As any homeowner will know, your kitchen is one of the most important rooms on your property. Whether you use it for “just” home cooking or running a home business, you have lots of opportunities to use that kitchen. However, as you might already be aware, problems with kitchen appliances can become very expensive to repair.
For many people, the problem will revolve around plumbing issues. Due to your drains always being in use and other appliances like dishwashers and even washing machines, you can find that the plumbing in your kitchen is simply overworked.
Spotting a potential plumbing problem, though, is not easy. To help you ascertain what the issue might be, you should look at some signs of a plumbing problem. If you notice any of the following signs, you might have a plumbing problem. If you notice numerous problems on this list, you must hire a local plumber.
Common signs your kitchen has plumbing problems
Your drains are making a gurgling noise
The first and most obvious sign that your kitchen is having issues with its drains comes from the sounds you hear. If your kitchen is having problems draining water, it can sound like the drains are struggling. This horrible, guttural gurgling noise is immensely distracting. As the water tries to force its way down the pipes, the drain will make awkward noises as the water forces its way past debris and blockages.
These blockages create air bubbles that try and force their way through the water itself. This is, in part, what creates that horrible gurgling noise. This is usually a combination of elements like dried fat content or even food waste that has gotten lodged in the drain. Greasy products will begin to harden up and stick to the sides of your drains. When this happens, the food is unable to clear, becomes lodged, and creates blockages.
You should look to hire a professional who can help you to get rid of the blockage as soon as possible. Most of the time, a powered hydro solution can force the debris down into a septic tank.
Your drains are taking forever to clear
If your kitchen takes ages to get rid of the water in the sink, then you probably have a problem similar to the above headache. This is a sadly common problem and typically leads to issues with your kitchen drain being unable to empty itself in good time. If your drains are working fine, any water emptied down the drain should disappear immediately (or close to it). Is the water just swirling or taking forever to drain away? Then you have a problem with the pipes.
This is most likely a blocking in the pipes. This will stop the water from being able to move down the pipes in a timely manner. By using a hydro jet, you could easily force the food out of the drains and make sure it is cleaned. Depending on where you live, you might find that the solution for drain clearing is different. For example, Denver plumbers tend to use a solution built around simply forcing the water away. However, other plumbers in different regions might use technology such as video cameras to try and get a closer look down the drain to see what the blockage is.
Rising water levels in a dual sink
Do you have a dual sink bay? Then you might notice a rather awful problem: when you empty one drain, you see water and suds bursting up through the other drain. This is a serious issue and something that you should look to deal with as soon as possible. This is a clear sign that you have either a problem with your drain pipe or that something is clogging one (or both) of your drains.
This is something you should take to dealing with as a priority. The section that combines both of your sinks together will have a higher-up section that brings together both drain connections. All it takes is one piece of food, or fat, to get stuck in here, and it can become a headache to try and remove. A plumber will typically look to take apart the full component and then clean out each part. Others will look to force the material down the drain. However, given the way that the food is likely lodged into place, this often does not work as well as it should.
Therefore, a full breakdown and inspection are likely the best solution to clear this particular issue.
Your kitchen has an unpleasant odor
The last thing to look out for is often the most visible – bad smells lingering around the kitchen. If your sink appears to stink, then it is likely something that is caught down there. If you run your water or clean your sinks and you can smell old food or something eggy, you likely have something gone off that is stuck down the drain.
Do not ignore this problem or simply try and mask the odor; once the smell lingers, it will stick around until something is done to resolve it. As such, you should look to get a plumber to open up your drain and take a look. The sooner someone looks, the easier it will be to resolve the problem that you are dealing with.
If you have your drains checked out and there is no clear problem, the issue is more likely to lie in your septic tank. Therefore, you will need to have a local plumber take a look at your septic tank to find signs of damage, blocked debris, or a low level within the septic tank. Either way, this is something you should have checked out ASAP.
Make handling your kitchen plumbing problems a priority
Dealing with your kitchen is so important to your lifestyle and your business. A kitchen that is not working right often will result in appliance problems. Due to regular water use, the most common problem in a kitchen is plumbing. It can be related to a blockage, as noted above, or a problem with your septic tank. Sometimes, you might simply need a new appliance to be fitted.
Either way, you should keep the above in mind. Look out for these signs of a plumbing problem, and you can more readily deal with plumbing problems as and when they appear. The sooner you act, the less expensive repairs will be, and the less likely the situation will evolve into something more serious.