I visited my primary care physician two months ago, and as I was being weighed, having my blood pressure checked, and going through all the other routine vitals, I wondered how many people actually think: “This nurse is just trying to sell me blood pressure medicine, weight-loss medication, and height-shrinkage medicine! I just know this is all an upsell tactic!”
Then, as Dr. Billingsley and I talked, she used her stethoscope and asked me to breathe deeply, hold it, and then release. It never occurred to me that she was going to use that information to upsell me on a ventilator.
But when a plumber says, “Can I check your water pressure, thermal expansion tank, and the age of your water heater?” it suddenly becomes a sales tactic instead of a preventive measure that gives you the opportunity to budget for anticipated repairs.
Imagine a plumber repairs a shower valve because of a dripping faucet. The repair is completed, and a week later the toilet begins filling itself night after night for no apparent reason. So your trusted and friendly plumber trots back out and repairs the fill valve and flush valve. Then your toilet supply line inexplicably bursts.
Wow, what a run of bad luck!
Right?
What if the issue was the house pressure all along? What if your water system’s ability to self-manage no longer existed?
There are two devices that help keep your home’s water system in check:
1. The Pressure Reducing Valve (PRV) – the heart of the water system
2. The Thermal Expansion Tank – the lungs of the water system
The PRV reduces the pressure entering your home from the street pressure so that your plumbing fixtures operate properly.
The thermal expansion tank allows water pressure to fluctuate slightly and helps relieve stress on your plumbing fixtures.
As an emergency plumbing company, we witness burst icemaker supply lines, ruptured water heater tanks, ruptured toilet supply lines, leaking hose bibbs, and a host of other water-related failures in homes.
At least twice a week, we see water damage related to high water pressure and failed thermal expansion tanks.
I would ask homeowners to accept this information as just that—information.
Once you have the information, you have time to get second opinions, gather estimates, and find a plumber who truly fits your needs.
I am grateful that Kenneth Black Plumbing has a good reputation. But there are many other plumbing companies that do as well, and if you prefer one of them over us, I completely understand.
Use the company that best fits your needs. But just like at a doctor’s visit, get your heart (PRV) and lungs (thermal expansion tank) checked. It may save your home from a tsunami.
Visit us at KennethBlackPlumbing.com.
Any content, resident submissions, guest columns, advertisements, and advertorials are not necessarily endorsed by or represent the views of Best Version Media LLC (BVM) or any municipality, homeowners associations, businesses, or organizations that this publication serves. BVM is not responsible for the reliability, suitability, or timeliness of any content submitted, inclusive of materials generated or composed through artificial intelligence (AI). All content submitted is done so at the sole discretion of the submitting party.
