Inexplicable Water Stains On Your Carpet? It Could Be Your Plumbing
If you've noticed that patches of your carpet seem to become damp or wet on a regular basis, or are even developing stains, the last thing on your mind is likely your home's plumbing. Even so, there's a good chance that the two are connected. If you're having this problem regularly in the same places no matter what you do, it could be the fault of your plumbing. Here's what you should know.
Coming From the Water Main
Your home has pipes running all the way from the water main outdoors to every single device in your home that needs it, like your toilet and washing machine. This isn't a straightforward process, as usually every room has pipes running through it, even if water isn't needed in that room. It's simply so that the pipes can get where they need to be utilized. Many people don't know it, but plumbing pipes can often run under your floor, through your walls, or even over your ceiling. When these pipes start to leak, they can cause water damage wherever they are, including the floor of your home.
What Can Cause Leaking
In most instances, nothing sudden causes the leaking of water pipes under your floor. Instead, it tends to be a gradual process as the pipes start to degrade from decades of use. In addition, earth movement or house movement can sometimes cause pipes to pull apart, causing leaks to develop. These leaks aren't necessarily large enough to be obvious, though. You're not likely to have a flood of water under your home or enough water leaking to damage your entire carpet. Instead, the water damage will be limited to small areas, at least at first.
What to Do
Getting your pipes examined is the only way that you can prevent this damage from becoming worse. While it may not be causing a big problem for you now, it could easily become worse without help. In addition, the water leaking may be causing wood rot under your floor, and could also be destroying your carpet and increasing the amount of bacteria in it, as most bacteria thrive in a moist environment.
When you call a plumber, they'll start by examining the problem. Depending on the layout of your house, they may be able to crawl underneath your home to take a look at the pipes from there. However, whether or not this is possible, pulling up the carpet and some floorboards may be necessary to inspect the problem.
If it turns out that your pipes are leaking, they'll need to be replaced. Your plumber will be able to tell you if all the plumbing needs to be fixed or if a simple patch job is enough. Once the repair is complete, you may want to have a general contractor or someone who specializes in water damage take a look to see if any floorboards, carpet, or other assets need to be replaced.
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