“Why Am I Being Forced to Get a Backflow Preventer?”

In the past few years, we’ve gotten a lot of calls from homeowners about backflow prevention. Certain municipalities in our area are starting to require both backflow prevention services and certifications for homeowners who have older homes. While we agree with this concept, it might seem like tyranny to those homeowners that don’t know much about their plumbing systems.

We get it, as your expert plumbers who perform drain cleaning in Deptford Township, we don’t want to tell any homeowners how to live. However, backflow prevention can help mitigate some of the worst sewer clogs and problems that can come up in a home’s lifespan.

It’s time to take a second to think about why backflow prevention is so important. Then, we’ll start talking about why our team can be in and out of your home in record time, to install a backflow preventer so you can go on with your life.

What Is Backflow Prevention?

Your plumbing system is a one-way system. Clean, fresh water comes into your home to be used by your appliances. Then, that wastewater exits your home through your drains and eventually through the sewer system. This is why we provide ample drain cleaning services, to make sure this second pathway is clear of all debris.

However, what happens when things get so clogged up, or perhaps due to flooding, that your plumbing system runs in the opposite direction? All of a sudden you can see wastewater being pumped back into your home through your drains due to the pressure on the other end. Unfortunately, this can happen, and there’s only one real solution that stops this kind of problem in its tracks. That’s a backflow preventer.

How a Backflow Preventer Works

A backflow preventer is just an add-on for your plumbing system. It hooks onto your drain system between two pipes and acts as sort of a buffer. The only thing it really does is sense the pressure and direction of water heading in one direction. A backflow preventer is designed to only allow wastewater to flow in the direction it’s supposed to.

So, when a flood hits, or some catastrophic problem in your municipality’s plumbing system occurs where wastewater starts flowing backwards, your backflow preventer will automatically shut down your pipe and prevent anything from flowing through it. Hence the name backflow preventer: it literally prevents backflow from reaching your home and causing trouble.

Why Do We Have to Have One?

It’s becoming clear in more and more communities throughout New Jersey that backflow preventers are a necessary aspect of plumbing. The risk of having a home without one is just too great. The damage that could be done to your home, your health, and your property without a backflow preventer isn’t worth the price of skipping this kind of service.

That’s why it’s so important that you not only invest in a backflow preventer, but also invest in drain cleaning services. Doing whatever you can to keep your drains clear and stop any contaminants from leeching back into your home or your property is vital.

Contact SPS Mechanical Inc. for drain cleaning and backflow prevention services. Comfort at your service.