Backflow prevention devices are used to prevent drain backflow in your home. For the most part, the public water supply that enters our residence or business is clean and safe for use. However, there will be times when our water supply can become contaminated because the pipes and tubing inside our dwellings were improperly connected.
This is where backflow prevention devices come in. They can ensure your water source is clean and safe from waste and bacteria. There are different kinds of backflow prevention devices. Choosing the best plumbing device can prevent any back-flow from occurring.
Backflow Prevention
Backflow in plumbing refers to when water flows in the opposite direction. This anomaly can occur in any home where clean water combines with polluted water, causing serious health risks for its occupants.
Many local building codes require the installation of backflow prevention devices to restrict any backflow passage.
Plumbing backflow prevention devices protect public safety by reducing water contamination in places like local water systems, food processing factories, and pharmaceutical water supplies.
Air Gaps in Your Plumbing
Air gaps are vertical, unobstructed space between the water spout and a fixture’s flood level.
Today’s plumbing codes require backflow prevention and fittings are created to meet those codes.
Air gaps are a plumbing method used to assure that drain water cannot flow backward from the dwelling’s draining system. Water and waste are discharged across a gap of air hindering cross-connection and contamination.
Clean Water With Pressure Vacuum Breakers
Pressure vacuum breakers (PVB) are backflow prevention devices that prevent contaminated water from infiltrating your water supply.
When the water pressure is lower than the air pressure, the chamber opens and closes the control valve that obstructs backflow from entering the water supply in the home.
In normal circumstances, this will happen close to the source of water. An AVB, or atmospheric vacuum breaker, is a reliable and cost-effective backflow preventer that is fitted on a pipe after each control valve.
Choosing The Right Backflow Preventer
A home's plumbing system and the sewer line attached to it decide which backflow preventer is right for your home. Pressure vacuum breakers are used to carry backflow to the structure due to a vacuum force in the pipeline.
Pressure vacuum breakers will send air into a pipe to stop the immersion. More restrictions to the backflow from inside the plumbing pipe can be added.
Both an assembly preventer and a controlled pressure zone preventer are devices that close shut should any backflow occur that blocks against the breakdown of the pipeline system.
Your local building authorities can assist you since the use of backflow prevention devices are often required. They can also advise about the best plumbing backflow prevention requirements and permits needed.
To learn more about backflow prevention devices, call the HVAC experts at Dutch Enterprises in Jackson, MO to discuss the needs of your home. They are standing by to help you choose the right backflow preventer and to assist you with any other plumbing issue, such as repiping and drain cleaning.
