It's important to know the importance of backflow devices in your water system. A backflow preventer is a device that's used to safeguard clean water supplies from pollution or contamination caused by backflow. It includes a valve that's installed on the water system to protect the main supply from hazards in buildings and homes. These hazards include the following:

 

For instance, you may have an outdoor spa or a swimming pool. You're likely to fill up either of them using a garden hose. So, you'll place the garden hose in the spa or pool and turn on the faucet. This may seem harmless but there's underlying danger.

 

While filling up the pool you may decide to go into your house to do some tasks. After a while the pressure of water may reduce, causing the hose to suck chlorinated water from the pool or spa while you're at your house. Subsequently, the water will flow from your house into the main water supply. This means the public drinking water will be contaminated with water from your pool or hot tub. If backflow preventers were installers on the water main of the hose faucet, they would have prevented backflow as well as several water-borne illnesses that can cause death.

 

Another example is when you irrigate your lawn using your sprinkler system. You use fertilizer and other chemicals to make your grass greener and control pests and weeds. Let say your sprinkler heads happen to be below the ground. Pools of water will form around the sprinkler head. The water isn't good for human consumption since the area is contaminated with chemicals used on the lawn. Know more about Febco 765 repair kit.

 

In case of a reduction in water pressure or water shortage, the water will infiltrate the main supply line via the sprinkler head. In this case, the backflow preventer would be very helpful. The water would not go past the backflow device and it will be pushed out when the water regains its pressure.

 

It's important to test your backflow preventers on an annual basis. Testing helps you find out if the devices are working properly. Remember, these are man-made items and they can fail at any time. If your backflow preventers aren't functioning properly you should repair or replace them immediately. Also, you need to turn off your water supply until you fix the issue. Check out Febco 765 repair kit for more info.

 

If you have faulty backflow devices, your water supply can be disconnected. In addition, you can be fined because that's a violation of rules and regulations of public water usage.