The Importance Of Preventing Backflow At Home

 

When water enters your property coming from the main water supply line, it should only flow in a single direction, which is into your house. However, water can flow backward and seep back into the main water supply line because the pressure changes in the pipes. When a fire hydrant is opened for use or there is a break in the main water line, backflow can happen; hence, the need for backflow prevention methods.

 

Considering that pressure is lost during these situations, water is no longer being pushed directly into your residence and will flow backward into the city water lines. When this occurs, backflow can contaminate the public drinking supply with soap from showers, sinks, and dishwashers, chlorine from pools and spas, pesticides, fertilizers, and human waste.

 

Backflow often takes place due to these main scenarios; back pressure and back siphonage. Back pressure is when water is pushed into a system, while back siphonage is when the system pulls the high-pressure contaminated water.

 

Why Is Backflow Prevention Essential?

Keep in mind that the water you are getting is connected to the water systems of almost all other people in the city. While you have your own pipes coming into your property, your freshwater pipes connect to your neighborhood pipes that connect to city pipes, which connect to the city freshwater treatment plant. In other words, it is getting its water from reservoirs and rivers.

 

If you have no backflow prevention, contaminated water could be siphoned back into the water supply of your home and neighborhood. One of the most common issues is garden hoses. In case of a pressure change, fertilizer attachment bottles that have a hose attachment on one end and a nozzle a hose attachment on the other could have their contents sucked into the freshwater system.

 

What Are Some Backflow Preventers?

Backflow prevention happens throughout your home, but you typically see those that are at the exterior of your home. For example, water spigots are necessary to have backflow prevention devices. Therefore, if you are wondering what that additional knob is on top of your spigot when hooking up a garden hose, this is the answer. Another place you will see them is in your sprinkler systems.

 

The pressure vacuum breaker can also prevent backflow, which is the most likely part to freeze and break if you do not blow the sprinklers out periodically. If you notice cracks in your water spigots or backflow preventers, calling a local plumber can help fix them immediately. Otherwise, you could poison the water supply in your home, and that of your neighborhood.

 

You do not want to put the safety and health of your family. For this, it is essential to hire the services of a quality local plumbing company. They will identify any problems you may have with your system and provide effective solutions. A qualified plumber doing the testing will look for areas where there is inadequate pressure. If your backflow prevention device fails the test, you must repair or replace it immediately.