In order to take full advantage of it, you need to know what questions to ask during a plumbing inspection! We are here to provide you with them, as well as explain why they are essential.

Are there any obvious problems you can spot?

The first of the questions to ask during a plumbing inspection should always be this. If a professional plumber or plumbing inspector can just walk into a home and immediately notice glaring issues, then you should walk away from purchasing the property. Or, if you own it already, seriously consider moving while the repairs are going on. Glaring issues with plumbing are never cheap or easy to fix, and they tend to take forever. Note that just because the answer to this question is no doesn’t mean there won’t be any serious problems uncovered later on during the inspection!

Is the water pressure okay?

The water pressure of a home can reveal a lot about the state of its plumbing. A home with low water pressure is very likely to have one of several serious problems. Chief among them is leaking or broken pipes. You might also have roots growing in your pipes, serious clogs, a problem with the main water line connection, or a host of other troubles. This is always one of the questions to ask during a plumbing inspection, even if you’ve lived in the house for a while, because bad water pressure can ‘sneak up’ on you. The decrease is often gradual, which means you might not even notice it is happening.

Are there problems with the drainage speed?

Similar to the previous question, drainage speed problems can be difficult to detect. An outside, professional observer will be able to reliably tell you whether there’s a problem with your drains. Slow drainage speed can be caused by a number of underlying issues, including clogs, problems with the sewage line, or even badly installed plumbing. Note that this can reveal some of the most serious problems with your plumbing. Even clogs, if not treated quickly and properly, can cause bigger issues such as sewage backup. And even the drains outside your home should be inspected! Having to figure out what to do when stormwater drains get blocked during winter is not very pleasant.

Is there a high level of humidity in the house?

There is a number of things that could be affecting the humidity in your home. Most, if not all, are unpleasant and need to be addressed. Of course, the biggest fear among all of them are leaks and burst pipes. Especially since smaller leaks can go undetected for a long time while dealing a lot of damage to your home, the longer a leak like that goes undetected, the more expensive the repairs will eventually be.

Are the pipes looking good?

It takes a lot of effort to inspect pipes thoroughly, but you should insist on it and pay the fees your plumbing inspector asks for, even if you incur additional costs! This is because the condition of a house’s pipes dictates whether it’s a good purchase. Whether you are buying or selling, this is invaluable information. Even if you are planning to continue living in a home, you still want to be properly informed since pipes whose condition is disregarded can cause some expensive problems down the line. Interestingly enough, if you are thinking about moving within the same street you currently live in, this is good information to have. It can indicate the condition of the plumbing in the entire block, and you needn’t bother learning how to pack for a move across the street and make your packing efficient if the answer you get is “no!”

What’s the condition of the water heater like?

Your plumbing inspector will also typically be able to provide you info on the condition of the water heater. This is definitely one of the questions to ask during a plumbing inspection considering the cost of replacing a water heater. Of course, a much bigger concern is electricity potentially mixing with water if your plumbing inspector uncovers serious faults in your water heater. In that case, it’s always better to quickly eat the costs and move on.

Is the home connected to the municipal sewer line or a septic system?

We can’t understate how important it is to include this among the questions to ask during a plumbing inspection. Just assuming a home is connected to the municipal sewer line leads to some nasty consequences. Mostly in the form of sewage backup and literal puddles of nastiness forming in your lawn if the septic system is not routinely emptied and maintained. If you’ve never lived in a home with a septic system, it’s best to pass on purchasing one with it.

Are there signs of water damage in the house?

Water damage often has an obvious source: leaks. Even if the leaks have all been patched up, this reveals an important piece of info about the property. That its plumbing isn’t in great condition; once pipes start leaking in a home, you can always expect the incident to repeat due to the aging of the plumbing system. You’d either have to replace it entirely or play to keep up with the maintenance.

What will the repair costs be like?

The final question to ask during a plumbing inspection should always be what it’d cost to fix every problem uncovered. Whether you live in the house or are thinking about buying it, the usefulness of this information is obvious. It also helps that a qualified plumbing inspector will always be able to offer you insight into the maintenance and remodeling of a home’s plumbing system. So, take full advantage of their expertise!

For a safe and inexpensive home to maintain

You need to leverage the questions to ask during a plumbing inspection in order to ascertain the home’s condition properly. If you notice a lot of negative feedback, nine times out of ten, you will regret purchasing that property. And if the property is yours already, you can, unfortunately, expect a hefty bill to get it all sorted out. Of course, know that ignoring plumbing problems will just lead to even more grief down the line!

Guest Contributor: Sophia Perry