4 Issues that Might Ruin Your Home’s Plumbing System
Whether you’re moving into a new home or trying to improve the house you already have, there are a number of potential disasters that could ruin your pipes. The first step in ensuring the longevity of your pipes is identifying the source of your water line issues. This way, you can mitigate this problem from ever happening again.
If you’re investing in a trenchless sewer line replacement, talk with your plumbing company about these possible causes for your pipe issues.
Tree roots
Trees and shrubberies are common features in most lawns and yards throughout the country. Even though they may help you save on your heating and cooling costs, expanding tree roots can dig their way into your sewer pipes in search of water. This is incredibly common in hot climates, but this issue could occur anywhere.
Just like flowing water, trees will search for the path of least resistance as they search for a source of energy. A single small crack in your line might invite the prying roots of trees throughout the neighborhood. Even if your home doesn’t have trees of their own, you may suffer the ill effects of root invasion from trees across the street.
Tree roots can block pipes, crack lines, and create backups in your sewage system, putting your entire home at risk.
Corrosion
Unfortunately, nothing is permanent. Even if you invest in strong galvanized steel pipes, this form of plumbing will still only last for 30 to 50 years under good conditions. This is primarily because the mineral content in your home’s water inevitably wears down the strength of your pipes over time.
Areas with particularly hard water are even more at-risk than the next town over. Talk to your local plumber about investing in a water filter to help improve the longevity of your pipes.
Heavy rains
Though it might seem like your pipes are safe from rain underground, rain can impact your plumbing in a variety of ways. A surge of heavy rain might increase the pressure of water in your pipes, putting them at risk for bursting.
Some heavy rains also weigh down the soil resting on top of your home’s plumbing. This added weight can potentially damage otherwise healthy pipes and completely break pipes in poor condition.
If you start to notice frequent clogs in your home whenever it rains, it means that there might be debris building up further down the line. Get a home inspection quickly to mitigate any further damage.
Shifting soils
If you live near a fault line, you know the damage that earthquakes can do to your pipes. The sudden shift in soil can damage your home’s entire foundation, let alone the pipes beneath the ground.
But you don’t need to experience an earthquake to suffer from the adverse side effects of shifting soils. Homes on flood plains and those residing on particularly wet lands are more likely to experience soil shifts than homes in arid climates. While it might be tempting to invest in flood insurance, you should also set aside money to make pipe repairs every few years or so.
If you’re worried that there’s a problem in your home’s plumbing, the best thing you can do is turn off your water supply and call a quality plumber. The advances in plumbing technology over the last couple of decades ascertain that your plumber will be able to identify the problem and prevent this from happening in the future.
Your plumber’s new technology has the power to infiltrate your pipes to find the root of a problem. Contact your local plumber today for more information.
