Replacing or Repairing the Main Water Line: When Is It Needed, What to Do, and How to Prevent?
The main water line is the main source of comfort for everyone, though it’s concealed from our sight. Logically, damages that happen with this most critical pipe in a house, are the most tangible. Furthermore, problems in this pipe can lead to really serious consequences, among which are significant damage to property or even sound health issues. The only conclusion is that in this case, it’s vital to repair or replace the line as soon as possible.
Though the main water line is underground and can’t be seen in normal circumstances, the problems with this pipe become obvious almost at once, and there are certain signs by which you can get sure that something is definitely wrong with your water artery. This article will guide you through these signs, as well as the ways to solve and prevent the main water line damage.
The Signs of Your Main Water Line Damage
Being set underground, the main water pipe is invisible. Still, it becomes obvious at once when some problems occur, similar to when there’s the catastrophe with the sewage system and you need the main sewer replacement:
- There is at Least One Lake in Your Garden. The situation may be not that dramatic but there are certain signs of unusual humidification in the area near your house. It can be anything from a humid patch with bright green grass to an almost real small lake sometimes stinking sewage. It can also be a greasy fountain right in your yard which is especially alarming because it is pointing on that there is serious damage to your water pipe. Such a problem must be addressed as soon as possible, as loosening the ground along the pipe will one day turn your garden into a swamp. This will not only imprint on your water bills which will increase a lot but also cause insects’ breeding and further problems with the water supply in the house.
- Skyrocketing Checks for Water. Even the smallest leak in your water line will cause a huge amount of water to be wasted all the time. This inevitably imprints on your water bills which will become extraordinarily high. Thus, if you see this high bill lying at your office table and you know that with your faucets and sinks everything’s ok, it’s time to check your main water pipe.
- Dirty water streaming from faucets. In this case, the water itself is “screaming” about the damaged water line. Various debris and clouds of dirt appear right in the water which is circulating in the house. Aside from the horrible look and smell, this water can also be not any less toxic than scary. It can contain not only chemicals but also bacteria. Thus, if you see this disgusting picture running from your faucets, you have no other option than to call for plumbing specialists immediately.
- Water Pressure Dropping. When a blockage or break appears in the water line, it mostly results in a shortening of the volume of water that comes to end users’ faucets and showers. However, this drop of pressure may concern not all the faucets and fixtures in the house, but a part of them. If the pressure dropped only in some fixtures, like shower heads or faucets, then it’s indicating that the problem is most likely in the water pipes inside the house. If the water pressure dropped in each and every fixture of the household, this witnesses that the main water pipe has suffered.
Repairment or Replacement?
This question appears just after the problem in your water main pipe was discovered. In many cases, to repair it is simply not reasonable or even possible, and sometimes is abolished. For instance, repairment cannot be performed in these cases:
1. The house is constructed before 1960. The thing is that in these houses water lines are made of lead or are galvanized. Because of the health risks that lead poses and the corrosion caused by galvanization, repairment of such pipes is abolished to perform. Old houses with old pipe systems are throughout all the country and even Wheeling IL and Buffalo Grove IL
2. Previous repairs. If the pipe has already been repaired at least once, it is simply not reasonable to fix it again. The reason is that even after the first repairment the pipe became more fragile and thus more prone to new breaks. So, replacing that pipe might more economically justified.
3. It’s too time and labor-consuming. In case if the house is situated too far from the municipal water pipe line intensive digging is needed. Replacement in this instance can be cheaper.
So, the replacement of the water pipe may often be the only reasonable solution to the problem.
Is It Possible to Prevent the Breaks of Water Line?
In many cases, water lines become dysfunctional because of wear and tear. At the same time, there can be instances when those leaks and breaks were provoked by the roots of plants or even the soil specific. If in your case the damage was caused by one of these factors, you can prevent further breaks quite easily with these tactics:
- Cutting bushes and trees. The thing is that these plants have firm roots that tend to grow deeper and wider. As you know, plants seek water, so these bushes can literally attack your water pipe with their roots.
- Regulating soil pH. Your soil can be chemically reactive to the metal from which your water line is made. It can lead to thinning of your pipe’s metal and later, even forming of holes in it. To prevent this catastrophe, you can regulate your soil pH with the help of special chemicals for the garden.
Summary
It is impossible to see any breaks in your water line because it is underground, but you can see and feel when something’s wrong with it right through the way your water streams from your faucets. There are several signs by which you can know that your pipe is broken for sure. But does it mean that you should repair it? – The answer depends on many factors and very often water pipes prefer to replace. Anyway, before taking any decision and even concluding on your water pipe state, you’d better contact the company of true professional plumbers with great reputation - https://excellentplumbingus.com/.