New Mains Swabbing For Chlorination
Installing new mains pipes is generally dirty work. Generally you firstly dig a deep trench to lay the pipe in. This trench often fills with water and becomes rather muddy. You fight this mud to install the pipe back fill partly with sand and then cover the pipe with warning tape before filling the trench back up and re-instating the cover. It may be possible to mole the pipe into the ground by using specialist equipment to tunnel through the ground whilst dragging the pipe behind it.
All these processes and the general condition of most construction sites means that inevitably there will be debris, mud, dirt and possibly other things enter the pipe. Chlorination and flushing alone will NOT remove these things and this can leave you with issues in terms of failed samples and or issues with blocked valves etc in the future.
Imagine you install a main into a building and do a lovely job boxing in the pipe with the valve head showing, cupboards are then installed around this area. If a stone has been left in the pipe this will migrate up the pipe, block the valve and stop, or greatly reduce, the water flow into the building. An expensive rip out process begins to find and correct the problem.
It is imperative that ALL new mains pipes, irrespective of size, are swabbed to remove any debris and dirt that has entered the pipe prior to connection to ensure a trouble free connection.
Our technicians have removed the following items from new mains pipe work:
- Woodpeckers
- Rats
- Mice
- Blue Roll
- Wood Shavings
- Metal Fragments
- Paint
- Mud
- Stones & Gravel
- Other Swabs
- Pipe Swarf