Imagine you enter your home after a long and tiring day at work and find your entire home flooded with water. Well, that’s a bit extreme situation but that does happen when the water main of your house gets damaged. Typically, it is hard to detect any possible damage on the water main beforehand and you only get to know once the complete damage has been done and you see it in the form of flood in your house.
Once the mainline of water is broken, fixing it can be a daunting task. And if you outsource this task to water line repair companies, it can cost you a lot. Therefore knowing the signs and causes of the damage is important. But more important and permanent fix to the problem is getting Water-main pipe testing from a trusted testing company like Blue Line Testing. They test the water mains for any possible leakage or damage after installing it so you do not have to contact separate services as they provide both installation and testing.
What is a Water Main?
Before we go on talking about the signs and reasons for water main damage, you should know what water main is, in case if you do not know already. A water main can be considered as a line that is the king of all the plumbing lines in your house. It connects the main water supply of your area to the pipelines in your house, it is a source of bringing the regional water to your home. It is installed underground and typically made of plastic, PVC. Once installed, it transports the water from the main public supply to every single pipe in your home, from bathrooms to kitchens.
Since it is underground, it is generally quite hard to dig deep to access it on your own so you eventually have to contact the repair companies. To avoid all this hassle, you only have to be aware of the possible reasons that cause the damage to water mains and signs that indicate that damage.
Common causes of Water Main damage
Nothing happens without a reason. If you face any water main damage in your house, there are going to be several reasons involved that cause that damage or leak. If you want to be better equipped to combat this extremely daunting damage, you must know all the possible reasons behind it. Therefore we have covered some of the reasons to give you proper insight into the problem.
- Water Corrosion
Corrosion of a material occurs when something gets damaged due to the presence of certain minerals and chemicals. The water main pipes may get damaged because of the presence of some minerals in the water coming through the line.
Though these minerals may not be harmful to you, they are harmful to the water main pipe. They corrode the pipe from insides that ultimately lead to the damage and the pipe gets broken. Water acidity level also plays a role in damaging the pipe.
- Extremely cold weather
The extremely cold weather is not only harsh on us but it is also harsh on the pipelines. Since the water main pipes are typically made of PVC, the extremely freezing weather freezes the water inside them and these pipes eventually burst because of the pressure of frozen water. One way to avoid this would be to install metal pipes but those can become corroded and eventually causes the damage.
- Pressure Fluctuation
If there are any sudden changes in the pressure of the water that is coming from your regional water source, the water main pipes can burst open, especially those which are made of PVC.
- Dry or wet weather
Subsidence is a process that occurs when overly dry or wet weather causes the ground to shift below your house. During wet or extremely humid weather, the soil expands so does the area below your property. During excessively dry weather, the soil below your property contracts. These extreme fluctuations of temperature causing the ground below your house to shift constantly can put pressure on the water mains thus leading to the water main pipe breakage.
- Old pipes
The most common reason for water main breakage is the ageing of the pipes. Pipes are usually made of PVC and different metal types, the ageing of the pipes depends upon the material that has been used in their making. If the water main pipe’s age exceeds its prime age, it is more susceptive to leakage or damage. Usually, houses that have lead water mains installed are old therefore these pipes are also well past their primary age. It is extremely important to know what type of water main is installed in your house so you can take precautionary measures accordingly.
Sings of Water main damage or leakage
As we mentioned before that it is extremely difficult to manage the situation once the pipe is completely damaged therefore we have covered a few signs for you below that can help you identify any possible leakage or havoc happening underground with your water mains.
- If the water is accumulating under the sink or anywhere on your house floor, this can be an indicator of the line leakage or breakage. But this alone would not be enough to indicate water main breakage, you will have to look for other signs as well.
- When you notice excessive water on the street in front of your house and you are sure that it has not leaked out from your house, chances are it has been leaked from the water mainline. Usually, when the line is ruptured, the water bubbles up from the ground into the streets.
- You are sure that you have not used that much water in your home but you still receive an unusually high water bill, this can be an indicator of a damaged or leaking pipe.
- If you experience decreased water pressure and you have made sure that the pressure of your regional water supply is perfectly fine, then this could also be a sign of damaged or leaking water main. It also indicates that the line is clogged, which can lead to line breakage.