What You May Not Know About Your Pipes

It's no secret that the Temecula area came up very quickly and very ambitiously in the early to mid 2000s as part of a housing boom that has since proven to be one of the largest bubbles in recent memory. While the reasons and specifics of the explosive growth are not the focus of the article, there are a few key items of interest worth mentioning today, particularly as it relates to the water damage and plumbing aspect of our business.


As with any bubble, there was a focus on quantity over quality and speed over dedication. A mere decade ago, Temecula was barely worth mentioning, a mere blip on the road trip between Los Angeles and San Diego. From 2000 - 2010, the city experienced over 50% in population growth, resulting in over 100,000 residents to this day. With the increase in families came the demand for homes, so many housing development companies swarmed into the area to fulfill that need. A large number of homes, dubbed "McMansions" due to their relatively cheap cost and mass production cycle, were built in those years, and since then a number of issues have cropped up due to how quickly they were built.

Since the trend at the time was to build houses as cheaply as possible to maximize profit, many companies cut a lot of corners in the construction process. One of the most potentially problematic issues is with the piping they used: a specific type of plastic piping known as cross-linked polyethylene or PEX. At the time, PEX plumbing had many advantages, with the primary one being that it was considerably cheaper than copper. Additionally, PEX piping does not require soldering and can be installed much more quickly than its copper counterpart, making it the ideal choice for homes being built around that time.

However, homeowners had a different story. While PEX has been around for decades, a lot of the undiscovered consequences of its usage were not thoroughly documented or well-known until it had been in the field for a while. With the housing boom in specific areas, it quickly became apparent that for some reason, rodents had a preference for chewing on PEX piping - and that because they were plastic, not copper, the damage would escalate rapidly and cause all types of leaks and water damage. To make a long story short: class action lawsuits were filed, and some owners received compensation and resolution while others didn't.

With the housing market now on the downturn, a lot of these homes are now sitting unclaimed across Temecula and Murrieta, their prices on the decline. If you already live here, you may have bought one of these homes years ago without being aware of these problems; if you don't, then there's a chance that some of these problems have yet to manifest themselves. Since this area was home to a lot of wildlife (and still is in the outskirts), rodents can be an issue for some of the properties away from the more civilized parts of town. Be sure to give your plumbing system a good once-over to ensure that it is safe from any potential rat infestations. As we all know, leaking pipes can be difficult to catch in time and cause some of the most severe damage if not addressed properly.

Temecula Valley Plumbers is a licensed, insured and bonded plumbing company servicing the Temecula and Murrieta area. If you have any more questions about plumbing or would like to speak with a licensed professional about a potential issue in your home, feel free to visit our website for more details.