Modern plumbing is hundreds of years old. In Europe, various inventors contributed to its development using a series of pipes and the assistance of gravity. The idea was, and has always been, to bring in fresh potable water while taking away waste water. Europeans learned the importance of separating the two during the horrific black Plague outbreaks. Sometimes it takes a tragedy like that to really wake up to your problems and force you to adapt and change.
If plumbing in its modern form has been around for hundreds of years, then what modern tools are being used to advance it? What applications can be utilized to diagnose and fix problems? Good questions.
1. Camera Inspection – Diagnosing a leak or blockage and telling exactly where it is used to be guesswork. Now with the aid of cameras, a seasoned plumber can get straight to the issue and fix it. The small camera is place on a long thin adjustable scope and fed down the pipe or in-between walls. The plumber can then see what is going on in the pipe or behind the walls on a small screen or smart phone. This method can be cost effective and help you avoid unnecessary work or damage to walls and pipes.
2. Smoke Testing – This method has been around for decades now but is invaluable when trying to find a leak in a long pipe. Jake, a plumber in Melbourne, Florida said the following: “It really is as simple as using a smoke machine and forcing the smoke into the pipe in question and seeing where that smoke comes out.” Again, this method can be very helpful in saving time and money.
3. Radar – Certain types of ground penetrating radar can be used to help determine where a pipe has collapsed in your yard. This save the trouble, time, effort and money of having to dig the entire length of the pipe. A GPR machine can be brought out and with an hour you have your answer. You may have even seen this device used in forensic shows to help law enforcement peak into the ground and look for any recent disturbances. It uses a strong radar signal and beams it directly into the ground below. A rough map of what is going on under there can be charted by your plumber. A great deal of money and time can be saved by using this tech. Your plumber is trained to know what to look for and will be able to diagnose the issue fairly rapidly.
Conclusion
As society progresses and technology gets better, you can expect for new diagnostic and repair methods to develop. The overall goal is to assist your plumber in his job and to make it easier and less time consuming. This in-turn saves you money in the end. A good plumber wants to fix your plumbing problem using as much quality craftsmanship as humanly possible and not waste time or resources. In the end, he comes out with a square payday and your problem has been fixed and you can go about your life as usual.