Month: February 2025

The Role of Backflow Prevention in Protecting Your Home

Feb 08, 2025

The Role of Backflow Prevention in Protecting Your Home

You use your Sacramento plumbing system to access clean and safe water for things like cooking, bathing, cleaning, and drinking. Unfortunately, many homeowners ignore their plumbing system until something goes wrong. In the case of backflow, this is a serious situation that can result in unsafe conditions that contaminate your water supply. As such, there are some important benefits associated with backflow prevention.

What Is Backflow?

The water within a plumbing system should always flow in one direction. If the water direction reverses, this can lead to a variety of contaminants entering your water supply when they should have been flushed out. This backflow can also damage your plumbing system and pipes. You may notice some common signs of backflow occurring in your home, such as a change in water pressure, discolored water, or odd smells coming from your faucets and fixtures. In severe cases, backflow can make you and your family sick, it can lead to pipes bursting, and it can damage pipe connections.

Backflow typically occurs when there is water pressure in the lines of your plumbing system that exceeds water pressure coming from your main water supply. That is, negative water pressure draws contaminants in.

The Dangers of Backflow

As we briefly mentioned, consuming water that has been contaminated by backflow can be dangerous to your health. This is due to the presence of bacteria and other pathogens in the water. You may notice subtle signs of backflow like gastrointestinal issues. There are more serious problems you can experience, such as hepatitis.

Protecting Your Home From Plumbing Damage

It’s common for backflow to lead to structural issues within your plumbing system. This is due to the corrosion that can occur. If your pipes burst or leak because of backflow problems, this can lead to structural and water damage. Mold can grow and spread quickly. You may have an area of your home that becomes contaminated with unsafe materials. This is an issue for consumption, running certain appliances, bathing, and more.

The Use of Backflow Prevention

Luckily, there are several backflow prevention devices that can be used to prevent water flow from reversing within your plumbing system. It’s essential to start with an inspection of your plumbing system to see if there are certain areas that pose a risk. We can also determine if backflow is already occurring. Most commonly, we see backflow occur at a point of cross-connection where water pressure is at risk of shifting easily.

We install devices like barrier valves and vacuums that ensure water only flows in one direction. Specific parts include atmospheric vacuum breakers, pressure vacuum breakers, and double-check valves. These devices typically only activate when they sense backflow is occurring. They are usually located at the end of your water main line before water passes through to the various pipes in your home.

Maintenance and Inspection Needs

If you live in a residence that is prone to backflow, it’s imperative that you keep up with routine inspections and maintenance of your plumbing system and backflow prevention devices. This will allow us to spot issues before they cause a catastrophic situation. We complete all our work according to local code and ensure we protect the community around your residence. We recommend that you schedule this routine service once per year.

Common Signs of Backflow Problems

While our team can use more invasive diagnostics to determine if backflow is an issue in your residence, there are some signs you can watch out for. Most homeowners don’t think about the potential for backflow, but it may be to blame for the following problems.

Frequent Plumbing Problems

If you find yourself calling a professional frequently to fix things like loose pipe connections, leaky pipes, burst pipes, and other plumbing damage, backflow may be to blame. This is especially true if you find that certain sections of your plumbing system are experiencing ongoing corrosion problems. Corrosion of your pipes is normal, but it usually occurs over the course of many years. Backflow can speed up this process.

Abnormal Smells and Tastes

The water coming from your faucets and fixtures shouldn’t have any odor to it. If you notice that there is a strong scent to your water, it may be contaminated. It’s best that you don’t consume the water until you have our team confirm that it’s safe to do so. Also, your water shouldn’t have any kind of bad taste to it.

Cloudy or Discolored Water

Look at the water that’s coming from your plumbing system. It should be completely clear and free of any debris. You should never have cloudy or dirty water coming from your faucets.

Physical Signs and Symptoms

There is a chance that your water looks, smells, and tastes completely fine. However, physical symptoms like gastrointestinal upset, diarrhea, stomach cramping, nausea, headaches, and fatigue may be caused by backflow.

Is Backflow a Common Problem in Homes?

In most residential homes, backflow prevention isn’t something that’s standard on an ongoing basis. However, there are changes in water pressure, a water main break in your area, a local hydrant being used, and other scenarios that can temporarily create a dangerous situation in your residence. It can be beneficial to have backflow prevention in place for these times. It’s also important that you understand the risks of backflow and what to look out for if it’s present. This allows you to act and call in a professional as needed.

It may be necessary for you to boil your water or run the water for a specific amount of time to get rid of contaminants.

Is Backflow Prevention Expensive?

The cost of backflow prevention can vary. Some devices are relatively affordable and simple to install. A more severe risk of backflow will warrant more elaborate equipment, which can raise the overall cost. There are also fees associated with the routine and inspection of your backflow prevention devices and the cost of labor. Obviously, larger, more elaborate plumbing systems will cost more. The price may increase with the presence of any excessive local plumbing regulations that are in place.

Working With a Professional

It’s important that you work with an experienced professional to have backflow prevention devices installed. If you work on your plumbing system yourself, you run the risk of causing problems or increasing your risk of backflow if the device is incorrectly installed. All of the work should be done according to local code as well.

Crystal Blue Plumbing, Heating, and Air can provide you with backflow prevention assistance if you’re located in the Sacramento, CA, area. We also offer other services such as the installation of heating and cooling equipment, routine maintenance, and emergency repairs. We offer a large variety of plumbing services, including sewer repair, pipe replacement, video inspections, gas line work, water testing, drain cleaning, and much more.

Contact Crystal Blue Plumbing, Heating, and Air in Sacramento today.

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Upgrading to an Energy-Efficient AC: What You Need to Know

Feb 01, 2025

Upgrading to an Energy-Efficient AC: What You Need to Know

Are you a homeowner considering upgrading to an energy-efficient AC system? If you are, you’re not alone. Energy-efficient ACs have become increasingly popular over the last decade, and their popularity continues to grow. This is largely because of the benefits an energy-efficient system can provide. If you are in the market for a new, energy-efficient AC system, here are a few things you should be aware of before making a purchase.

Combating Higher Energy Bills

There are many financial drawbacks to keeping an older, less efficient AC system past its prime. Although you may be tempted to keep your current equipment, upgrading to an energy-efficient AC system can save you up to 40% on your monthly utility bill. Over time, due to frequent wear and tear, your AC system has to work harder to maintain your desired temperature. This extra work results in greater energy consumption and a higher charge.

SEER Ratings

When shopping for a new, energy-efficient AC system, you will want to seek out a system with a high SEER rating. SEER stands for seasonal energy efficiency ratio. The SEER number represents how much electricity is necessary to remove a certain amount of heat from an indoor space of a certain size. The higher the SEER number, the more energy-efficient the system is. Many newer AC systems offer SEER ratings as high as 25. Many older systems have ratings as low as 10. This means an older system is working much harder to maintain the desired temperature.

Choosing the Right Size of AC

No matter what your new AC system’s SEER rating is, you will need to make sure the equipment is properly sized for your home. If your system is too large, it will produce shorter cycles, which can prevent adequate dehumidification, making your home feel warmer. If your system is under the correct size, it will have to work harder to maintain the desired temperature, causing it to endure premature wear and tear.

BTUs (British thermal units) are used to measure AC system sizes. As a general guideline, one ton of AC system is required to cool a 1,000-square-foot space. To properly size your system, you will need to be aware of more than just BTUs. Factors such as your home’s exposure to the sun, air leakage, and insulation are important considerations. You should also take into account the climate you live in. An AC professional can help you choose the right size for your new system.

Benefits of Energy-Efficient AC Systems

You’ll find you can derive many advantages from upgrading your AC. Here are a few of them.

Improved Indoor Air Quality

The quality of air in your home largely depends on your AC’s efficiency. For this reason, choosing an energy-efficient system can help you keep your air free of irritants and clean. Inefficient AC systems can cause pollutants to build up inside your home, resulting in a less-than-healthy environment. Too many indoor pollutants can cause headaches, coughing, sneezing, respiratory problems, asthma attacks, and more. Energy-efficient AC systems can help you keep your family healthy.

If you want clean air, seek out an energy-efficient AC system that comes with HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters. These filters are excellent at removing microscopic particles from the air. They can remove particles such as mold, bacteria, pollen, and dust. Just remember to change your filter every three months. This will ensure your air remains clean.

Better Humidity Control

During the warmer months, the humidity can make hot weather even more miserable. To ensure a comfortable indoor temperature, you will need an AC system that maintains the optimal humidity level. Older, less energy-efficient systems were not manufactured with humidity control features. New, energy-efficient AC systems are equipped with built-in humidity sensors that work continually.

More Consistent Cooling

Are you having trouble maintaining a consistent temperature in your home? Does one room frequently feel hotter or colder than the others? If you answered yes to these questions, you could benefit from installing an energy-efficient AC system. When there are temperature inconsistencies throughout your residence, your system is probably wasting energy, which results in higher utility bills for your household. Fortunately, many newer energy-efficient AC systems use zoning to heat and cool spaces. This feature allows you to set different temperatures in different rooms (zones) of your home. In other words, you can keep your bedroom cooler than your living room if you want.

Longer Life Span

Like any other mechanical device, AC systems have a projected life span. Most newer, energy-efficient models are designed to last slightly longer than traditional AC systems. Since they require far less energy to work, they are less prone to the wear and tear older, less efficient systems endure. Many new, energy-efficient systems can last up to 20 years or more when they are properly installed and maintained. It is important to note, however, that factors such as the type and brand of system you choose and the climate you live in will ultimately impact how long your AC system lasts.

Quieter Operation

Is your AC system loud and distracting? If you have an older, noisier AC, you may want to consider upgrading to a newer, energy-efficient system. The older an AC system gets, the louder it tends to be. Fortunately, a new, energy-efficient AC can provide you with the quiet you crave.

Energy-efficient AC systems are better insulated, and this insulation helps reduce vibrations and lower noise levels. They often also feature variable speed motors, which maintain the right temperature by adjusting their speed. This means they create less noise because the speed changes are more subtle than simply going from off to on. Placing a compressor blanket on the outdoor component of your AC system can also help you reduce its noise level.

Higher Property Selling Price

When you consider putting your home on the market, you could get a higher price for it if you have an energy-efficient AC system installed. Choosing to install an energy-efficient AC can have a major payoff when the time to sell comes along, primarily because buyers know they will have lower utility bills. While it is not possible to calculate the exact return on your investment from an energy-efficient AC, you can be sure it will increase the market value of your home. Homes with energy-efficient features are becoming more desirable all the time.

Increased Convenience and Comfort

Newer, energy-efficient AC systems tend to offer more. They are typically equipped with smart thermostats, which allow you to set more exact temperatures and adjust them to your schedule, saving quite a lot of money. Many come with smart features that offer even more control and convenience. Other features such as variable speed motors make some modern AC systems far more convenient, and they help you maintain your comfort more easily.

Your Local HVAC Experts

Crystal Blue Plumbing, Heating & Air in Sacramento, CA offers a complete spectrum if premier air conditioning, heating, and plumbing options. Our services are prompt, reliable, and professional, and you can be sure we won’t stop working until you are satisfied. Contact us today to schedule an AC appointment at your convenience.