When a building owner or manager decides to construct, renovate, redesign, or expand a building, the construction that is involved in the process can have lasting effects on existing structures and the area around the site. As development comes to a close and the building begins to work as normal, owners may notice that the building’s flow rates are not behaving as they should—this is likely due to construction debris. How does construction debris end up in pipes, and what can be done to prevent it?
Organize Waste Management
The process of new construction or renovation creates a significant amount of waste, and even after construction is finished, the building will still produce its own measure of waste material. Waste comes in many forms, welding slag, rust, oils, grease, and other construction material. Having a plan to manage waste is important to ensure that pipes perform their intended tasks; and lasts its useful life. If waste or debris is simply ignored and allowed to stay in the system cleaned out, it can damage the pipes and equipment connected to. This will lead to less effective HVAC or industrial water systems in the future.
Scaling and pipe damage due to poor waste management can roughen the inside surface of a pipe, encouraging waste, corrosion, and other biological debris to become stuck and accumulate on the pipes inner surface. Some waste that is produced during and after construction may not be appropriate to discard in certain ways and doing so may place the waste into an area that is unable to handle it. If this happens, the waste will remain there and cause issues well into the future.
Develop Water Treatment and Cleaning Practices
The reality is that during construction, debris is likely to enter pipes simply because they are treated with oils and grease to prevent corrosion then temporarily exposed to outside sources (like the air, water, and animals) during renovation or development. One important way to mitigate or even remove the effects of this debris is by ensuring that proper water treatment and cleaning practices are observed.
A water treatment plan is beneficial to any commercial building, and developing a strategy to maintain clean water will automatically assist in removing construction debris from pipes. A reliable system of filters, chemical cleaners, and treatment systems can tackle debris no matter where it came from. Construction debris should be no problem in the presence of a well-rounded water treatment plan. Setting up good water cleanliness practices is easier with the help of an experienced professional who can guide you through the areas that your individual commercial building should focus on.
Minimize Corrosion
Corrosion occurs for several reasons, and even pipes that are previously passivated and have previously had no issues may be susceptible. Sometimes, materials react when placed in contact with each other and generate corrosion; if new construction has added new materials to the area, some pieces may begin to corrode due to old corrosion which existed in the older piping the new piping is attached to. This corrosion can compromise the inner (and outer) integrity of pipes, generating flakes of debris and suspended solids as a result of construction.
A reliable water treatment plan helps to avoid any issues due to corrosion debris. However, it is also important to consider which materials are being used during construction to minimize any negative reactions that could begin a “galvanic” (dissimilar metal) corrosive process.
Check for Instances of Positional Deviation
The positional deviation occurs when the infrastructure that is laid down during construction changes in position. For example, a pipe may shift during an earthquake or as the new building begins to settle. Changes like natural shifts in the earth, building settling, load changes, poor construction work, and even leaks can alter the position of infrastructure like pipes and cause issues that will lead to new construction debris.
If, for example, a pipe begins to leak or crack as a result of positional deviation, debris will enter the crack and inundate the pipe. For this reason, it is important to work with a reliable construction company that can reduce the chances of positional deviation as possible so that construction debris entering pipes as a result of poor workmanship and planning can be avoided.
Bring Tower Water’s Piping Experts to Your Site
Understanding your options for water treatment and ensuring the cleanliness and good function of your pipe system can be daunting when considering new construction in a commercial facility. Construction debris can enter pipes in many ways, and dealing with the problem depends on how the issue originated. If you need assistance planning your water system and ensuring that you have sufficient water treatment available to deal with construction debris in pipes, reach out to an experienced treatment company.
Tower Water can guide you through the process of planning and setting up a system to clean and treat your water so that debris is not an issue. Contact one of our experts and they will review your unique situation and building, as well as suggest steps to ensure that your system remains fully functional for years to come.