Friday, July 1, 2011

Hire a Professional Plumber to Fix Backflow Problems

Every time you turn on a faucet to fill a soup pot, or to run a tub full of water for a bath, you expect what comes out of the spigot to be safe and clean, good enough for consumption. Whether you use your city's water supply or have some kind of well system set up for your home, it's important to make sure everything is working to maintain the proper filtering of your water. When things go awry and you notice your water doesn't look clear or maybe gives off an unpleasant odor, the last thing you want to do is use it for cooking or bathing. You could have a problem with your backflow preventer.

Simply put, backflow is the reverse flow of your main water supply. When your home plumbing works properly, only clean drinking and washing water will flow through your pipes when needed. In cases of severe weather or other damages, anything that faults the pressure that maintains water flow, there is the chance dirty water from storage is drawn into your plumbing. This contaminate flows in reserve into the good water stream, and therefore gets into your pipes and sinks, tubs, and so on. When this happens, it's necessary to contact your plumber for repairs.

Backflow Preventers

Dirty water coming out of the faucet in your first sign that you water needs to be tested, and your backflow device repairs or replaced. Typically your backflow plumbing should be tested once a year to make sure everything is in working order, but it's important to have a plumbing mechanic check it in extreme emergency cases. Make sure the person you hire has certification to work on such devices, which may include a check valve, a reduced pressure device, an air gap, or an atmospheric vacuum breaker.

Because some systems may require specific handling and parts, it is best to have somebody with experience tackle the plumbing job so no further damage is done to your water flow. Make sure the system you have installed comes with a warranty and learn everything you can in the event you need to describe another problem to your plumber should something go wrong.

Without a good backflow device, spoiled water may continue to be a problem for your home. Luckily this problem is easy to spot, but until you get a plumber to come in and take care of your backflow problem, you must refrain from using your tap water until you're certain it's clean enough to use.

Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on Palatine plumbers and Palatine plumbing.

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