You may have heard of winter plumbing issues, but did you know the hot, summer months can also wreak havoc on your commercial or residential plumbing system? This is because nearly all plumbing systems experience increased usage, and the heat can actually cause your plumbing pipes to expand, which can lead to leaks along joints and seams and cracks in the pipe walls. Let’s explore the signs of summer pipe problems and what you can do to mitigate the risk and keep your employees, visitors, and residents happy.
What Happens to Plumbing Pipes During the Summer?
During the summer, residential and commercial plumbing systems experience much more usage than they do in the winter. This is because people are taking more showers. The irrigation systems are running in order to make sure the grass and landscaping stay lush and green, and property managers and homeowners are keeping their pools full so that they have a place to cool off when the temperatures reach new extremes.
People are also cooking more, and they may even host weekend outdoor cookouts, which means more people in the building more toilets being flushed and hands and vegetables being washed. All of this extra use can put your plumbing system under strain. If your system isn’t well-maintained or older, it can lead to leaks, low water pressure, and clogs.
Did you know that extreme heat can even cause plumbing pipes to expand? If your cold water seems a bit hot when you first turn on your taps, it could be due to the pipe experiencing extreme temperatures, and it’s not just limited to metal pipes or pipes that are above ground. Even underground pipes that are close to the surface and PVC pipes can experience expansion in extreme heatwaves.
Signs that Your Plumbing System Might Be Succumbing to the Heat
It’s been a hot summer so far, and we can only expect it to get hotter before fall finally makes an appearance. Unfortunately, all that heat could cause plumbing pipe damage and a strain on your wallet.
High Water Bills
How have your water bills been this summer? Many people experience elevated water bills due to more usage. After all, you may have a pool in the backyard that you need to keep clean and filled. Your children may like to play under the sprinkler, and you may have an irrigation system that you run early in the morning or late at night. You may even have a vegetable garden that you keep well-watered in order to enjoy fresh produce and herbs. All of these water uses can dramatically increase your water bill, and put excess strain on your plumbing system.
Low Water Pressure
Low water pressure can be caused by numerous problems. If it’s just in one unit or section of your building, it could be due to having numerous appliances operating at one time. The building may have some malfunctioning valves in the plumbing system. The plumbing pipes could be experiencing multiple leaks or excessive corrosion that are slowing down the flow of water, or the plumbing system may have a faulty pressure regulator. The good news is that all of these plumbing issues can be solved. All you have to do is call a Chicago plumber or our pipelining technicians at NuFlow, serving Chicago.
Slow Drains
Corrosion and clogs are often the cause of slow drains. Corrosion happens most often in metal pipes and fittings. What happens is that as the water flows through the pipe, it reacts with the metal. This leads to deposits on the interior surface of the pipe. If enough of these deposits are present in the pipe, it can slow down or fully stop the flow of water, just like a clog.
Typical clogs that are the result of corrosion are often the result of putting inappropriate items down kitchen and bathroom drains. Some inappropriate items include meat scraps, vegetable rinds, and fats, and if you’re like most people, you love a good cookout. Maybe you or your residents have been cooking out since late spring and didn’t realize that grease, oil, meat scraps, and vegetable skins shouldn’t be put down the drains, even if they have a garbage disposal. The truth is that those items are often too heavy to pass entirely through the drainage system, and once the water flow slows, those items often get stuck to the bottom of the pipe. Unfortunately, once one solid gets stuck to the side of a pipe, more solids often get stuck. This can lead to full and partial clogs.
How You Can Prevent Summer Plumbing Problems
When it comes to protecting yourself against high water bills, pipe blowouts, and nasty clogs, it’s important to be proactive.
Get Regular Plumbing Inspections
It’s extremely important that owners of residential and commercial buildings get regular plumbing inspections, even if it’s a new building. Plumbing inspections can help find installation issues. They can help determine if your plumbing pipes have excessive corrosion, and they can find clogs and breaks in the pipe or excessively worn areas before it becomes a flood in your building.
Be Vigilant for Leaks
Always keep an eye and ear out for signs of leaks. If you hear water running, and there’s no water turned on, it could mean that you have a leak. It’s also important to check behind toilets and under and around sinks and appliances, where you can see the pipes that supply and drain water. Additionally, keep an eye out for signs that you have a leak behind a wall. These signs can include wet or stained drywall and blistering or bubbling paint or wallpaper.
Walk Around Your Property
If you have outdoor water spigots and an irrigation system, remember to walk around your property. Check to make sure that none of the spigots are leaking and watch for random puddles that could indicate that an underground pipe or sprinklerhead is leaking.
What Else Can You Do if You Want to Prevent Summer Plumbing Problems?
In addition to being vigilant and getting regular inspections, you can also take other plumbing pipe precautions in order to avoid emergency repairs.
Turn off the Water in Empty Units
If you have empty condos or apartments, you may want to consider turning off the water to those units to prevent flooding. Likewise, if you own a home, you’ll want to turn off the water and drain the system before you leave.
Clean Your Drain Pipes
It’s also important to periodically clean your drain pipes and sewer lines. This is often accomplished with hydrojetting. Hydrojetting involves sending a stream of water down your pipes to remove debris and clogs.
Consider Epoxy Pipelining
If you’re worried about leaks, low water pressure, and corrosion, you may want to consider getting your pipes lined with epoxy. Epoxy pipelining creates a pipe within a pipe, meaning that your existing plumbing pipes aren’t removed. Instead, trenchless technology is used to insert epoxy into your pipes where it seals small pinhole leaks and cracks and prevents further corrosion and deterioration of the host pipe.
How NuFlow Can Help You Protect Your Pipes from Summer Plumbing Problems
If you’re concerned about summer plumbing problems, NuFlow, serving Chicago, can help. The best way to get started is to schedule a building pipe assessment. This is especially helpful if you’re on the fence about pipelining, or you aren’t sure how you want to begin when it comes to tackling your plumbing pipe issues. All of our building pipe assessments include a video camera inspection with a 360-degree plumbing camera and a detailed report that explains the condition of your pipes and what we found. Additionally, we always include a recommendation for or against pipelining. Hint: Most pipes are suitable candidates for the process, but if your pipe walls are extremely thin, we may have to consider a hybrid plan for your plumbing pipe rehabilitation. Lastly, you’ll receive a detailed quote for the cost of epoxy pipelining.
If this option sounds like the right one for you, you can fill out our simple form. We just need to know your name, location, email, phone number, and the size of your building. Additionally, we’ll need a little bit of information about your plumbing system. This includes the size of your building, the number of vent risers in the structure, and how many drains you want us to investigate. It’s also helpful if you include any problems that you’ve noticed with your system.
If you’d like to learn more about epoxy pipelining and schedule a building pipe assessment, don’t hesitate to contact us.