The pipes form the most significant part of your plumbing system and are its backbone. Whenever the pipes have problems, the entire plumbing system might malfunction. Hence, you must ensure that your pipes are in ideal conditions throughout the year to operate the plumbing system optimally. Sometimes even when you contact a plumber to repair your plumbing system, you could still wonder what is wrong with your damaged pipes.
Pipes might be damaged due to various factors, as we shall see in this post. Whenever there is a plumbing issue at your home, you need to enlist the help of a professional to ensure that the problem is instantly fixed. If the plumbing system at your home is damaged, staying at home becomes quickly frustrating and stressful. So what might damage your pipes?
DIY Fixes
Unless you’ve requisite training and experience in plumbing, Do It Yourself plumbing jobs are dangerous and might result in significant pipe damage. People not having enough plumbing training or experience have a high probability of damaging their piping system by incorrectly assembling two things. Hence, if you are such a person, you must contact a reliable plumber whenever you notice any signs of damage in your Bloomington, IL, home.
Your home’s plumbing system is more complex and intricate than you might think. Hence, you might cause severe damage to your pipes if you try any DIY job without the experience, tools, or training. Unfortunately, you will still have to call a professional when the DIY job isn’t completed. You will also have to pay them more than you could have if you had contacted them immediately when you noticed the plumbing issue.
Tree Roots
Trees and shrubs’ roots are dispersed around most homes. The moisture in sewer lines and water lines attracts various kinds of vegetation, including trees and shrubs on them. When the trees or shrubs grow over time, their roots get stronger and might infiltrate the pipes, resulting in damages like clogs, bursts, or leaks.
Hence, you might be in urgent need to contact a plumbing service to have the issues resolved.
Ensuring that there is no vegetation on top of the sewer or water line is the best way of avoiding any damage to your pipes. The professional plumber might recommend cutting down the trees or the shrubs or rerouting the plumbing system to ensure the roots don’t damage the pipes. They can also send a root auger to your home to have the overgrown trees and shrubs uprooted.
Grease
Though considered a fundamental clog problem, keep in mind that putting or pouring grease down your pipes or drains is a precursor for a future plumbing problem. As the grease or oily products cool down, they congeal and stick to the walls of your plumbing pipes, constricting and shrinking their valuable space as time passes.
The solidified/congealed grease results in backups into your house and might result in plumbing issues elsewhere within the plumbing system. Seeking the assistance of a professional plumber for drain cleaning and ensuring that you do not throw oily substances or grease down the drainage system is the best way to avoid this issue. Grease is a serious culprit that might make replacing the pipes a necessity.
The Harsh Chemicals From Home Chemicals
Most chemicals can contribute to the interiors of your pipes corroding. Unfortunately, rusting is one of the leading causes of pipe damage and could result in leakages or bursting whenever exposed to the household chemicals for a long time. However, the corrosion rate is based on the material making the pipes. The iron, copper, and steel pipes are more prone to corrosion than PVC or plastic pipes. Ensure that you enlist the assistance of a reliable plumbing professional to replace the corrosion-prone pipes.
Sometimes, you might think you are resolving a problem only to exacerbate it, resulting in more severe issues downstream. For instance, some Bloomington, IL homeowners use chemical-based drain cleaners to clean their drainage systems. However, the liquid drain cleaners have been proven to damage the pipes. As indicated above, DIY techniques to clean your drains aren’t a good idea and hence not recommended. Whenever you notice that your drains are clogged, contact a plumber to have them professionally cleaned using tools like hydro jetters and drain snakes.
Although some homemade solutions might clean your pipes without any damage, they result in mixed results when used over a long time. If your pipes back up and break, pouring more liquid into your drains solves nothing and might harm the environment. Instead, leave the drain cleaning jobs to professional plumbers whenever you notice the signs of a blockage. The professionals are adequately equipped with modern tools to remove clogs or blockages.
Direct Sunlight
If you use PVC pipes or CPVC pipes at your home, ensure that they aren’t exposed to direct light from the sun. Ensure the plumbing remains in a dark place. The two kinds of plastic plumbing pipes might wear down after exposure to sunlight for an extended amount of time.
They develop raptures and spring leaks. Ensure that you enlist the services of a professional plumber for piping inspection and ensure they are not having any issues before they are buried behind the walls of your home or underground. If the plumbing pipes show any degradation or damage, ensure that you replace them. Never risk burying pipes that show signs of damage behind your walls or underneath your home’s foundation, as they might damage your home’s structural integrity.
Old Water Heaters
How old is your water heating unit? Or rather, what type of water heater do you use at your home? Water heaters can be categorized into two main groups, conventional water heaters, and tankless water heaters. The two have varying lifespans, with a tankless water heater having higher durability. When a water heater becomes too old or approaches the end of its service life,
it starts requiring frequent repairs that might prove costly in the long run. The pipes start disintegrating, which may result in bursting. Contact a plumber to replace the water heater to avert the damages like explosions that might result in flooding.
Do you need any plumbing service for your Bloomington, IL home? Our reliable plumbers at Covenant Plumbing have got your back. They have the required experience to help you repair, install, replace, or even maintain your plumbing system. Contact us today for any plumbing service.
