Old Lead/Copper Piping Could Spell Water Damage To Your Naples House

12/8/2017 (Permalink)

Lead and copper piping is susceptible to scaling, erosion, and freezing.

Water Damage To Your House

Lead and copper used to be the primary materials used for indoor plumbing in homes built in the 1980s and earlier. Since this encompasses many homes throughout Naples, it is essential to understand some of the reasons that this material is not used in modern construction. Lead and copper piping is susceptible to scaling, erosion, and freezing. Any three of these problems with the plumbing could result in a water emergency down the road.

While freezing might be among the most likely of culprits for potential water damage to your Naples home, this is conditional. Proper insulation of your home (and individual pipes themselves) can often negate the possibility of the water inside of a pipe solidifying and bursting your lines. For some of the plumbing exposed in areas of the house, you should be able to see if insulation exists.

Scaling is the buildup of minerals inside of the pipes in your home. Often this is a result of having hard water, but that our SERVPRO professionals have found this is not always the case. It is easier for scaling to form and continue to build on lead and copper pipes as opposed to the widely used plastic options in modern construction. Once scaling has gotten bad enough, the pipe can become clogged. While this could present itself as nothing more than a stoppage in water flow, it can also provide an excessive amount of back pressure which can force joints of plumbing apart at weak spots.

Erosion of lead and copper plumbing is often hard to see before it is too late. Many homeowners do not know this problem exists until a hole emerges in the pipe, and water is pouring into the walls or basement of their homes. Our SERVPRO technicians can repair this damage, much like a water break on the supply line in the city, by using clamps to seal the hole.

Upgrading your system can instantaneously prevent these problems from coming to pass, but until you do that, metal materials like lead and copper pose a threat of breaking down and causing significant water damages to your home. Our emergency responders can reach your home quickly after your call and begin work on repairing the source of the damage and putting together a water damage restoration plan for the affected areas.

If your metal plumbing ultimately causes you water damages, do not hesitate to call us at SERVPRO of Naples / Marco Island any time at (239) 302-5700.

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