How Long Does Your Home’s Plumbing Last?

Knowing the right time to replace plumbing fixtures and pipes throughout your home can help a homeowner plan for future expenses and limit potentially harmful plumbing leaks or breakages. For example, predicting when a water heater might fail is much more complicated than knowing the unit’s life expectancy and planning accordingly upon installation. Keeping a running estimate of how long most fixtures, piping, and appliances last can keep unwanted expenses from occurring and keep a homeowner on top of essential repairs. Here are the primary life expectancies of your most common home plumbing products:

Supply pipes

Supply pipes are the plumbing pipes that supply water to and from your home. Most commonly found underground and within the walls of a property, copper pipes can last between 70 and 80 years. Copper pipes corrode over time, but newer built homes should have decades before needing replacement. Brass pipes last even longer than copper piping reaching up to 100 years. However, brass pipes are often tied to small traces of lead, leading to lead poisoning and other illnesses, so they are rarely used today. Galvanized steel pipes also boast a lifespan of between 80 and 100 years, yet they see rust quicker than other metals used in home plumbing and have been replaced with copper piping in most newer constructions. 

While these options are still used, significant disadvantages lead most master plumbers to stick to the alternatives. Other supply pipes are cast iron, polybutylene, and PVC, which have lifespans of 80 years, 70 years, and 10 to 15 years, respectively.

Water heaters

There are three commonly used kinds of water heaters: tankless, traditional, and heat pump. Everyday use and regular maintenance alter how long a water heater lasts, even if the water pressure is too high. Wear and tear cause most water heaters to hit their life expectancy, but you can still expect at least ten years. 

Most people opt for tankless water heaters because they take up less room, center around water and energy efficiency, and last upwards of 20 years. This option is opposite to the conventional water heater that keeps pumping for about 12 to 15 years.

Faucets

The leading cause of faucet death is mineral buildup from hard water. Water pressure can also lead to issues with the spout or faucet components if it is too high. Again, you’ll probably notice other problems with your home plumbing before the faucet will break (as in the case of too high water pressure), such as leaks or drainage problems. While it depends on the manufacturer, you should be able to use the same faucet in your kitchen or bathroom for well over a decade.

Toilets

A non-working toilet is more than a minor convenience. Fortunately, most toilets last for 50 years or more. That said, the toilet’s internal components can break, tear, disconnect, or clog, which leads to repairs and sometimes early retirement for that particular john. Also, most older toilets (think before 1995) use more water and don’t have the same design function today that saves water and energy. Therefore, replacing it sooner than later will save you money in the long run. 

Protect the longevity of your home’s plumbing

Damage from failed plumbing reaches directly into the pockets of homeowners. Purchasing energy-efficient and water-saving appliances with good manufacturer’s warranties can help alleviate unexpected dilemmas. Lastly, keeping a regular maintenance plan for plumbing fixtures, water heaters, and pipes allows them to live out their life expectancy to the fullest.

No Worries Rooter of Gilbert offers residential and commercial drain cleaning, leak detection and repair. We recommend Bio-Green drain care for customers who have slow drains caused by buildup in their pipes. Call us at (480) 405-4497.