It’s been a long day at work. As you park your car in the garage, you can’t wait to head inside, put your feet up, get a good book out and curl up by the fireplace.
This image in mind, you plod up the steps with a smile on your face, open the door and … there’s water? Everywhere?!
Few things can ruin your day more than a burst or leaky pipe due to an over-extended pipe life. Not only is it a difficult fix, but the wrong water in the wrong areas can mean costly damage to your belongings. And if you don’t have the right insurance, then you might just be entirely out of luck.
In this post, you’ll learn five important things you need to know about pipe life, which will keep you informed on when it’s time for you to consider repiping your home.
1. Material Type is Uber-Important
Probably the most important determining factor to pipe life is pipe material. Depending on whether you’re using certain types of metal, PVC, or something else entirely, your pipe life could vary by decades.
As a general rule, metal performs better than PVC or plastic in the long run, and brass is the best metal for longevity.
2. Contaminated Flow Will Damage Pipes
Different types of pipes are made for very specific flow applications. If something is flowing through your pipes that shouldn’t, that could negatively affect your pipe life by degrading the material faster than expected.
If your area experiences any contaminated flow, then make sure that your pipes are okay thereafter.
3. Never Let Your Pipes Freeze
We all know that the worst-case scenario with a pipe freezing is pressure buildup that causes a pipe to burst. But even if that worst-case scenario doesn’t happen, a pipe that constantly freezes up won’t last as long as one that is moderated at a warmer temperature.
4. Consider the Worst Areas
If you think your pipes are nearing the end of their lifespan, it could be the case that just one area of your house is pretty badly affected. Sometimes there’s greater flow in one area that can cause quicker degradation.
Or, it could’ve been that when the house was built, the piping in a certain location wasn’t installed as well as the others, reducing pipe life. Make sure that you’re considering the most likely areas for failure in your home when calculating the overall pipe life left.
5. Get a Service Call Done
Unless you’re experienced with what a failing pipe looks like, you may not even know what you’re looking at when you try getting your hands dirty to check out your home’s pipe situation.
Thus, it’s always advisable to call in a professional to get a service check done. A professional plumber will test all your pipes, give you an estimate on how long the pipes will last, and tell you if it’s time to think about repiping your home.
Avoid Soggy Situations by Knowing Pipe Life
Now that you know what to keep in mind with your house’s pipes life, make sure that you’re implementing all of the practices you need to. If you don’t, one of these days you might just find yourself walking into that soggy scenario described at the beginning.
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