You’re washing dishes, running the faucet like any normal evening, when suddenly you catch a whiff of something foul. You look down to see murky, contaminated water backing up into your sink. Uh oh, that can’t be good!
While you may not think about it often, the possibility of sewage or other nasties infiltrating your home’s fresh water supply is a very real risk. And the culprit behind these backflow incidents is pretty much what it sounds like – a terrifying reversal of flow that allows contaminated water to get sucked back into your drinking supply lines.
Dealing with backflow issues isn’t just a gross inconvenience. That contaminated water can potentially make you and your family seriously ill if ingested and cause costly property damage too. Fortunately, there’s an easy way to prevent these backflow nightmares – installing proper backflow prevention devices throughout your home’s plumbing system.
In this guide, we’ll dive into the importance of backflow prevention and how it directly affects the safety of your home’s water supply. You’ll learn all about the different types of backflow preventers, where they’re required, and what can happen if you neglect them. Don’t underestimate the power of this affordable protection!
Understanding Backflow
Let’s get on the same page about what backflow actually is and why it matters. While the term sounds kind of technical, it’s really just referring to when water flows in the opposite direction that it’s supposed to go.
Instead of fresh water flowing properly from the city’s supply into your home’s pipes, backflow is when that water gets sucked back in reverse. This causes contaminated water from your home’s plumbing to mix with the clean drinking water supply coming into your house. Not exactly an appetizing thought!
There are two main scenarios where backflow can strike:
Back-Siphonage
This happens when there’s low or negative pressure in the supply lines that essentially creates a vacuum effect, sucking water backwards. Stuff like water main breaks or powerful pumps hooked up to the system can trigger this sucking backwards flow.
Back-Pressure
The flip side is when there’s too much pressure buildup that forces water to flow in reverse against the intended direction. Heating up water in boiler systems or having a pump pushing against the supply pressure can cause this backwards pushing flow.
In either backflow case, you end up with a direct connection between your home’s plumbing pipes and the municipal drinking water lines. That means any gross contaminants lurking in your pipes – sewage, chemicals, fertilizers, stagnant water – can get pulled right back into those water lines you want to be clean and safe for drinking.
The fallout can range from annoying to downright dangerous. Best case, you’re dealing with flooded areas, cracked fixtures, funky-tasting water. Worst case, you’re ingesting backflow contaminated with E. coli, hepatitis, and other nasty waterborne illnesses that could make you seriously ill.
That’s why having the right backflow prevention devices is so important – they physically block that tainted water from mixing with your fresh supply. Avoiding those potential health hazards and water damage is well worth the small investment in prevention!
Types of Backflow Prevention Devices
Now that we’ve covered what backflow is and why it’s so important to prevent, let’s talk about the different devices that can keep that contaminated water safely at bay. Depending on the specific application and degree of hazard, there are a variety of backflow preventers to choose from.
Air Gap
This is the most simple, no-frills backflow preventer out there. An air gap is just a physical separation between the supply line and any potential contamination source – like having your hosebib outlet higher than the highest sprinkler head. That air space creates a literal “gap” that prevents backflow from occurring. While very effective, air gaps aren’t always practical for indoor plumbing applications.
Atmospheric Vacuum Breaker (AVB)
These nifty little devices are commonly found on household fixtures like washing machine hookups and portable spray rigs. AVBs have an air inlet valve that allows air to enter the system during a negative pressure event, preventing back-siphonage. Just be sure to install them at least 6 inches above the highest downstream piping!
Pressure Vacuum Breaker (PVB)
Similar to AVBs, PVBs also have an air inlet plus an additional spring-loaded poppet valve. This allows them to prevent backflow from back-pressure as well as back-siphonage. You’ll often see PVBs used for irrigation systems since they can handle that constant pressure.
Double Check Valve Assembly (DCVA)
For higher hazard situations, DCVAs use two independently operating check valves along with tightly regulated water meters. This double security helps isolate any potential backflow within the valve itself before it can make it back into the supply lines. DCVAs are a popular choice for fire sprinkler systems and chemical processing plants.
Reduced Pressure Principle Backflow Preventer (RP)
The heavy duty pick for severe hazard scenarios, RPs are designed with two independently operating check valves that create a zone of reduced pressure between them. This allows backflow to automatically vent before it ever reaches the supply lines. While more expensive and complex, RPs offer maximum protection for high risk cross-connections.
With so many backflow prevention options out there, it’s important to make sure you have the right device for the job. Residential homes will typically just need basic AVBs or PVBs, while commercial properties may require the heavy hitting RP protection. Either way, having that backflow security is crucial!
Backflow Prevention in Your Home
Now that we’ve covered the different types of backflow preventers out there, let’s talk about where you actually need them installed throughout your home’s plumbing system. While you may not realize it, there are likely several potential cross-connections just waiting for a backflow incident.
Some of the most common household appliances and fixtures require proper backflow prevention:
Washing Machines
All washing machines need an air gap or AVB to prevent backsiphonage from that drain line. Those suds and dirty water are definitely not something you want contaminating the fresh water supply!
Dishwashers
Similarly, dishwashers require an air gap or high loop to provide the proper separation and prevent a vacuum from sucking waste water back into the supply lines.
Outdoor Faucets & Hose Bibbs
Any outdoor faucet or hose connection poses a cross-connection risk since those hoses can easily create back-siphonage if left in standing water. That’s why AVBs or hose bib vacuum breakers are required.
Irrigation Systems
Speaking of hoses, any underground irrigation or lawn sprinkler systems need backflow protection too. At minimum, a PVB is required here to prevent back-siphonage and low-hazard back-pressure scenarios.
Fire Sprinkler Systems
Those red iron pipes for the fire sprinklers? They require serious backflow prevention, usually a DCVA or RP, to prevent stagnant sprinkler water from contaminating the drinking supply.
As you can see, there are plenty of potential hazards lingering in the average home’s plumbing system. That’s why it’s so important to have a basic understanding of backflow preventers and where they should be located.
If your home is newer construction, the proper backflow prevention devices were likely included during the build and inspected. But for older homes, you’ll want to do a thorough check to identify any existing preventers and ensure they’re still functioning properly. Don’t take any risks with potential cross-connections!
Consequences of Neglecting Backflow Prevention
Hopefully by now you’re really starting to understand just how crucial backflow prevention is for protecting your home’s drinking water supply. Installing the proper preventers is really just an affordable insurance policy against some pretty nasty consequences if you neglect it.
Let’s talk about some of those potential consequences and risks you could be facing without functioning backflow prevention devices:
Health Risks from Contaminated Water
This one’s the obvious scary doozy. If a backflow incident occurs and contaminants like sewage, chemicals, or bacteria get sucked into your fresh water lines, you’re looking at some serious health hazards. Ingesting that contaminated water could potentially expose you and your family to e-coli, salmonella, hepatitis, and other nasty waterborne illnesses. Those can cause anything from flu-like symptoms to hospitalization in severe cases. Not something to mess around with!
Potential Property Damage
But it’s not just your personal health at stake here. Backflow can also lead to costly property damage that creates a whole other headache. Contaminated water flooding into your home can ruin drywall, flooring, furniture and personal belongings. Backed up sewage is especially destructive and difficult to clean. That’s a nightmare remediation situation no homeowner wants to deal with.
Legal Implications and Fines
On top of health risks and property damage, failing to have proper backflow preventers installed can also get you in legal hot water in many areas. Most states and municipalities have regulations around backflow prevention for residential and commercial properties to protect public drinking water systems. If you’re found non-compliant, you could face hefty fines and penalties. Not worth the potential legal hassles!
The reality is, the risks of neglecting backflow prevention far outweigh the relatively low cost and effort of installing those preventers throughout your home’s plumbing system. Don’t wait until it’s too late and you’re dealing with a backflow horror story of your own. A little prevention goes a very long way here!
An Ounce of Backflow Prevention
You’ve heard the saying – an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And when it comes to protecting your home’s drinking water supply from the hazards of backflow, those words really ring true. Installing the proper backflow prevention devices is an easy, affordable way to avoid some serious worst-case scenarios.
At the end of the day, a little backflow preventer is your first line of defense against contaminated water infiltrating those supply lines. Whether it’s back-siphonage from an appliance drain line or back-pressure from a boiler system, those preventers create a solid barrier to keep fresh and waste water completely separated.
Not only does backflow prevention safeguard your family’s health by eliminating exposure to nasty waterborne pathogens, but it also protects your home itself from costly water damage. Dealing with a flooded basement or remediating sewage backflow is absolutely no fun at all. Then there’s the potential legal risks of non-compliance with backflow regulations that could mean fines and penalties too.
The bottom line – backflow preventers are totally worth the small investment and peace of mind they provide. Don’t wait until you’re facing a backflow nightmare to take action!
Of course, once those preventers are installed, they can’t just be left alone forever. Routine testing and inspection is required to ensure they’re functioning properly. That’s where the backflow experts at Bassett Services come in! If you’re in Indiana or Ohio, our team of licensed professionals can swoop by and perform annual testing, repairs, replacements, and more to keep your home’s backflow prevention up to snuff. Just give us a call at (317) 360-0054 to schedule service today.
