leak. If you don’t know how to do these things, the smartest thing to do is call a plumber who’ll know precisely what to do.

Clogged Drains

Anything from hair to soap residue and grease can cause a blockage in your drains. This may not appear to be that problematic, until it escalates and the clog prevents you from using your tub or your sink. At that point, you’ll have to clean the clogged drain. There are two ways to approach the issue. First, you can try to remove the clog with a sink plunger, in a manner similar to how you’d treat your toilet. The other way to unclog your drains is to use a liquid drain cleaner. These can be bought in most supermarkets and hardware stores, but you can also make them at home. After you’re done with unclogging the drain, run some cold water through it for a while, so that any remnants of the blockage get washed away.

Being aware of the most common dangers to your apartment’s plumbing makes handling any problem a much easier and less stressful task. With the valuable information and amazing tips above, you’ll be able to expect the unexpected and resolve any plumbing issue in your apartment in no time.