Your plumbing system is likely a critical component of your home, but it often goes unappreciated. However, you will very quickly notice if something does go wrong. Critical failures can lead to very expensive damage to your home, which means that early detection is extremely important. To help you find any potential plumbing problems in your home before they strike, here are some of the biggest warning signs:

Lack of Hot Water

If you are having problems with your hot water, then there are two potential causes.

Firstly, your hot water pipes might have a leak or a blockage. These pipes run parallel to your normal water pipes, but are separate, which means that a problem could affect one and not the other. If you have hot water in some parts of your home, but not others, then the piping is likely the problem. If there is a hot water pipe leak, then you need to be very vigilant, since that hot water can allow the rapid growth of mold and bacteria if its pooling in a dark area of your home.

On the other hand, you might just have problems with your hot water heater, which means that the plumbing isn't responsible. If your entire home is affected, the you will want to look at the water heater and the plumbing that is leading out from it, since you might have a leak somewhere in that area, prior to any branches in the pipes.

Mold

Mold is a huge warning sign of a leak, since it can be a health hazard all on its own. While most molds aren't very dangerous, they can cause respiratory distress in individuals with poor health. Molds grow where there is standing water, which can easily be caused by a leak.

When handling mold, make sure that you protect yourself and seal the remains of the mold when disposing of it. Bleach and ammonia are both valid options for killing the mold, but you should make sure to dilute them with water in order to conserve materials.

Paint Blisters

You could also have blisters forming in the paint in certain parts of your home. This is caused by water getting trapped between the pain and wallpaper, often indicating a leak in the vicinity. If you do notice paint blisters, then you want to look up. Since gravity is pulling the water down, the leak is often above the blisters in question.

Contact a company like Hilmans Plumbing, or another location, to get more plumbing tips and information.