Keep an Eye on Spring Plumbing Issues
Spring is a wonderful time when the world starts to thaw, April showers rain down, and people prepare for a profusion of spring blooms. But what you may not be prepared for is how the heavy rains impact your underground plumbing.
While delightful, rainfall can have a negative impact on your pipes and compromised pipes can have serious consequences for your home. Read on to learn about the various plumbing issues that come with spring and each year’s heavy rainfall.
Rainfall Saturates Soil
When heavy spring rain soaks into the ground, the soil becomes saturated with water. When rain initially falls, the layers of soil absorb the rainfall. However, soil moisture can only reach a certain point, and eventually, there will be no more dry soil to soak up the rainwater.When this happens, the soil becomes saturated and begins to turn muddy. When you see mud, it means that there is no place for rain to go and that the soil has become saturated.
When soil hits a saturation point and becomes muddy, it will move and shift with water. Mud, sticks, leaves, and debris can back up into drainpipes and sewage systems. If debris enters your plumbing, you can experience backups into your house plumbing due to improper drainage and blockages.
Slab Leaks Are Common
Most new construction houses won’t have to worry about slab leaks for years. Slab leaks are most common to houses with older construction where time and multiple rainy seasons have taken their toll on a home. However, the older your home, the more you should keep an eye out for this occurrence.
One cause of slab leaks is due to soil erosion and foundation movement. When soil becomes saturated and erodes away due to heavy rainfall, the foundation can move. Even if the movement is slight, plumbing will be significantly impacted. Pipes are aligned perfectly for your home and any change or movement in the foundation can cause your piping to get out of alignment.
Slab leaks are a significant problem that needs to get fixed as soon as they are spotted, or they’ll only get worse. Fixing a slab leak should only be done by a professional and cannot be DIYed. It involves not only getting under the flooring and subfloor of your house, but the concrete where the leak is detected will need to be removed so the pipes can be accessed. After the pipes are fixed and the leak is stopped, concrete will need to be repoured, and your flooring replaced. Slab leaks can be a costly repair, but the sooner you fix the problem, the less repair work will be needed.
Check for Cracked Pipes
High water pressure can add a significant amount of stress on your plumbing. When rainfall causes your pipes to back up, it can place pressure on pipes that weren’t meant to deal with high pressure. If this happens, pipes will tend to crack to release pressure built up inside.Over time, cracks will get worse and turn into serious leaks. Unattended, small fissures in pipes can create floods in your home. There are a number of ways plumbers can fix cracked pipes. Depending on the severity of the crack, they might be able to weld it closed.
Most commonly, however, the portion of the pipe that has a crack is cut away and the new pipe is fitted to the remaining good pipe. Repiping is a beneficial process that will help you avoid future cracking due to old and deteriorating pipes.
Reliable, Efficient Plumbers
Captain Rooter Emergency Plumbers Chicago is family-owned with over thirty-five years of experience serving Chicago, IL. They offer the best value in all of Chicago along with free estimates. If you need help or answers for your plumbing needs, Captain Rooter Emergency Plumbers Chicago supplies a life 24/7 helpline for all their clients.
