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Why You Should Schedule Yearly Commercial Plumbing Inspections in Chicago

a commercial plumber in chicago doing an inspection

Commercial building plumbing systems play a role in the operations and success of the businesses that occupy a commercial building. Although not a core part of the business’s day-to-day processes, these systems provide the needed support for seamless business operations.

Jackson Property Management notes that functional plumbing systems help to create a conducive environment for optimum productivity. They ensure an overall positive experience for customers and other people visiting your building. Working plumbing systems boost the aesthetics of your commercial building.

That is why when plumbing systems fail, they can inflict massive damage on your operations and profits, and also hurt the reputation of your business. Leaky pipes, slow-draining toilets, and sewage odors in your building may also draw unwanted attention from the authorities.

The challenge is, given that problems in a commercial plumbing system can happen without warning, how do you prevent them from derailing your business? The key is to find a way to detect these problems before they happen, or their impact becomes more pronounced.

The only way to do this is to inspect your commercial building’s plumbing systems on a schedule.

What is a commercial plumbing inspection?

A commercial plumbing inspection is a thorough assessment of the condition and function of the plumbing system in a commercial building. It is done to preserve the efficiency and safety of the system, as well as ensure its compliance with building codes. The inspection aims to detect leaks, corroded spots, clogs, and faulty, aging, or obsolete components in the plumbing.

A plumbing inspection can be done in response to problems in the building or on a schedule. Because it is done even when there are no known issues in the plumbing, scheduled inspections help you find and fix problems before they disrupt business activities in your building. Scheduled plumbing inspections let you manage your plumbing proactively instead of reactively.

During a commercial plumbing inspection, the following components will be evaluated:

  • Water/drainage pipes: Fresh water/wastewater pipes are checked for leaks, blockages, corrosion, etc.
  • Fixtures: Sinks, toilets, and showers are inspected for wear & tear and all forms of malfunction.
  • Appliances: Water heaters, boilers, and water-utilizing appliances are checked for efficiency and safety.
  • Sewer lines: The efficiency and health of the sewer line, as well as the accessibility of the cleanout, are evaluated.
  • Pumps and ventilation systems: All pumps, including sump pumps, and vent stacks are inspected.

Benefits of scheduled commercial plumbing inspections

Why should you inspect your commercial plumbing system on a schedule?

  1. Ensure operational continuity

Plumbing problems dampen staff morale and impair customer satisfaction by preventing access to the critical facilities in your building or making the experience of using those facilities less than satisfactory.

  1. Prevent water damage

Scheduled plumbing inspections let you uncover the hidden problems in the plumbing that are secretly damaging your building. Without a system for detecting them, leaks can go unnoticed for weeks or even months.

  1. Prolong the life of your plumbing

Scheduled inspections help you detect and solve those small problems that shorten the lifespan of your plumbing. By finding problems at their early stages, you keep those issues from damaging the system.

  1. Maximize plumbing efficiency

Plumbing systems that are inspected regularly have fewer problems. The plumbing maintenance plan enables you to stay ahead of issues in your plumbing, addressing them as soon as they arise.

  1. Promote health and safety

Regular plumbing inspections prevent health hazards in your building. The likelihood of water contamination, slips/falls due to leaks, and similar problems is greatly reduced, creating a safer environment for both staff and customers.

  1. Ensure compliance with regulations

Inspecting the plumbing on a schedule lets you keep tabs on every feature of the system. By identifying and replacing parts that no longer comply with building codes, you can easily keep your plumbing up-to-date.

  1. Enable future planning

It is easier to maintain your plumbing when you have a way to track the age and condition of the different components of the system. The plumbing inspection report provides all the information you need to plan future plumbing upgrades.

  1. Achieve significant cost savings

Scheduled plumbing inspections help you save money in many ways. Early detection and quick resolution of problems means your plumbing maintenance bills are lower.  Leak detection and prevention help to lower your water bill. And since the lifespan of the plumbing is prolonged, you can avoid premature replacement of plumbing components.

Finally, how often should you inspect your commercial plumbing systems? For most commercial buildings, an inspection frequency of once yearly is sufficient. But if there are high-traffic businesses in the building, you may have to have a commercial plumber inspect the plumbing system more frequently.

Older buildings, properties with complex plumbing systems, and commercial buildings with businesses in the food service and healthcare sectors need to have their plumbing inspected more often. You should inspect your plumbing more often if there are recurrent problems in the system.

Why You Should Schedule Yearly Commercial Plumbing Inspections

Why You Should Schedule Yearly Commercial Plumbing Inspections

Plumbing systems are the unsung heroes, working night and day in your commercial building to ensure your premises are safe and clean for everyone using them. Every minute of the day, they deliver clean water wherever it is needed while efficiently removing wastewater, says White Robbins Management.

If your plumbing systems were to malfunction for just one day, it would bring all the business activities in your building to a screeching halt. This is why, although the plumbing is not directly involved in the day-to-day operations of your business, it is vital to its continued success.

Despite this fact, plumbing system maintenance is not one of the things commercial building owners and operators consider when mapping the key factors needed for business growth. In most commercial buildings, plumbing maintenance is simply an inconvenient afterthought.

If the plumbing is given any attention, it is done grudgingly because businesses do not see a direct connection between efficient plumbing systems and their business goals. As such, they view money spent on plumbing maintenance as a cost, rather than an investment.

Potential impact of plumbing problems on a commercial building

But here are some things that can happen to your commercial building and the businesses operating out of it when you neglect your plumbing:

  • Avoidable business downtimes: Blocked drains, water heater problems, and leaky pipes can stop or slow down your business activities, leading to a loss of revenue.
  • A damper on staff morale: Slow drains, malfunctioning toilets, bad odors from blocked drains, and similar issues may place a psychological burden on your staff.
  • Irreparable reputational damage: Customers and visitors pay enough attention to your toilets. Malfunctioning plumbing systems create a bad impression with clients.
  • Severe health and safety problems: Stagnant water and slippery floors from plumbing leaks increase the risk of accidents and diseases in your building.
  • Exposure to preventable lawsuits: With the increased risk of accidents, due to poorly-maintained plumbing systems, comes increased exposure to random lawsuits.
  • Costly property damage: This includes structural damage to your building, from water line and drainpipe leaks, as well as damage to office equipment and furniture.
  • Unnecessary compliance issues: The possibility of problems with the authorities, with risks of heavy fines, loss of operational license, and even business closure.

These problems can be avoided with periodic inspections of the plumbing system as part of your commercial building’s preventive plumbing maintenance plan. How does this work?

Scheduled plumbing inspections: why your commercial building needs them

A plumbing inspection is a detailed check of your building’s entire plumbing system. It involves a thorough evaluation of the physical condition and operational status of the pipes, connections, fixtures, and appliances to identify potential issues in the plumbing system.

These checks are typically done on a seasonal, biannual, annual, or biennial basis. The frequency of the inspection depends on the past problems in the plumbing, the age of the system, the volume of water used in your building, and the severity of seasonal temperature changes in your area.

During a typical plumbing inspection, the following checks are done:

  • Water supply lines are examined for signs of leaks, corrosion, and low/high water pressure. 
  • Drainage pipes and waste lines are checked for proper flows and blockages.
  • Sinks, toilets, and showers are checked for corrosion, blockages, leaks, and other issues.
  • Water-using appliances, including water heaters, dishwashers, and boilers, are checked for leaks, signs of wear, and performance issues.
  • Sewer line inspections are usually only included in yearly and biennial plumbing inspections.
  • Vent stacks in the plumbing systems are checked for proper function.

Why do you need scheduled plumbing inspections in your commercial building?

  1. Prevent costly plumbing emergencies

Scheduled inspections allow you to stay ahead of the issues in your commercial plumbing systems. By detecting faults early and preemptively solving them, it is possible to minimize the impact of plumbing problems on your building, business operations, and profits.

  1. Make a good impression with customers

The appearance and performance of your building’s plumbing system is an integral part of your brand. Negative perceptions of the building’s physical systems by customers will spill over into how these people interact with your business and products.

  1. Maximize every dollar spent on your plumbing

Scheduled plumbing inspections help to ensure maximum returns on every dollar you spend on plumbing maintenance. When you inspect your plumbing regularly, you not only optimize the operation of the system, but you also save money.

  1. Peace of mind for you and your staff

Efficient plumbing systems help eliminate the little annoyances that interfere with employee output. They relieve you of the fear of litigation from plumbing accidents or incidents in your building. By ensuring compliance with existing codes, they help you avoid problems with the authorities.

From a strictly business point of view, it makes absolute sense to inspect your commercial building’s plumbing systems on a schedule. Taking this step not only protects your business from unexpected plumbing problems, but it also helps ensure business profits.

However, these all depend on the quality of the commercial plumber you hire to inspect your plumbing.