The last thing you want is for water from your toilets, drains, and sprinklers to come back up. We can all agree on that. Once you flush, you want it to stay flushed. Yet, sometimes, that dirty water reverses course and comes right back into your clean supply lines. This nasty reversal is called backflow. Many different situations can cause it. Luckily, there are just as many ways to prevent it. We will show you how to keep your home’s water flowing in the right direction.
A Deeper Look Into What Backflow Is and Why It’s a Major Headache for Your Home
Backflow is the unwanted reversal of water flow in your pipes. Instead of flowing from the city main into your home, water from your home flows backward into the clean water supply. It creates a serious contamination hazard and typically happens in one of two ways.
The first is back-siphonage. This occurs when the pressure in the main water line drops suddenly, like during a water main break in your neighborhood. This pressure drop creates a powerful vacuum in the pipe that can suck contaminated water from a sink, boiler, or irrigation system back into your clean water.
The second cause is back-pressure. This happens when the pressure in your home’s plumbing system becomes greater than the pressure in the main supply line. A faulty boiler or a privately installed pump can push used water backward, forcing it to mix with your fresh supply. Both situations are hazards and can introduce harmful materials directly to your tap.
Creating a Simple Air Gap Is Your First and Easiest Line of Defense Against Contamination
One of the simplest and most effective ways to stop backflow is by using an air gap. An air gap is just a physical, open space between a water outlet and the water level of a basin. Think about your kitchen faucet. The spout is several inches above the flood rim of the sink. That space is an air gap. It makes it physically impossible for dirty sink water to get siphoned back into your fresh water line.
You can apply this principle all over your home. The most common mistake homeowners make is leaving a garden hose submerged in a bucket, a swimming pool, or a puddle. If the pressure in the water supply drops, that hose will act like a straw, pulling whatever it’s sitting in directly back into your home’s pipes. Always keep the end of any hose above the liquid level.
Install Atmospheric Vacuum Breaker Devices on Your Outdoor Faucets and Irrigation Lines
For a more active defense, especially for your outdoor water connections, you need a vacuum breaker. An atmospheric vacuum breaker, or AVB, is a simple device that attaches directly to your hose bibb or faucet. It senses a loss of water pressure and opens up to let in air. This breaks the vacuum, preventing a back-siphonage event from occurring.
These are especially important for any irrigation system or hose you might connect to a pesticide sprayer. It’s a cheap and easy way to protect your drinking water from serious chemical contamination. A quick trip to the hardware store and a few minutes of your time can prevent a dangerous situation.
Consider Pressure Vacuum Breaker Assemblies for More Consistent Protection in Your Home’s Systems
Some water lines, like those in a lawn irrigation system, are under constant pressure. A simple atmospheric vacuum breaker isn’t built for that. For these applications, you need a pressure vacuum breaker or PVB. This is a more complex assembly with internal check valves and an air inlet that’s designed to work under continuous pressure.
A PVB provides robust, reliable protection for your whole system. These devices are required by code for in-ground sprinkler systems. Because they are mechanical devices, a qualified plumber should install them. They also need to be tested annually to confirm they are working correctly to protect your water supply.
Keep Your System Clean With Regular Maintenance and Think About Installing a Quality Water Filter for Added Safety
Good general maintenance can go a long way in preventing plumbing problems, including backflow. Regularly check your pipes and fixtures for leaks or strange behavior, and flush your water heater annually to remove sediment that could cause pressure fluctuations.
Additionally, installing a point-of-entry water filter adds another layer of protection from backflow. While its main job is to remove minerals and impurities, a good water filter can also act as a physical barrier. Should a small amount of contamination ever get into your lines, the filter may stop it from reaching your tap, giving you a final defense for your family’s water.
Avoid Connecting Pumps or High-Pressure Equipment Directly to Your Water Supply Without Professional Guidance
It might seem convenient to hook up a power washer or a heavy-duty pump directly to your water line for a big job, but this is a big mistake. This kind of equipment can easily create back pressure. It can push water with more force than the municipal supply, sending dirty water and cleaning chemicals backward through the pipe.
Whenever you need to connect high-pressure equipment to your water supply, you need to have a proper backflow prevention device installed by a professional plumber. As a leading plumbing company in Mount Vernon, WA, we can assess the pressure and recommend the correct backflow prevention assembly to keep your home’s water, and even your neighbor’s water, safe from contamination.
Stop Worrying About Water Contamination and Let Skagit Plumbing Fix Your Backflow Problems for Good
Backflow is making your life miserable, so call Skagit Plumbing today. We can solve your plumbing troubles with our proven backflow prevention techniques and restore your peace of mind. And don’t hesitate to reach out for emergency plumbing services if backflow is currently wreaking havoc!
