Once a year for most homes. Go more often — or add a sewer camera inspection — if your home was built before 1980, has mature trees over the sewer lateral, or has a history of leaks or backups. And always inspect before buying a home.
Why Annual
Plumbing fails slowly and invisibly. Corrosion, mineral scale, and pressure stress accumulate for years before anything leaks, and by the time you see water the damage has usually started. An annual look catches the corroded angle stop, the weeping fitting, the water heater at end of life, and the pressure problem quietly shortening everything’s lifespan.
When to Inspect More Often
- Homes built before 1980. Galvanized supply pipe and cast iron drain lines are both approaching or past end of life.
- Mature trees over the sewer lateral — add a periodic camera inspection, since root intrusion is the leading cause of local main line failures.
- A history of leaks or backups. Whatever caused it is usually still there.
- Water heater past eight years.
- Before and after major renovations.
- Rental and vacation properties, where a small leak can run unnoticed for months.
Always Inspect Before Buying
A standard home inspection is a visual overview — it does not scope the sewer lateral, and it rarely identifies galvanized supply pipe as the near-term expense it is. On an Albuquerque home built before 1980, a plumbing inspection plus a sewer camera is among the highest-value money spent in a transaction. A failing sewer line or a house needing a repipe is a five-figure item the buyer otherwise inherits at closing.
The Local Realities It Catches
Hard water scaling water heaters and fixtures years early. Missing or failed pressure reducing valves. Freeze-vulnerable pipe runs in unconditioned space. Root intrusion in sewer laterals.
Making It Routine
Care Club members get scheduled plumbing inspections along with HVAC maintenance, member pricing, and priority dispatch.
