Sewage could flow into your home at any moment
When you turn on the faucet in your home’s bathrooms or kitchen, you may trust that the water is clean and safe to drink. Your municipality treats the water before it is delivered to your home, so this is a reasonable assumption to make.
However, in order for that water to get delivered to your home without being contaminated, it is reliant on an ideal amount of water pressure. There is a special device in your home that is used as a safeguard to ensure that the water is not contaminated, and backflow testing ensures that this special device is in proper working order.
How Does Water Pressure Result in Contaminated Water?
Ideally, water pressure will create force that drives the fresh water from the municipality and into your home when you turn a faucet on. Water pressure also works to pull contaminated waste water out of your home and into the sewer line.
However, when the water pressure is not optimal, this flow of water and waste water can shift. When this happens, contaminated water may flow backward into your fresh water supply.
How Does a Backflow Device Prevent Contamination?
A backflow device is a very sensitive device that senses water pressure fluctuations. When the water pressure shifts, the device prevents contaminated water from entering the home through a special valve component. It will remain closed until the water pressure returns to an appropriate level.
When contaminated water is a concern, you may receive a boil water notice from your municipality. However, it may be several hours or longer until you receive notice. During this time, you could be exposed to contaminated water if your backflow device does not work.
Why Do You Need Backflow Testing?
In order for the backflow preventer device to do its job, it must be very sensitive to water pressure changes. More than that, it should be quick to respond to those changes. While these devices are made to provide you with years of use, they can develop issues and may require repair work or replacement. There are two main ways to learn that you have a problem with a backflow device. One is through testing, and the other is by drinking contaminated water. The better solution is to schedule periodic backflow testing.
Annual testing of the backflow preventer device is recommended. If it has been more than a year since a plumber inspected your backflow preventer, call a plumbing company today to schedule an appointment.
Want more information on back-flow testing in your Round Lake area? Just call Duane Blanton Plumbing at (815) 781-2567!
