What Every Homeowner Needs to Know About Re-Piping

If you own a home or plan to purchase one soon, then you should learn about whole-house re-piping and when it should be performed. Some homeowners never consider re-piping their entire houses, because they do not understand the benefits of replacing plumbing pipes that have not yet begun showing obvious signs of damage.

Read on to learn when you should consider whole-house re-piping and a few re-piping benefits you can look forward to.

When You Should Consider Re-Piping

While you can replace pipes on an as-needed basis as they develop leaks or other obvious signs of damage, performing whole-home re-piping before individual pipes spring leaks can help you avoid home water damage.

While the lifespan of a home plumbing system can vary based on many factors, such as the material the pipes are made of and a family's water usage habits, experts suggest that all homeowners with existing pipes that are 50 years or older consider re-piping their homes.

A few additional signs that you should consider whole-house re-piping include the following.

Lead, Galvanized Metal, or Polybutylene Pipes

A home that contains lead, galvanized metal, or polybutylene pipes should be re-piped. Lead pipes pose a health hazard because they can contaminate your family's drinking water supply with toxic lead. Galvanized steel pipes that were often installed in homes in the 70s are prone to corrosion and should be replaced before they develop leaks.

If your home was built between the years 1978 and 1995, its plumbing system may contain many polybutene (PB) pipes. While these pipes were believed to be durable when first introduced to the market, over time, many PB pipes ruptured unexpectedly. Due to this problem, new installation of polybutene pipes was banned in 1995.

Polybutene pipes can be identified by their blue, black, or gray color and the letters PB that are typically present on them.

Occasional Water Discoloration

Home water discoloration can temporarily occur due to outside factors, such as a break in the city's main municipal water line.

However, if your home water is occasionally discolored and you can find no outside cause, then the cause of this discoloration may be rust buildup inside of your home pipes. Rust is a form of corrosion that can spread quickly once it develops.

Discoloration that occurs due to this buildup is typically red or brown and is more likely to occur after a period of time when your home plumbing is not used daily, such as when your family is on vacation.

One or More Pipes Recently Developed Leaks

If one more of your plumbing pipes recently developed leaks that led to the need for plumbing repairs and most of the pipes in your home are the same age and made from the same material, then your home is an ideal candidate for whole-house re-piping.

Even if the pipes that have not yet sprung leaks may appear to be in good condition, they may have internal corrosion that will go unnoticed until yet another plumbing leak occurs.

Re-Piping Benefits

Aside from greatly reducing the chance that you will experience a pipe leak or rupture any time in the near future, you may notice additional benefits after re-piping your home, such as:

• An increase in your home water pressure . If your old pipe interiors are covered in lime scale, then they may be causing low water pressure in your entire home as the lime scale layer limits water flow through the pipes.
• Better tap water quality . If your old pipes are corroded and leaching iron or other minerals into your home water supply, then you may notice that your water tastes better after whole-house repiping.
• Less worry of plumbing joint leaks . Older pipes need many elbow joint connections that can begin to corrode and leak over time. Newer cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) pipes are flexible and can be bent to 90-degree angles during installation to reduce the number of plumbing joints needed in your home.

Like many homeowners, you may obtain plumbing repairs and pipe replacements only when necessary to control plumbing emergencies. However, you now understand when whole-house re-piping should be considered and its benefits. Contact the plumbing experts at Mike's Plumbing for all of your plumbing needs today.