Living in the Kansas City area, we’re certainly no strangers to some sweltering temps in the summer months! While this likely makes many concerned about their air conditioning units, you can’t forget entirely about your plumbing! Yes, your A/C should require the bulk of your attention, but this hot weather and plethora of summer activities can have an adverse effect on your plumbing system as well.
Here at Stine-Nichols Plumbing, we’re well aware that each change in weather brings with it a whole new set of potential plumbing problems. Even though some of these are due to just routine wear and tear, the truth is most of them can be limited with consistent and knowledgeable maintenance. And that brings us to the topic of discussion in this week’s blog post. While we’re in the midst of the summer months, we’re going to touch on how this summer heat can cause some harm to your plumbing system.
Tree Roots Wrecking Havoc
For those familiar to our blog or those following us on social media, you know one of the more costly residential plumbing problems revolves around sewer line failures. While advanced inspection cameras make this process a million times easier, replacing it typically requires an excavator to dig a large hole in your front yard! Not the most pleasant of circumstances to find yourself in as a homeowner.
One of the common culprits in sewer line problems happens to involve tree roots. Particularly in the hot (and sometimes dry) summer months here in Kansas City, tree roots are desperate to find some sort of moisture. An easy avenue to find this moisture is within your pipes or a sewer line. After all, this can easily serve as a consistent source of moisture for them to grow! Once inside, they’ll gradually expand and it won’t be long before you’ll be calling a plumber! Keep in mind that this can be particularly troubling for those with lines built of lackluster material or homeowners living in an older neighborhood with large trees in the front yard.
Bursting Pipes
Our next point is actually something that comes as a surprise to most homeowners. Can pipes really burst due to the hot weather? Isn’t that something which generally only impacts homeowners during the cold weather months? While not as common as the months with freezing temps, hot weather can cause it’s fair share of pipes bursting. Just think about it: when you combine the sweltering heat with an increased water usage, it’s not hard to see how this could lead to some issues. Let’s analyze each of these factors real quick:
- Increased Usage – We briefly mentioned this point above, but here’s why it is so important. Simply put, with the warmer weather, you’re using much more water. Watering your lawn and flowers, running more loads of laundry, drinking more water, taking more showers and so on. If your pipes had any signs of deficiencies, this increased usage could easily be what sets it over the edge. Or even if some of the pipes are just older in general, this increased usage could exacerbate the deterioration.
- High Temps and Little Rainfall – The second half of this equation involves the combination of temperatures regularly touching over 90° and decreased amounts of rainfall. For those that have lived in the Kansas City area for a while, you know this is nothing new for summer weather. While it certainly doesn’t get as dry as some states, we’ve seen our fair share of dry spurts! Well, what this does is create soil that can be particularly loose. In terms of soil, I’m referencing the areas which house your water lines. When this happens, it turns into the perfect situation for pipes to shift and potentially leak.
Clogged Drains
As we continue on, we arrive at one of the more common residential plumbing problems. If you were to ask any of our technicians, clogged drains continue to be a hot item each and every year. While most homeowners are well aware of what can and can’t be put down the drain or garbage disposal, the reality is plenty of items on the “no-no” list consistently end up finding their way down the drain…
Even though this year may look slightly different because of the Covid-19 pandemic, we typically connect summer with cookouts and family gatherings. And when we associate the two of these, we’re met with clogged drains. Just remember, if you’re noticing a drain or garbage disposal appearing to run slower than normal, it’s usually wise to get it cleared sooner rather than later. The longer the blockage sits, the increased risk there is of more items getting caught. Before you know it, a small clog that could’ve been cleared in 30 minutes turns into more of a replacement project!
Blocked Gutters
Next up, we have a topic that’s easy to forget about and as a result, tends to get ignored. Blocked and clogged gutters. Whether it be from leaves or trim limbs, gutters oftentimes can get clogged up. One of the primary responsibilities for a home’s guttering system is to keep water away from your home’s foundation. When they aren’t cleaned out, this can nearly be impossible. In addition to keeping your basement dry, your guttering system is also helpful in preventing wood rot.
All in all, when it comes to your gutters, make it common practice to check them out a few times throughout the year, including the summer months.
True or False. The UV rays from the sun can damage your exposed pipes.
As we wrap up this week’s blog, this is a question we hear tossed around quite often and it makes perfect sense why there would be so much confusion. After all, if you have exposed PVC pipes and the hot sun is constantly beating down on them, wouldn’t this have some sort of impact on the strength and durability of those pipes? To get the inside scoop and dive in a little deeper from a scientific perspective, we consulted a couple of different sources.
First off, we have Heritage Plastics. They are a well-known PVC manufacturer with facilities spread throughout the country. As stated on their website, the most common result of PVC being exposed to UV is discoloration.
“The surface of the pipe will change first by loss of gloss, progressing to chalking and discoloration. (Discoloration will typically progress yellow to brown to black). UV discoloration does not occur where PVC is not exposed to sunlight, and ceases when exposure ends.”
The bulletin goes on to mention how time installed and length of exposure are critical factors in determining how quickly the discoloration will take into effect. Additionally, pipes of a smaller diameter or thinner wall are generally more impacted than those larger pipes or thicker walls.
Our second source PVC Fittings Online echoed similar sentiments. While discoloration can arise for those directly in the path of the sun’s rays, the actual impact is said to be rather insignificant.
“UV light radiation can cause portions of the outer shell of CPVC and PVC pipes to degrade slightly, but not significantly…When exposed to direct sunlight, CPVC and PVC shows ‘UV degradation,’ but only between 0.001 and 0.003 inches…Ultraviolet light does not seem to have a bearing on the rigidity, pressure or malleability of the pipes.”
There are some alternative routes you can take as well, including coating the pipes with an opaque covering or even an acrylic-based paint. This latex paint can’t be penetrated by UV radiation. In addition, for permanent above-ground installation, we can also look into wrapping the pipe for added-protection.
If you are ever concerned about the strength or durability for a PVC piping project, we encourage you to reach out to an experienced plumber for advice. They’ll know your area’s weather best and can make appropriate recommendations given the type of project.
Call Stine-Nichols For Your Plumbing Needs This Summer!
We hope you enjoyed learning all about safeguarding your plumbing system against the summer heat! Having been in the Kansas City plumbing world for over 40 years, I’ve become quite familiar with the various plumbing issues affecting KC homeowners. Even though some can’t be prevented and are a result of natural usage, the best piece of advice I can give you is to act fast when you notice something is off. Whether that be a funky smell of sewage, slow garbage disposal or anything else, this logic holds true. More often than not, acting quickly is the difference between a minor repair and a major replacement.
Our plumbers at Stine-Nichols are trained to handle all sorts of plumbing challenges. Water heaters, drain cleaning, sewer line repair/replacement, you name it! Give us a call at (816) 348-3481 or fill out our website form for a free quote.