Even if your home’s plumbing is relatively new, you should still be concerned about pipe corrosion. Corrosion isn’t caused by age only; other factors can also come into play. A corroded pipe is more prone to clog, leak, and even burst, which is why Five Star Plumbing offers pipe inspection services for all of our customers.
Corrosion Causes
As you can imagine, your plumbing is directly affected by the quality of your water. Depending on the pipe materials, water pH levels can corrode plumbing prematurely. This holds especially true with copper pipes. Water pH that isn’t balanced properly can eat through, if you will, the protective barrier found inside the pipes, and this will corrode them quickly.
Water pH isn’t the only enemy of your plumbing. Other corrosive effects include
- Water oxygen levels, which can degrade metal into rust
- Water minerals and chemicals that can build up inside the pipes
- Water temperature, as hot water corrodes pipes more quickly than cold water does
- Plumbing system structure that has many elbows and turns
- Water pressure that is too high
All of these things can spell trouble for your plumbing system, and we understand it’s hard to manage some of them. After all, you have no control over the additives your water municipality puts in your water, much less its pH levels. You also can’t control your plumbing system’s layout, but you can regulate the pressure and turn down your water heater just a little.
Why Is This Important?
Controlling pipe corrosion as best you can is important because it reduces the negative effects of it. For example, if your pipes are old and beginning to rust, you run the risk of introducing harmful toxins into your household’s water supply. Lead, too, is harmful, but you shouldn’t have to worry about that if your home is newer. If it isn’t, give us a call so we can come out and replace those poisonous lead pipes.
Pipe corrosion can also harm your water heater, as the corroded water transfers the harmful build-up to the inside of the heater, which can cause it to fail prematurely. As mentioned in the introduction of this post, corroded pipes can themselves can fail, or they can cause additional damage to other parts of your plumbing system. Finally, the corroded water coming out of the pipes can stain your fixtures, including your showers, sinks, and tubs.
If it’s been a while since you’ve had your plumbing inspected, contact San Antonio, TX‘s Five Star Plumbing. We’d be happy to ensure your plumbing pipes aren’t corroded and that your water is safe.
