How to Inspect a Plumbing System When Buying a Home 

Whether you move to the state for work, school, because you bought a vacation home or because you want to enjoy warm temperatures during your retirement years, you’ll love living in Florida. To save money on your repair costs later, you should pay for a professional inspection of the home as well as the garage and the yard. This inspection tells you whether the home has termites, hurricane damage or if it needs any repairs. You can actually do a plumbing inspection of your own when viewing the house before the professional inspection.

Turn On the Faucets

As you walk around the house, turn on the faucets and spend a few minutes watching as the water comes out. This tells you how much water pressure the home has and whether that pressure is right for you. This is especially true of the shower, which you’ll use for getting ready regularly. Once you turn off the faucets, stick around for a few minutes to see if any water comes out of the faucet. Leaks can cost you hundreds in future water bills.

Check the Drains

A clogged drain can be quite the hassle, but taking just a few minutes out of your busy day helps you see if a house that interests you has any clogged drains. Clogs can occur because too much hair gets inside the drain or because someone flushed baby wipes down the toilet. To identify clogs in shower and sink drains, just watch what happens to the water when you turn on the faucet. If the water builds up because it moves so slowly down the drain, there is a clog in the pipe that you will need to fix.

Look at the Walls and Floors

You’ll also want to look at both the walls and the floors, especially those in the bathroom and any surrounding rooms. Brown, tan, green or even black spots on the walls and floors can be a sign of mold, which often builds up after a leak forms. A leaking pipe inside the wall allows water to drip down from the pipe and build up on either the floor or wall. Press your hand against the wall too and see if it feels spongy or soft. If the owner of the home tried to fix or hide the problem, the surface may still feel soft to the touch.

Clearwater plumbing companies can do the full inspection that you need and let you know if there is anything wrong with the home that you want to buy. Before you pay for a plumbing inspection though, you can do a quick inspection of your own.