Does your Vancouver home have a pressure reducing valve? Yes, you should care.

A PRV is usually located right after your house shut off.

A Pressure reducing valve might seem like a boring topic, so I'll be short and sweet in explaining what it is and why you want one.

If you live in a city like Vancouver the water pressure coming into your home, is too high for your home, so you need a P.R.V. to reduce the pressure.

OK, So why wouldn't you already have one if you really needed one? This is because many of the homes in Vancouver and Burnaby were constructed before plumbing codes required the installation of PRV's

Why is high pressure bad for your home, more importantly why you should care? Here are a few important reasons.

1) High water pressure causes premature wear to the fixtures in your home. The quicker they wear out, the faster you have to buy new ones.

2) Having water pressure that is too high can void the warranty on new water heaters.

3) Water pressure can contribute to rupturing pipes and causes annoying water hammering. Ever flush a toilet and hear a banging sound inside your wall? The most likely culprit is not the toilet but high pressure.  

4) High pressure wastes water, energy and your money. The fast water comes out of the faucet the more of it that goes down the drain. If it happens to be hot water that's being wasted it is costing you money because you are using more power to reheat it.

The bottom line is you should have a P.R.V. whether you have one to protect your home from unnecessary wear, save money, or conserve water. Check your house for the valve shown above, if you don't have one consult a licensed Vancouver plumber.

Watermark Plumbing - Vancouver