You’ve probably heard that expression that April showers bring May flowers. If you haven’t, where do you live that you’ve been sheltered from overused cliches? In all seriousness, the rains that usually accompany the spring season can, in fact, cause some really beautiful flowers to grow, making for wonderful gardens.
The downside to this is that sometimes those same rains can collect in your yard, weakening your outdoor plumbing with rust and corrosion. Let’s take a look at some of the negative effects those April showers can have on your plumbing, and how scheduling regular plumbing inspections can help you avoid some of those effects.
Heavy Rains Can Lead to Broken Pipes
Not sure how something as common as rain can cause your pipes to break? Well, to be completely fair, it’s more like the rain causes a change in the soil around the pipes, which causes a change in the pressure inside the pipe, which causes the pipe to rupture.
When the earth around your pipes becomes saturated with water, it becomes softer, causing it to shift. Even the slightest shift in the earth can increase the pressure around the pipe greatly, causing the pipe to collapse.
If this happens below the foundation of your house (sometimes called the slab), you could be stuck dealing with what is known as a slab leak, which can cost you hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars in water bills and damage to your piping system.
Heavy Rains Can Cause Your Sewer System to Back Up
Again, that statement isn’t entirely fair to the rain. What the rain does is collect in your yard, potentially flooding your sewer drain, which can cause your sewer drain pipes to have to hold more water than they are equipped to handle.
When this happens, the contents of your drain pipes need to empty somewhere, but since they can’t empty out through the drain like they usually do, they empty the only other way they can- back into your home. Sewer system backups can lead to health risks like contamination by bacteria like E-Coli.
Heavy Rains Aren’t a Problem if Your Plumbing’s Been Inspected
The best way to avoid plumbing failure related to heavy rainfall this spring is to have your pipes inspected and maintained.
A plumbing inspection can give you an idea of the overall health of your plumbing system so that you can either feel confident in your plumbing’s ability to withstand the rain or resolve any potential issues within your system before they become a major problem.
Yes, April showers can bring May flowers, but they can also bring a lot of strife to your outdoor plumbing. Have you ever experienced issues like a slab leak or backed up sewer pipes due to the heavy spring rains? If you have, we want to hear all about it!
Share your stories in the comments below! To avoid the problems heavy rain can cause to your yard, remember to have your pipes inspected regularly. Call Daniel Cordova Plumbing, Drain & Sewer today at (626) 962-0885 to speak to a plumbing contractor in El Monte, CA about scheduling a plumbing inspection.