Sanford, NC — Following a hot, dry September across North Carolina, Comfort First Heating and Cooling is urging homeowners in Sanford and surrounding Lee County to check for hidden plumbing leaks. The company says shrinking clay soil around buried water and sewer lines can shift the ground beneath pipes, causing joints to separate and leaks to develop out of sight. According to NC State University, the state recorded a preliminary average of 2.63 inches of rain in September—about half the normal total—and ranked it the fifth-warmest September since 1895. Raleigh, the nearest major reporting city to Sanford, received only 2.17 inches, or 42% of normal.
For homeowners, the dry spell matters below ground as well as in the yard. The NC State Extension Gardener Handbook notes that clayey soils may have shrink-and-swell characteristics that affect construction uses. Where a house sits on clay and that clay dries out, it pulls back from the water service line, the sewer lateral and the pipes under a slab, and the ground the pipes rest on can shift. The result is rarely dramatic at first: a joint on an older sewer line separates slightly, a supply line under a slab starts to weep, or tree roots searching for moisture find a small crack in a drain line.
The first signs inside the house are often subtle—a water bill that creeps up without a change in use, a drain that gurgles or backs up, a damp or warm patch on a floor, or the sound of running water when every fixture is off. Comfort First Heating and Cooling, which handles plumbing, heating and cooling work for homes in Sanford and the surrounding Triangle communities, says the weeks after a long dry stretch are when hidden leaks are cheapest to find. The company's plumbing work at the Sanford location covers pipe repair and replacement, drain cleaning, slab leak repair, water heater repair and installation, tankless systems, sump pumps, gas lines and fixture repair.
"Most people think about pipes when it freezes, but a long dry month moves the ground too. Clay soil shrinks, the pipes settle with it, and a joint that held for years starts to leak where nobody can see it," said Adam Hagen, General Manager of Comfort First Heating and Cooling. "Checking the meter with the water off takes five minutes and tells you whether there is a problem worth looking at before the cold weather arrives."
To help homeowners identify potential issues, the company recommends turning off every faucet and appliance, then checking the water meter; if it still moves, water is going somewhere. Other steps include comparing this month's water bill with the same month last year, listening for gurgling drains or a toilet that refills on its own, walking the floors barefoot to note any warm or damp spots on a slab, watching the yard for a patch of green grass or soft ground above the sewer line during a dry week, and finding the main shutoff valve to make sure it turns freely before winter.
Comfort First Heating and Cooling serves Sanford and the surrounding Triangle area. Local plumbing service details are available on the Sanford service page, and the company can be reached at (919) 295-3421. Service is arranged through the company website at www.yourcomfortfirst.com. Based in Sanford, North Carolina, the company serves homes across Lee County and the surrounding Triangle communities, including Cary, Apex, Garner, Pittsboro and Carthage, handling air conditioning and heating repair, installation and maintenance alongside residential plumbing work such as pipe repair, drain cleaning, water heater repair and replacement, tankless water heaters, sump pumps, gas lines and fixture repair.
