If you want to keep your home in great shape year after year, there are a lot of little jobs you have to keep up with. One of the most important things you can do is make sure your plumbing system is in good shape, which means having regular maintenance and repairs done. If you notice a problem, you need to call a professional right away. If you think you’ve got a leak in your water line or some other problem that may require water line repair, here’s what you should know before you call.
What Are Water Lines?
The plumbing system in your home is made up of two primary parts: the sewer lines and the water lines. The sewer lines connect the drains in your home to the city sewer system, allowing you to easily dispose of waste water from your toilets, sinks and showers. Water lines, on the other hand, run from the city’s water system to the fixtures in your home to supply them with water.
Water line repair is a little bit tricky because your water line is further broken up into two main parts. Your water main is the pipe that comes from the water meter to your home to provide your home with fresh water. However, there are also several smaller water lines which branch off of your water main to connect to fixtures. When you call a water line repair company to fix a leak or break in one of your water lines, it’s important to realize the problem could be in the main or one of the individual lines.
Winter Problems
One of the most common reasons people have to call a water line repair service is to fix a burst pipe. These burst pipes are generally the result of a pipe freezing and thawing out again, which means this is an especially big problem if you live somewhere cold like Minneapolis, MN.
Burst pipes are a problem that goes beyond simple water line repairs. When a pipe bursts in your home, it can spill hundreds of gallons of water into your crawl space without you even knowing it. Not only is this a big mess to clean up, it can cause structural damage and promote mold growth, both of which can end up costing you a whole lot more.
If you want to prevent burst pipes, the best thing you can do is make sure your pipes aren’t getting too cold during the winter. If you’ve got water lines running through a poorly insulated part of your home, insulate it better to prevent them from freezing. In areas where you can’t add extra insulation or the problem is simply too drastic, you can use heat tape or cable to warm pipes up during the winter. If you go this route, make sure you have a professional install it so it’s done correctly.
Environmental Factors
While a lot of water line problems are somewhat preventable, there are plenty of problems that would occur regardless of what you did. As odd as it may seem, a lot of broken water lines are caused by the conditions of the soil they run through and the way that earth moves.
Just like anything else, the materials pipes are made of and can corrode over time. In some cases, you may have something in your soil that’s speeding up the process of corrosion and leading to frequent water line repair calls. If the soil is too soft, it could allow your pipe to flex in a strange way, too.
Some of the biggest environmental problems when it comes to water lines are a result of what’s inside your soil. If you’ve got a large rock buried in your yard that you don’t know about, it could shift and eventually cause a break in your water line. A lot of water line repair calls are a result of roots growing into the water line somewhere in your yard. The good news is, all of these problems can be solved by replacing the water line and/or moving it to a spot where there aren’t as many obstacles in the way.
Water Line Age
One of the most important things to consider when you’ve got a water line problem is how old your water lines are. You don’t need to have your water lines replaced every few years like the tires on your car, but you should keep the age of your plumbing system in mind when hiring a plumbing service.
In some cases, your water line may be corroding because of its age. If that’s the case, there’s not much of a point to spending money on water line repair. Instead, you should have your water lines replaced so you don’t have to worry about problems cropping up again.
While it depends on the pipe material, most water lines are made to last about 50 years. If your home has been passed down through the family for generations and the water lines haven’t been replaced in a few generations, now might be a good time to invest in a repipe.
Make It Easy
Taking care of your plumbing system is hard work, especially when freezing temperatures and underground roots stand in your way. Fortunately, you don’t have to fight the battle alone. By simply understanding some common water line problems and what causes them, you can help keep your home’s plumbing system in working order.
If you need a little helping hand when it comes to plumbing problems, Paul Bunyan Plumbing & Drains can help. Next time you need water line repair or any other plumbing services for your Minneapolis, MN, home, give Paul Bunyan Plumbing & Drains a call at 952-213-3642.
