With Spring rapidly approaching, it’s time to start thinking about your plumbing system. Heavy winter use, especially during these trying times can lead to clogs, low water pressure, and leaking plumbing pipes. Here at NuFlow, serving Chicago, we can rehabilitate your plumbing system so that you can enjoy reliable water pressure and drainage.
1. Low Water Pressure
Low water pressure is the scourge of many high-rise buildings, and it’s typically worse on the upper floors. To catch this problem quickly, make sure to listen to your tenants. Have there been increasing complaints on the upper floors about low water pressure when taking a shower or using more than one water-using appliance at a time, like the dishwasher and clothing washer? Low water pressure can be caused by problems with the rooftop gravity tank, water pumps that send water to the upper floors, and numerous leaks in the pressurized water system.
2. Clogged Drains
Has everyone in your Chicago building been spending more time at home due to the pandemic? An increase in tenants and occupants of individual units puts more wear and tear on your drain system. This can result in an increase in the number of clog complaints you receive. Most of the time, this is due to putting things down the drain lines that are not recommended, including oils, fats, eggshells, coffee grounds, meat trimmings, and vegetable and fruit rinds. To help reduce the likelihood of this problem, we recommend giving all your tenants a flier that explains the times they can and cannot put down their unit sink drains. If you’re still experiencing clogs after your tenants have been informed of the best drain practices, the clogging problem may be due to corrosion. The good news is that pipelining can help get rid of corrosion and prevent future corrosion.
3. Clogged Sewer Pipe
Clogged sewer pipes can create a huge headache for both the management team and your tenants. If your sewers are more than 50 years old, the clogs may be the result of corrosion, collapsed sections, bellies in the line, or root infestations from trees. Frequent clogs can also occur when people plush things down their toilet that is not toilet paper. In fact, individuals flushing facial tissues, paper towels, wet wipes, kitty litter, and other paper products that are not approved for sewer lines has been an ongoing problem since the beginning of the COVID pandemic. At first, this was because there was a widespread toilet paper shortage, which forced individuals to use items to clean themselves that they would not normally use. During that time, they may have also found new products and decided they liked them better than solely using toilet paper, which means they may still be flushing wet wipes and sanitary wipes down their toilets.
Unfortunately, flushing anything other than toilet paper is not recommended, even if the product says sewer or septic safe. This is because these sanitary products do not break down as rapidly as plain toilet paper, and if enough of them are flushed within a short timeframe, they can cause a sewer line clog. This is especially true when other items are present in the line, including oils and fats, which cool as they move through the pipes and eventually stick to the sides and bottom of the pipe.
4. Leaking Pipes
When most property managers and building owners think about leaks, they envision complete blowouts that create large puddles and ruin drywall immediately. While blowouts can happen, it’s more common to have slow leaks where the pipe only produces a drip or two a minute. The problem is that slow leaks are harder to detect until there are multiple leaks that reduce water pressure and/or increase your building’s water bills.
Most potable water pipes are designed to last between 20 and 50 years. If your plumbing pipes are more than halfway through their expected useful life, you may want to consider having them inspected for cracks, pinhole leaks, and corrosion, especially along joints and seams. If you think you may have one or more small leaks, it’s a good idea to get a Building Pipe Assessment, which is designed to tell you the ages of your plumbing pipes and if your pipes contain and corrosion or leaks. This inspection also tells you if epoxy pipe lining from NuFlow would be right for your building.
5. Failure of Sump Pumps
As the weather warms and the rain starts, don’t forget about your sump pumps. These little pumps help keep your basement dry by pumping out stormwater and water released by boilers and water heaters. If they fail, you could find yourself with flood and water damage in your basement. To help prevent pump failures, remember to have them inspected regularly and repaired or replaced as needed.
Rehabilitating Plumbing Pipes with NuFlow, Serving Chicago
Here at NuFlow, we understand that replacing your plumbing pipes is an expensive and time-consuming process. The good news is that epoxy pipe liners and coatings can rehabilitate your plumbing system in less time with less cost. Not to mention, pipe liners last nearly as long as new pipes, and our pipe liners come with a 10-year warranty.
To learn more about pipe lining and how it can help rehabilitate your high-rise building’s plumbing pipes, give us a call at 815-790-9000.