When buying your home, you often think about the importance of window and door quality, the roof warranty, and how many bathrooms your place has. It often doesn’t even cross your mind to take a look at something like plumbing. After all, why would it? Your pipes are tucked away and connected to the underground drain pipe that is the responsibility of the city of Toronto. Nothing to worry about, right? Not so much.
The city of Toronto is constantly in flux. It gets bigger quickly and this means more and more straight on the city’s pre-existing systems. This factors in electrical grids energy consumptions and, you guessed it, plumbing systems. The municipal systems are maintained and are designed to high loads and use, sure. However, this maximum load keeps rising year after year and no system is without a maximum limit.
What does the maximum limit mean for my home?
Whether you are buying a new home, or you’ve been in your home for a few years, the situation is the same. Your home is connected to the sewer underground and this means that there is, likewise, a channel between your sewer and your home.
With enough stress on the system, it’s more than possible that sewage can actually backup into your basement. This is bad enough if it’s only your sewage that you need to worry about, but that’s not often the case, particularly in high density neighbourhoods.
What can I do about it?
If you are feeling grossed out and ready to do whatever it takes to stop this smelly and toxic situation before it starts, you aren’t alone. Plumbers in Toronto are seeing more and more responsible homeowners looking at both a detailed drain inspection, and a sewer pipe replacement to help make sure that everything is running as it should.
Mister Plumber, one of Toronto’s trusted plumbing companies, also recommends the idea of putting in a backwater valve, which is going to be the tool to help you make sure that you don’t end up in this situation.
What is a backwater valve?
This is a special device that, when professionally installed, will prevent the city pipe’s sewage from backing up into your basement. It’s a hard stop that quite literally shuts the connection so that you will never have to worry about anyone else sewage in the maxed-out system ending up in your basement.
What are the best steps to take for an unknown sewage system?
If you’ve never heard of a backwater valve installation or even the possibility of a city’s sewage system backing up into your own, you certainly aren’t alone. That’s part of what makes a clear understanding of your plumbing system important.
If you’ve never taken the time to have a professional plumber in and take a look at your home, you’ll want to seriously consider a drain inspection. They will be able to come in and take a look at your pies and see just what condition they’re in. Depending on their age, your plumber may recommend a sewer pipe replacement or a cleaning just to help minimize the load.
Sometimes backup in your sewer could be due to a clog or block in your own pipes, so it’s a good idea to have your plumber take a look to see what’s going on (and hopefully solve an issue before it becomes one).
Regardless of the results, at this point, please consider asking about the potential of a backwater valve installation. This is standard in plumbing service and they’ll be able to help you understand the process of what it does and the serious advantages that it will offer to your home.
Why should I consider a backwater valve installation?
Other than simply never having to deal with the city’s sewage system ending up in your basement, there are other very real benefits to a backwater valve installation.
Firstly, it will protect the integrity and structure of your home. Whether sewage or just general flooding through the system, a backwater valve expels water into your home, which very quickly creates lasting, expensive damage to floor joists, wall studs, floors, wall coverings, and more. Not to mention the potential toxic mess of the sewage, too, which will be extremely damaging to many with health conditions.
Secondly, having a backwater valve could qualify you for a flood subsidy program that is in place with the City of Toronto. If Mister Plumber installs a backwater valve on your property, the homeowner is eligible to get up to $1,250 from the City simply for installing it. This also tends to blend with a reduced premium on your home insurance policy, too, which is great when looking at recuperating the cost of the installation itself.
Thirdly, having the proper protection in place for your sewer means that you are going to be enjoying a much better peace of mind when it comes to protecting your home. It’s an investment that pays for itself in more ways than one. It also can be a huge selling perk if you do decide to sell your home down the road!
Fourthly, and finally, being a homeowner means being responsible for a lot of things in your home. Plumbing systems often are neglected by even the best homeowners simply because they’re “out of sight, out of mind”. The pros at Mister Plumber will be able to step in and offer you the support and professionalism that you deserve to take proper care of your home and all of its systems!
The reality is that the strain on the municipal sewage system is going to continue to get worse each year, with all of the people taking up residence in Toronto. In order to make sure that you are protected from the potential risks of that, call Mister Plumber today and see just what options are available for you, from pipe cleaning to pipe replacement to the multiple benefits of a backwater valve.
As anyone who has ever dealt with a backed-up sewer will tell you, this is one of those things that you never want to learn about in hindsight!
