What is a Backflow Preventer?

John the plumber Ottawa here. One of the questions we are asked often is what is a backflow preventer and do I need one in my home? This is a question that most homeowners will need a bit of assistance with, and we are here to help.

A Backflow preventer is slightly different than the backflow valve. Backflow valve is the same concept except it is built onto your sewer line. We even have a separate blog dedicated to it! But what exactly is a backflow preventer, what does it do and what does it prevent? If you have no experience with that it can’t be a little bit tricky to understand.

Basement Flooding

Some homes in Ottawa are going to be more prone to flooding and water issues than others. This means that some will require backflow prevention more than others. The main concern for the backflow preventer is the weather outside. Heavy rain and storms and flash floods are all issues that we need to be concerned about. If any of your neighbors have had flooding in their basements in the past few years, installing a backflow preventer is probably a fantastic idea. You may save yourself a lot of money and a lot of pain by installing one and not waiting.

Keep The Sewer Water Out of Your Home

For all intents and purposes, a backflow preventer is used to prevent any contaminated sewer water to backflow into your drinking water supply. Water should only ever flow in one direction into your home and never in the other direction. As pressure shifts, water can start to move backwards, and this becomes a health risk. The backflow preventers primary job is to prevent contamination to your drinking water.

Water always enters your home from your main water supply and sometimes outside forces may cause a pressure change in the pipe and can actually cause water to flow backwards and into your main water supply. It’s like a gate that allows water from the city of Ottawa’s public system to flow into your home, but stops any waste water to flow backwards. For obvious reasons, you never want sewer water to come into contact with your drinking water supply. Some newer homes have a backflow preventer in place already.

Check with your city and call John the plumber Ottawa to book a plumber for an estimate on installation of a backflow prevention valve today. You will be glad you did!

To discover more on the full range of services offered by our Ottawa-based John the Plumber, please call our offices today at 613-227-7465 or visit our business website at johntheplumber.ca

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