Sometimes when walking around a house something stops me in my tracks because it just doesn't look or feel right. Call it instinct, intuition or an inspector's sixth sense, it really makes no difference. It's a little voice that tells me to pause and look a little longer.

This hose spigot spoke to me the other day as I was walking around the outside of this house. It may just look silly to most people being upside down and all.  Causing someone to think the installer got started on his after work imbibing a little early. But there is more to this than meets the eye.

The drinking water that comes into our houses is all interconnected through a large network of pipes. You use the same water from the same pipes as all your neighbors. Why is this important?

In a word; Contamination.

The potable water in your pipes could become contaminated through your neighbor's pipes.

Seem hard to believe? Contamination through backflow has happened and continues to happen frequently. If a drop in pressure occurs in the water pipes, for example due to a power outage or repair work being done, a back flow can occur.

Getting back to that hose spigot, if there were a drop in water pressure the hose water could be siphoned back into the house pipes causing contamination. There have been cases where this type of back siphoning has contaminated several homes on a street.

The installation of a hose bibb vacuum breaker, second photo, will safe guard against cross contamination.

Backflow prevention is not limited to the outside hose spigot. This very brief tutorial from Watts explains about all areas in your home that can be a possible source of cross contamination.

So installing that spigot the wrong way is actually more of a problem than it first appears.

James Quarello
NRSB #8SS0022
JRV Home Inspection Services, LLC

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