How Old Is Your Plumbing?

If you’re thinking of getting some major renovation work done to your kitchen and bathrooms, you should talk to your Bowie plumbing services about inspecting and, if needed, upgrading your plumbing. Under ordinary circumstances, looking at all the plumbing in your home and improving it is something you’re unlikely ever to do except in an emergency.

But a major renovation presents a special opportunity, and here’s why you should take it.

Plumbing Can Be Vulnerable

Good plumbing can be built to last a lifetime or even more. Some homes dating back to the late 19th or even early 20th century still have cast iron sewer drainage pipes, or clay, that been faithfully working for three, four, even more, families living in a home. It’s easy to forget that these pipes are even there, doing hard work, because they have no moving parts, and essentially just “sit there.”

However, decades of use, even on the highest quality work, can take its toll. Years of water draining out, trees expanding through a yard and sending roots out towards a pipe, and even the stresses of seasons as pipes get warm and cold, can all eventually degrade the quality of drain pipes.

Water Pipes Matter Too

The same is true of old water pipes. Even if they’ve been working without issue for decades, how much longer will that continue to be the case? And what if the pipes are so old that they’re no longer considered safe, even if they’re structurally sound?

Very old water pipes, for example, used lead in their construction, and it’s now been determined that water pipes constructed with lead can transmit some of that lead into the water that comes out of the taps. This means that if you have a family that relies on tap water for cooking and drinking, you may be subjecting your children to years of potential lead consumption, which will affect their health.

A Better, Safer Home With Bowie Plumbing Services

With bathroom and kitchen renovations, the areas that rely on plumbing the most are about to be exposed, making it much easier to work on both water pipes and drainage pipes. If you live in a very old home and you’ve never had your pipes looked at before, get your Bowie plumbing services to inspect them and see what condition they’re in. If you’re moving into a home, and you don’t know what the condition of the pipes are, but you’re planning to do the renovation work, factor a pipe inspection and possible upgrade into your plan and increase your budget if you can.

Doing this ensures that if your water pipes are old, and still made with lead, for example, you can get them replaced with something safer, for healthier water that the whole family can safely enjoy. If your plumbers look at your drainage pipes and tell you that you’ve got cast iron pipes over 100 years old, don’t take any chances. Think about getting an upgrade to modern materials, like PVC pipe that will keep you and your family safe and comfortable for many more years to come.