If you had to rate the reliability of your potable water pipes on a scale from 1 to 10, where would they fall? This assumes that 10 is the most reliable and 1 is the least reliable. If you rated your pipes a 10, there’s a good chance that you haven’t experienced any problems lately, and that’s great. If you rated them lower, there’s a good chance that you’ve received a lot of calls from your tenants about low water pressure, leaks, and burst pipes. After all, a few issues prompt a response like a lack of water pressure or a lack of water. As a property manager or the superintendent, you probably want to avoid those issues as much as possible. Let’s take a look at the potable water pipes behind your walls, what they’re constructed of, and how to tell if they’re nearing the end of their useful lives.
What Are Your Potable Water Pipes Made Out Of?
Potable water pipes, or the pipes that transport your clean drinking water, are typically manufactured out of copper, PVC, CPVC, or PEX, and to a lesser extent, galvanized steel.
- Galvanized Steel – Galvanized steel was extremely popular from the 1940s through the 1960s as a cheap copper pipe alternative. The zinc coatings helped ensure that these pipes were corrosion-resistant, but when used in residential potable water supply lines, they tended to corrode and develop leaks much sooner than anticipated. In the worst-case scenarios, these pipes leached heavy metals into the water. If your building still has these pipes installed, you’ll likely want to replace them or have them coated with epoxy.
- Copper – Copper pipes are the go-to material when it comes to potable water plumbing systems. They are relatively easy to install. They fit in tight spaces, and they’re corrosion and bacteria-resistant. Building owners also get to enjoy up to 80 years of useful life.
- PVC – While you may think of PVC as being used in drain lines, it can also be used for cold water pipes. PVC is durable, corrosion-resistant, and can last up to 70 years.
- CPVC – CPVC has an expected lifespan that is similar to PVC. However, it can be used in applications where the temperature of the water or liquid is 200 degrees or less.
- PEX – PEX plumbing pipe is a newer material. While it was invented in 1968, it wasn’t widely used until recently. It wasn’t even introduced into residential construction until the 1980s. With that being said, PEX is a great alternative to copper, and it’s often used for potable water applications as well as for underfloor heating systems.
What Are Some Plumbing Pipe Material Problems That Building Owners Could Experience?
While most plumbing pipe materials are durable and have a lot of benefits, that doesn’t mean that those same materials don’t have a few drawbacks.
- Copper Plumbing Pipes – While they are corrosion resistant, they can corrode and develop pinhole leaks over time, especially as they near the end of their useful lives, Copper is also prone to galvanic corrosion, which is sometimes referred to as dissimilar metal corrosion. It occurs when two different metals are connected within proximity to each other.
- Galvanized Steel Pipe Problems – Galvanized steel is still widely used in industrial applications, but it has fallen out of favor with residential developments due to its penchant for heavy corrosion, blockages, and leaks.
- PEX Plumbing Problems – PEX should never be exposed to UV rays. This means that you can’t have a PEX pipe exposed to the sun or UV lamps because the pipes could crack and break. Additionally, they’re not as chemically resistant as other types of plumbing pipe materials.
- PVC and CPVC Issues – PVC and CPVC are difficult to recycle, and they can release toxic chemicals if the pipes are burned.
Where Your Chicago Plumbing Pipes Are Most Likely to Fail
While failures in the body of the pipe can happen, that’s not the most likely place for a failure. Instead, plumbing pipes most often fail at joints, seams, and connectors. Those places are the weakest links in your plumbing system.
The good news is that epoxy pipelining can help prevent leaks in these areas as well as pinhole leaks, which can occur along the body of the pipe. Epoxy pipe lining seals pinhole leaks and covers joints and seams so that water cannot penetrate the host pipe or cause further deterioration.
Why Are Plumbing Pipe Failures Behind Walls So Devastating?
In modern buildings, including homes, apartments, and condos, as well as government and commercial buildings, water pipes are often hidden inside the walls, in ceilings, and under floors. This is because potable water and drain pipes are considered unsightly. Unfortunately, when pipes are hidden inside walls, floors, and ceilings, no one can visually inspect those pipes for damage or corrosion. That means that those pipes can start leaking without anyone knowing. If those pipes are left to leak for long enough, it can lead to mold, mildew damage, and even rot.
The Harms of Potable Water Supply Pipe Failures
There are signs you can watch for to determine if your potable water pipes have reached the end of their useful lives. If you have metal plumbing pipes, the water may appear discolored. Usually, the water is brown or rusty colored, which indicates the presence of oxidation in steel pipes or sediment in other types of pipes. You may also see red or brownish stains around the drains in your sinks. In severe cases, the water may stink or taste terrible. Additionally, turning on a tap may result in banging, clanking, or whistling sounds. If you notice any of these issues, it’s time to call a professional plumber in Chicago to have your plumbing pipes inspected for issues.
How to Prevent Failures in Your Hidden Potable Water Pipes
As a Chicago property manager, building owner, or superintendent, you don’t have to wait for a plumbing catastrophe before you take action. That’s called run-to-failure maintenance, and it’s the worst way to maintain your plumbing system. It can lead to dramatically high water bills, furious residents, and incredibly expensive repair bills. Instead, we, at NuFlow Midwest, want you to be more proactive about your Chicago plumbing system.
- Schedule Regular Plumbing Inspections – Camera inspections can find issues with your pipes before they become moldy, mildewy, or rotting messes.
- Have Your Staff Report Suspected Problems – Your employees are your biggest assets when it comes to preventing plumbing problems. They walk your building and grounds every day. Therefore, have them keep an eye out for mysterious puddles, wet walls, and sounds of running water.
- Find and Use a Reliable Chicago Plumber – If you do happen to need plumbing repairs, you’d do well to form a relationship with a local, experienced, and reliable plumber. Your regular plumber is going to have a better idea of what might be wrong with your plumbing pipes, and they may even offer maintenance discounts for repeat customers or customers who enroll in one of their maintenance programs.
- Perform Regular Maintenance – If you have a maintenance team on your property, there are some things they can do to help keep your plumbing system working reliably. Have them regularly test shutoff values. Have them walk the property and inspect hose bibs and automatic sprinkler heads. In the winter, make sure they winterize your plumbing pipes to prevent freezing.
- Pay Attention to Your Water Bills – Has your water bill recently increased for no reason? Dramatically high water bills can indicate numerous leaks.
- Monitor Your Plumbing Repair Bills – How much have you spent on plumbing repair maintenance this year? How much did you spend last year? Is there a trend of increases? The need for increased plumbing repairs could mean that it’s time to have your plumbing system rehabilitated.
Rehabilitate Your Potable Water Supply Lines With Help From NuFlow
Nu Flow Midwest uses an innovative, safe epoxy pipe-relining process that gives new life to potable water pipes of 1/2” or larger. Pipelining with epoxy is much less invasive and less expensive than having all your plumbing pipes ripped out of the walls and replaced. Epoxy pipelining is so non-invasive that historic building owners often use it to rehab their plumbing systems.
If you’re ready to rehabilitate your potable water plumbing system, don’t hesitate to give us a call.