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Five reasons to replace your waterline
Many people live in a house that has a metal or galvanized water line. Plastic or copper is generally used nowadays. If you own a newer home, then you probably don’t need to replace your water line. It is also possible to have plastic PEX or copper pipe for indoor plumbing, and have galvanized steel as the line that feeds your house from the road. Why does it matter if you have a galvanized steel water line? Here are five reasons to replace your old water line:
1.) The first reason is rust. ​Rust builds up inside metal water lines. If you leave something metal outside, it gets wet and rust begins to form eventually. The same thing happens inside your water line. If you were to cut open your water line, it would like something like this…
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Believe it or not, you are drinking small amounts of this rust every time you drink a glass of water. That is pretty gross, right? It is probably not very healthy.
2.) Reason number two is constricted water flow. As the rust and other minerals build up inside your water line, it makes the inside diameter of your pipe smaller and smaller. This does not really affect your water pressure, but it does affect your water volume. The difference between pressure and volume is that pressure is how fast the water comes out of your faucet, where as volume is how much water can come out of your faucet. If you have good pressure and bad volume, you might notice it when you are in the shower and somebody flushes a toilet. The water volume coming out of your shower head decreases and you are stuck waiting until the toilet fills back up. This is generally what happens with galvanized steel water lines. Your pressure is great but you can’t run more than a couple faucets at once. If you were to replace your old rusted line with a new plastic line, your volume would increase dramatically. No more waiting until the washer is done to take your shower!
3.) The third reason is leak potential. The older your water line, the greater potential there is for a water leak. It is much cheaper to replace a waterline than it is to repair a waterline multiple times. Usually when a water line leaks in one place, it is just a matter of time before it starts leaking in another spot. Save yourself headaches and replace the old line.
4.) Another good reason to replace your old water line is that it can be done without digging up your entire lawn or driveway. If you get a good plumber, he can pull a new waterline into your house using the same hole as your old waterline. The only spot he would have to dig is near the road, and it should be a small four-foot hole.
5.) The last reason you should replace your waterline is that mineral and rust buildup in your line actually corrodes your faucets and other metallic fixtures. This is almost always the case with someone who is on a well. They have hard water that ruins bathroom fixtures over time. It can happen if you are on city water as well because of old steel lines.
Now you have a few different reasons to replace your old water line. Find a good plumbing or excavating company to install your new water line. Ask them if they can install your new line using trench-less methods. I already have plans of replacing my old waterline this summer. You should probably replace yours as well this year!
Five Reasons to Replace Your Waterline