Have you mostly lived in a stick-built house and it is your first time in a mobile home? Yes? Then you may not understand why certain plumbing issues haunt your mobile home. Understanding the difference in plumbing between the two different types of homes is important for both stick-built home owners and mobile home owners so that they can navigate through the common plumbing problems in their homes.
Piping Materials
The building regulations and codes with stick-build home are strict; therefore, plumbing in these homes hasn’t progressed much. On the other hand, manufactures of mobile home get more leeway for testing new kinds of plumbing systems and implement the option that is best for the mobile home.
Due to this reason, most manufacturers of mobile homes now use plastic for water lines. Plastic pipes are much cheaper, easier to install and use and they have a lesser chance of freezing up in winter due to intense cold.
The Way Pipes Enter the House
In most of the regular homes, pipes run straight into the faucets or taps through the home walls. However, that is not the case with mobile homes. In a mobile home, plumbing pipes enter the house through the floor. As pipes run underground, they must be taken into account when structural modifications are being made.
Drain Pipes Venting
In plumbing, vent helps to maintain an adequate pressure in the pipe so that water can flow freely and grey water can be sent out of your home. Mostly, in mobile homes, vents are located right underneath the counters or basins. This is not attractive and they must be concealed.
Clean Outs
The areas of your home through which the sewerage line can be accessed to remove blockages or clogs are called clean outs. A white cap identifies these areas and removing this cap gives you access to the plumbing’s interior section.
In stick-built houses, many clean outs are there throughout the home. You can easily find them in the mainline, washing rooms and kitchen. However, clean outs are not always present in mobile homes which makes it difficult to get rid of clogs.
Common Water Line Issues in Mobile Homes
In mobile homes, you can come across these plumbing problems:
1. Frozen Pipes
Water lines in mobile homes aren’t as well protected or insulated as they are in most stick-built houses. Due to lack of protection and insulation, water in pipelines freezes. If the material used for the pipelines is copper, your pipes are more likely to freeze because copper pipes get cold faster than pipes made of plastic. If you live in an area where winters are intense, your pipes, faucets and vents can get damaged from frequent freezing.
There are a couple of things that can be done to solve this issue. First thing you should do is properly insulate your pipes. Cover the pipes in a proper insulation material to ensure they don’t get extremely cold in winter and the water inside them doesn’t freeze. You should also run all the water lines in your mobile home regularly during colder months.
2. Leaking Pipes
After mobile homes have been placed at a particular location, they move to properly settle. Due to this movement, rigid pipes can crack or their connections can get loose. The exact area where the leak originated from must be found to fix this issue.
If there is a leak at a connection or joint, the solution is simple. All you have to do is properly tighten the joint or connection or add rubber sheet, leak tape or joint fillers. If pipes are cracked, you should replace them instead of taking your chances with severely damaged pipes.
3. Clogged Drains
If you are experiencing a strange odor and can’t find the exact source of it, your drains may be clogged. You should clear out the clog quickly as it can create bad sanitation or contaminate your water. You can use muriatic acid or apply water pressure to clear out the clog.
4. Low Pressure
Low water pressure is a frustrating issue as it can be hard to determine the exact cause of it. When you experience this issue, you should start investigating to get to the cause of the problem. If you notice that the water pressure in your mobile home is extremely low, ask your neighbors to see if they are experiencing the same trouble or you alone are experiencing the water pressure problem.
If the pressure is low in only individual taps or faucets, the problem may be because of the aerator of the faucet. They can be replaced or cleaned, but if they become clogged due to sediment buildup, you will have to install a new system. The issue can also occur because of galvanized pipes. When water reacts with zinc, scale and lime builds up. If you have to regularly clean your pipes, you should replace your galvanized pipes with better plastic ones.
5. Dripping Faucets or Taps
This mostly happens because of stiff, damaged or loose washers. If the faucets or taps keep dripping, replacing the washers should fix the problem. You should also consider taking your tap apart to see if any parts are loose or there is anything that is blocking the water.
Well, that’s all from today’s post. Hopefully you now understand how plumbing in mobile homes works and what type of plumbing issues are commonly faced by mobile home owners. We have discussed some ways you can tackle common plumbing issues in your home, but we advice that you don’t tackle plumbing tasks in your home on your own. The plumbing tasks are best left to experts. When we talk about experts of plumbing, there is only one name that comes to mind and that’s Mesa Plumbing Company.
At Mesa Plumbing Company, we are well versed in both mobile and stick-built home plumbing. If you ever experience a plumbing issue in your home, don’t hesitate to give us a call at (480) 832-1660.