Backflow is like a disease in the irrigation world. For a long time people didn’t really know what was happening but now that we know what causes it, it is a bit easier to deal with. If you notice a reduction in the pressure of your sprinkler system and you aren’t sure why this very well could well be the cause.

Once you have checked along the body of the sprinkler, taken off the extraneous parts and reattached them and turned the faucet on and off you should give us a call because backflow repair is not something we would recommend trying to sort out on your own. It is a complicated issue that has to do with pressure and the way the water travels.

What Is Backflow?

If there is something called a vacuum or a partial vacuum somewhere in the piping a negative pressure can come about which reduced the water’s pressure, its strength, its speed and ultimately its direction. A good solution for this is a backflow valve which controls the pressure of the water.

This is a great addition to a sprinkler system because it has brought  sprinkler systems into the modern age and in North Carolina is is required. Without a backflow you have to go back to the basics and examine every part of a sprinkler system. Now you can just assess the backflow valve to get an accurate reading for what is going on. Essentially it is a backflow prevention device. Whether you have one of these inbuilt or not you can become a victim of backflow although you are significantly less likely to experience this with a valve.

Problems Of Contamination

This is really where we earn our money. Another terrible consequence of backflow is that you often find your water becoming contaminated with harmful chemicals and bacteria. That is what happens if water doesn’t have a clean run through the pipes and ends up festering in certain areas.

So, another aspect of our service is to use prevention assemblies like double check valve ones and pressure vacuum breaker ones etc to test the level of contamination and the level of pressure in your sprinkler system.

What Can We Do For You?

We can fix your backflow problem either with a valve or with checks on an existing valve to see if it is working. When we say checks unfortunately, we mean regular checks. This is because valves have many internal seals, springs and lots of moving parts to keep them in operation. They are complicated pieces of a kit and if one part fails then the whole thing is liable to fail in the not too distant future. As always you can count on us to be there if it does and to offer the best advice to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.

So, what are you waiting for? Concerned about backflow in your irrigation system? Already experiencing backflow problems and feel like you need a protective valve? Or, is your valve experiencing problems? You know who to call for any of these issues.