A leaky underground water pipe is a nightmare for many homeowners. These pipes are useful for carrying water from appliances and fixtures. However, the experience of purchasing an underground water pipe for your home can be confusing due to the number of options available in the market.
Plumbers use different types of water pipes useful for underground supply systems. This mainly depends on the location and the supply pressure to the lines that will be exposed. The most commonly used pipes are made of plastic and synthetic materials. You can consult an expert before installing underground water supply pipes.
Types of underground water pipes:
Given below are a few types of water pipes that can be easily used as underground water pipes-
- PVC Pipes– Polyvinyl chloride pipes are the top choice of most plumbers as they are the best for drains and vent lines. Polyvinyl Chloride pipes or PVC pipes are highly popular and suitable for residential plumbing systems. PVC pipe is light in weight and is easy to carry around. Additionally, agriculture PVC pipes are very popular mainly due to their cost-efficiency and easy availability. Users can easily install them, and most of these pipes do not require much labour for installation.
Due to their distinctive quality, PVC pipes are widely used for plumbing purposes. The chemical composition of these pipes make them ideal for usage. These pipes are also economical to purchase.
- PEX Pipes– PEX Pipes are the best kind of pipes for water lines. This quality makes them the ideal agriculture pipes in India. PEX is a flexible and corrosion-resistant material that can withstand extreme pressure. PEX can deal with high temperatures, pressures and other chemical changes underground. This makes PEX tubings a popular choice for most builders. Moreover, PEX tubings can be connected using threaded fittings and compressions. This puts them at an advantage over PVC pipes connected using glued fittings.
PEX or Cross-Linked Polyethene is highly durable and is rigid and strong enough to withstand the heavy water flow. PEX pipe tubes come in a diameter of ½- inches or 3/4-inches. Moreover, these PEX pipes are easy to cut and join and come with colour codes- red indicates hot water and blue indicates cold water. PEX or polythene Tubing is a plastic water line suitable for underground and aboveground supply systems.
- CPVC Pipes- Chlorinated polyvinyl chloride or CPVC pipe fittings can easily withstand temperature changes and exposure to water-related pressures. CPVC fittings can endure extremely high temperatures and pressures and work better than many standard PVC pipes. This feature makes CPVC pipes popular for hot and cold water supply applications and systems. Users can safely use CPVC pipes for transporting drinking water and industrial sewage. In addition, these pipes are corrosion and rust-resistant. This quality makes CPVC pipes a suitable choice for transporting drinking water.
One main difference between CPVC pipes and other pipes is that CPVC pipes are corrosion-resistant and can easily withstand a high range of temperatures. In addition, CPVC pipes are more flexible than PVC pipes. One disadvantage of CPVC pipes is that they have chlorine in their composition. Due to this, many homeowners believe that CPVC pipes affect the water quality being transported. However, as per experts, the chlorine present in the design of CPVC pipes affects the taste of water and does not affect its quality.
- Copper pipes: These are majorly used to connect underground water lines and systems and have a shiny brown appearance. However, their rigidity and stiffness make them unsuitable for most underground piping systems. Moreover, copper pipes can degrade in extreme soil conditions and rust quickly. Additionally, extreme conditions can also make them lose their quality over time.
However, copper pipes are still very popular amongst many homeowners because they come with fewer contamination risks, unlike plastic pipes, where the risk of chemical leaching is high. Plumbers have a solution to make copper pipes more long-lasting. They try to shield copper pipes with synthetic covers and sleeves to prevent degradation due to moisture and other factors in the environment. The most significant advantage of copper lines is that they cause less damage to the environment than PVC or plastic pipes. In addition, they are more environmentally-friendly than most plastic pipes.
- Unplasticized PVC (UPVC)- UPVC pipes are lightweight and easy to install. Additionally, they are cost-efficient and are a top choice for most plumbers. Furthermore, they are highly durable, corrosion-resistant, and have high chemical resistance. These qualities make them ideal for underground sewage transportation. This pipe is a plasticizer-less pipe. This means that it is less flexible and more rigid. UPVC pipes, with their high strength and rigidity levels, are helpful in transporting drinking and wastewater, industrial waste, and sewage wastewater.
When choosing the correct plumbing underground pipe for your home, consider the costs, the function of the pipe, and the area in which it will be installed.
Looking deeply into these parameters will surely help you pick a suitable underground plumbing pipe for your home.
