Plumbing problems can be painfully obvious, such as when a pipe bursts and sprays water all over your floor. Other times, you might have a leak or other problem and not realize right away that something is wrong. Here are some times it's a good idea to call a plumber to check on your plumbing system to see if it needs repairs.

1. Your Home Smells Musty

If your house smells musty, you've probably got a leak somewhere. The problem could be with your roof, but there's also a good chance the leak could be in a pipe or drain. If your house has a musty odor, that means water damage is probably happening already. Plus, if you have a pipe leak, you may get a bad surprise on your next water bill if you're wasting a lot of water.

Call a plumber to look for a leak. A plumber can check your water meter to determine if your water is leaking out and if so, they can use leak detection to find the location of the leak. A leaky pipe can sometimes be patched, but if that's not possible, your plumber might need to replace the pipe.

2. When Your Drains Seem Slow

Slow drains could be a sign of a clog that's building. The clog might be in a kitchen drain or the main sewer line. If you can't make the drain faster by plunging or using hot water, then consider calling a plumber to clean the drain. If all the drains in your house are slow, the problem is probably in the sewer line.

A sewer line can be cleaned out with a hydro jet. A single drain, such as a kitchen drain, might be cleaned out with a drain snake, but a hydro jet can be used on a kitchen drain too.

3. Your Water Isn't Very Hot

If your water heater isn't getting your water as warm as it usually does, you may want to check the temperature setting first to make sure no one changed it. If the setting isn't the problem, it's a good idea to call a plumber because the water heater might be on the way out.

The problem might be the thermostat or a burner, and the condition could get worse. You might not have any hot water at all when you get up in the morning and need to shower. A plumber can test parts in the water heater to find the bad one and replace it with a new part.