As we enter the end of the summer season, we can look forward to cooler temperatures, fall desserts, and the holiday season, but while you’re getting ready for all of those events, don’t forget about your property’s drainage system. With cooler temperatures, come the fall leaves, and while they look great on the ground, they can easily make their way into your downspouts and parking lot and parking garage drains. Pipe rehabilitation becomes an essential consideration during this time. Let’s take a look at some common autumn plumbing challenges and how to deal with them, including the importance of pipe rehabilitation.
How Fall Affects Your Plumbing Pipes
As we get ready to enter the fall season, it’s important to think about the health of your plumbing pipes. As the leaves turn colors and fall off the trees and the temperatures decrease, you could experience clogged gutters and drainage systems, pipe leaks, and root intrusions into your sewer line.
Parking Lot Drainage Clogs
The large grates in your parking lot and parking garage help funnel rainwater from your property so that it doesn’t result in large puddles and floods. As the leaves change color and fall from the trees, they land on your property. Subsequent rain and wind can send those leaves into your stormwater drainage systems where they create clogs.
Pipe Leaks
If your plumbing pipes are reaching the end of their expected useful lives or have a lot of wear and tear, they’ll be more prone to freezing and bursting. While we typically think about this happening during the coldest days of winter, there can be one or more days of below-freezing temperatures in the fall, especially during the overnights.
Root Intrusions
Just before the trees go into their winter hibernation, they send their roots deeper in search of water and nutrients. This can send tree roots into your sewer line, especially if there’s already a small leak or the pipe has a lot of wear and tear that would make it easier for roots to make their way into the pipe.
Water Heater Issues
When the temperatures outside decrease, your water heater has to work harder. This is because the ambient air isn’t as warm, and your residents are more prone to taking long, hot showers in order to warm themselves after being outside in the colder temperatures. The extra wear and tear can lead to water heater breakdowns.
Benefits of Preventative Plumbing Maintenance in the Fall
To avoid sewer and storm drain clogs, frozen pipes, and broken water heaters, it’s important to perform some preventative maintenance in the fall in order to catch small problems before they become big, expensive problems.
You’ll Spend Less Money.
When pipes leak or your plumbing system experiences a sudden major failure, it’ll cost your business more money. This will manifest itself in higher water bills and higher plumbing pipe repair bills, especially if you need those repairs performed after normal business hours, on weekends, or on holidays. By taking care of small problems now, you’ll help keep your water bills and maintenance costs in line with your yearly budget.
You’ll Maintain Your Building’s Energy Efficiency.
When you think about your building’s energy efficiency, you probably think about the electric usage. After all, electricity usage accounts for about 35 percent of a building’s total energy usage, according to IEA. However, monitoring water usage is also important. For example, did you know that commercial and institutional buildings in the United States account for 17 percent of the total water usage? A small leak in your plumbing system can increase your water bills by 10 percent or more, according to the EPA. By preventing and finding and fixing leaks in a timely manner, you’ll be saving water and keeping your water bills within your budget.
You’ll Experience Fewer Emergency Failures.
By having your plumbing system inspected for damaged and worn parts and by fixing leaks in a timely manner, you’ll experience fewer failures. For the fall season, this means experiencing fewer burst pipes and fewer floods from clogged drainage systems on your property.
You’ll Be Maintaining a Healthy Environment for Your Staff and Residents.
Water leaks and flood on your property can create health hazards. Standing water in your building breeds mold and mildew, which are known to cause problems with breathing, allergy symptoms, and even allergic reactions. Standing water on your property can cause bacteria to flourish, and it’s a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other insects. It can also attract vermin. By keeping your property dry, you’ll be avoiding all of these hazards.
How NuFlow’s Pipe Rehabilitation Helps Protect Your Plumbing Pipes
When you’re looking to keep your plumbing pipes and outdoor drainage systems free of leaks and root intrusions, consider NuFlow’s pipe rehabilitation. Rehabilitating your potable water lines, drain pipes, and outdoor stormwater pipes can help seal leaks and prevent future leaks. Epoxy pipe lining helps:
- Eliminate corrosion by preventing the water flowing through the pipes from touching the host pipe.
- Epoxy pipeliners for drain pipes and sewer pipes can restore structural integrity and seal cracks and holes.
- It can improve the flow of water through your potable water pipes and drain pipes by maximizing the internal diameter of the pipe.
- It can increase the useful life of your existing plumbing pipes by as much as 50 years.
- Epoxy pipeliners in sewer pipes and storm drains can help prevent tree root intrusions
Take Advantage of Trenchless Technology for your Pipe Rehabilitation
NuFlow pipe technology utilizes epoxy coatings and epoxy pipe liners for pipe rehabilitation. The coatings are used inside potable water pipes where they coat the interior of the pipe to seal small leaks and prevent future corrosion, offering a strong solution for pipe rehabilitation.
The epoxy pipe liners are used on drain pipes, sewer lines, and stormwater pipes. These robust pipeliners have the ability to form a pipe-within-a-pipe, which helps rehabilitate damaged drain pipes and sewer lines by eliminating cracks and holes. It’s also a durable material that resists future root intrusions.
The process of installing the pipe coatings and pipeliners is completely trenchless. This means that large sections of drywall are not removed and trenches are not dug. This is all made possible because NuFlow’s pipe lining equipment is designed to connect to existing cleanout lines and pipe access points. If your cleanout or access point is located in the area, NuFlow creates one and then puts in a door to close off the area and provide quick access in the future.
The equipment is also reasonably quiet, and no dust or dirt is slung into the air. The process is also fast. Most projects can be completed in as little as 1 to 2 days. This includes a day to install the coating or liner for pipe rehabilitation and between 12 and 24 hours for that liner or coating to cure.
Don’t Forget About Regular Seasonal Pipe Maintenance
As we change seasons, it’s important to perform other plumbing pipe maintenance in your building, including:
- Having an inspection performed to check for leaks and work plumbing pipes.
- Disconnecting all hoses and making sure that outdoor water spigots are off and not dripping.
- Cover all outdoor water spigots and faucets with insulation.
- Insulate your water heaters and any exposed pipes in your building that are located in unheated areas. This includes pipes under sinks and inside cabinets.
- Remember to have your water heaters inspected for worn parts and damage and flushed to remove all the sediment that’s collected in the bottom of the tank.
- Take care of any small plumbing problems now before they result in hefty repair bills.
How NuFlow Can Help You Mitigate Seasonal Plumbing Challenges
If you’re looking to successfully mitigate seasonal plumbing challenges on your property, NuFlow can help. NuFlow offers a state-of-the-art pipe lining process that rehabilitates older and worn plumbing pipes. It starts with a thorough cleaning that removes all the buildup from the pipe. Next, we coat or line the pipe and leave it to cure. Finally, we check to make sure the pipe liner is cured and inside the pipe correctly. Finally, we restore water service to the pipe. This process helps ensure that you get the highest flow rate possible in your pipes and that your plumbing pipes to not experience any further corrosion or deterioration. When you have pipe liners installed in your sewer lines and parking lot drains, it even helps prevent clogs from tree root intrusions.
To learn more about pipelining and how it can help you get ready for fall and mitigate the autumn effect on your plumbing pipes, contact us today.