Plumbing Red Flags To Watch For When Purchasing A New Home

Investing in a new home can be both exciting and a little stressful. The purchase of a home represents a significant financial responsibility, and the last thing you want to do is buy a home that has hidden problems that will end up costing you money to repair in the near future. Paying close attention to the health of the plumbing system within each home you evaluate is critical when it comes to buying a functional home.

Here are three red flags to keep watch for as you walk through properties in the future.

1. Toilet tanks that are slow to fill after flushing.

As you walk through each potential home in your price range, be sure that you are taking the time to give the toilets inside the homes a flush. How quickly the toilet's tank refills after flushing can tell you a lot about the health of the plumbing system within the home.

If the tank fills slowly, this could indicate clogs in the fill line or a malfunctioning float or valve. Using the flush of a toilet to evaluate the quality of the plumbing in a home's bathroom will help you avoid investing in a home that has serious plumbing problems.

2. Dripping faucets.

Another red flag to be aware of as you try to find a home with good plumbing is a dripping faucet. If the kitchen or bathroom faucets are dripping, you could be facing large water bills should you decide to move into the home.

Experts estimate that a faucet dripping at the rate of a mere one drip per second can waste up to 3,000 gallons of water each year. If you want to avoid both the cost of repairs and the higher water bills associated with leaking faucets, be sure to invest in a home whose faucets don't drip.

3. Undersized water lines.

Taking a quick glance at the size of the pipes used to run water throughout a potential property will give you an idea as to the water pressure you can expect from the plumbing fixtures in that home. Low water pressure is a nuisance that can bother many homeowners, and undersized water lines are often to blame for this low water pressure.

Replacing the water lines can be costly, so check to ensure that the pipes in a potential home are at least three-quarter inch in diameter (maybe even half-inch if the home has multiple bathrooms) before placing an offer on the property.

Doing some simple inspecting as you walk through potential properties to purchase will help you avoid buying a home that may have plumbing problems in the near future.


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