What Is a Backflow Inspection?
Have you ever given any thought to backflow prevention and its importance to your family’s health?
Most homeowners have little idea of what backflow is, and few have given any thought of it. In Chicago, we have an excellent water system that keeps our drinking water fairly clean, but mistakes and problems can happen. Even just the exposure to the elements that is unavoidable in Chicago’s climate can lead to damage on the water lines.
Backflow, one of those potential problems, can pose a serious danger to your health, which is why you need to know what it is; how to prevent problems; and why a backflow inspection is a critical part of your home maintenance routine.
What Is Backflow?
Backflow occurs when unclean (non-potable) water flows the wrong direction in the plumbing system and enters your drinking water. Backflow can come from just about anywhere, including the sewer, your pool, and even your home’s sprinkler system. If you have a boiler heating your home, this can also be a source of backflow.
Stop and think, for a moment, about what this means. If you have a backflow problem, you could realistically be drinking water that was just sewage or the intense chlorine from the pool. As you can imagine, this is not a sanitary situation. In fact, at Black Diamond Plumbing & Mechanical, we consider this a plumbing emergency.
How Backflow Occurs
Now, in a normally functioning plumbing system, backflow should not happen. However, sometimes the pressure downstream in the system becomes higher than the pressure upstream. This pushes the dirtied water back into the clean water. This situation is known as backpressure backflow.
Backflow can also occur when a problem somewhere down the line occurs, like a broken water main or water that is redirected to fight a fire near you. This can create a vacuum in the system that causes unsafe water to be sucked into the clean water lines.
Protect Your Family with Backflow Inspections
If backflow is happening, you may not have any way of knowing it. Backflow inspections inspect your water lines for this serious problem. Black Diamond Plumbing & Mechanical offers annual inspection and maintenance of your plumbing system, including backflow inspections.
During a backflow inspection, our team will inspect the assembly that connects your home to the public water supply. This assembly has valves that can become damaged, especially due to exposure to the weather, allowing backflow to happen. Our through inspection will determine if there is any problem, so you can take measures to ensure the water you are drinking is clean.
Because of the serious risk of backflow, we believe that backflow inspections should occur every year. Don’t wait for the city to notify you that your home is due for inspection. Schedule your inspection from a licensed backflow inspection provider, like the team at Black Diamond Plumbing & Mechanical, today.
Call 815-444-0979 to learn more about our services!
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