Imagine your pipe leaking while you are not at home. You
are definitely not liking that kind of imagination, do you? Leaks are with no doubt
a very serious issue that you would not want to happen at any point. The damage
that follows after a leak can be unimaginable like it can lead to secondary
damages of your house which repairing again will really cost a fortune.

The good news is that you won’t wait for the damage to be
done then react, all you have to do is preventing the damage from happening.
Most individuals wait until their pipes are leaking then they go on to repair
not realizing that they should have prevented that from happening in the first
place. So how do you go about to prevent pipe leaks? Do the following:

Be aware of the location
of your pipes- as much as it might be obvious to you, a lot of emergencies
have occurred n cases where individuals drill through the pipes when putting a
screwdriver or even a nail into the wall without actually checking the location
of the pipes. Think of drilling an electric cable, basically, the outcome is
the same; damage but in different forms. What you should do is to buy a stud
sensor which will help you to know where your pipes are located before
drilling. Similarly, you can carefully out of the wall cut a hatch and see
where the pipes lead.

Reduce your water
pressure- high water pressure not only has advantages but also
disadvantages too. On the other hand, you won’t need water at very low pressure
hence, the best thing is to keep it at reasonable pressure always. High
pressures stress the pipes that will eventually cause leaks. Measure the
pressure of your water using a hose bib gauge. Usually, the normal pressure is
between 40 and 85 psi so if yours is above that install a pressure reducer.
Remember a low-flow shower head will not reduce the pressure but only reduces
the amount on your shower.

Soften water- hard water reduces the lifespan of the pipes that will lead to leaks. Hard
water is as a result of calcium and magnesium being present in the water. When
they build up in the pipes they restrict the flow of water and thus increasing
the pressure while corroding the joints. White buildup on the head of the
shower and faucets is a clear sign of hard water. Installing a water softener
is the only way of dealing with this situation. Use mostly sodium to reduce the
hard water minerals with also now the introduction of the electromagnetic
pulses that dissolve the minerals with the absence of sodium in your water.

Lagging your pipes- in
cases when the temperatures are very low below zero, water in pipes will freeze
and expand leading to potential leaks when defrosts occur. Lagging these pipes
with pipe insulation will help to prevent the freezing. It will as well have an
additional advantage for you in saving your energy bills and also the
insulation will always keep hot water hot and cold water cold.

Above all the mentioned inspect your pipes regularly. It all
takes little time and a small amount of money, don’t take chances.

 

For more information, contact Vinny’s Jersey Plumbing, located in Wayne, New Jersey.  We also service other towns in New Jersey, such as Saddle River, Teaneck and Tenafly.