How Do I Know If I Need Copper Repiping?

Having a full copper repiping done to your home can be very expensive, but it can also be very necessary. It can not only give you better water pressure, make your tap water taste and smell better, and prevent water damage; it can also make your home more valuable and easier to sell. However, when do you know that you need a copper repiping? Because the process can take some time complete and is fairly expensive, you don't want to do it on a whim or when it is unnecessary.

There are several ways of knowing if you need to do a copper repiping or not. First, if your home is over 25 years old, you probably have iron pipes in it. These pipes can rust over time. This can actually lead to them bursting and flooding your home if you aren't careful. If this happens, not only will you have to have your pipes redone, you'll also probably experience hundreds or thousands of dollars in water damage.

But how can you tell beyond that when you need a copper repiping? There are several ways to tell. The first is that your water pressure drops. You may not notice this right away, especially since water pressure generally drops slowly. You'll most likely notice a drop in water pressure during the warm months, especially if you water your lawn, your garden, or have a swimming pool to fill up.

But a drop in water pressure is just one of the signs that you need a copper repipe. The taste of your tap water is another sign. If your tap water starts to taste odd or if it no longer runs clear, it's a sign that you've got rust in your pipes. The only real way to get rid of this rust is to do a copper repipe since it can be hard to trace exactly which pipe is rusted. In fact, several pipes may be rusted.

An odd smell in your tap can also be a sign that you have rust in your pipes. Sometimes, this smell accompanies the odd taste or look of your water, but that's not always the case. In fact, sometimes your pipes will start to smell before the rust appears in your water. Rust in your water can get into your washing machine, your drinking water, and your shower, leading to some rather unpleasant bathing situations and more.

The biggest sign that you need to do a copper repipe is, of course, your pipes bursting. If this happens, you may as well spend the money and completely replace all of your old pipes with copper ones. There's no since in fixing just the burst pipes since there's a chance other pipes will burst later. Replacing all of your pipes at once with copper pipes can save you a lot of money down the road and increase the value of your home since your plumbing will be completely modern.