Harbour on One Side, Ocean on the Other: Vaucluse’s Double Salt Problem
Table of Contents:
- Introduction
- Where the salt does its damage
- Why it usually shows up as a sudden emergency
- The bottom line
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The majority of Sydney’s waterfront suburbs are adjacent to one water body. Vaucluse faces two. The suburb is located on the South Head peninsula with Sydney Harbour to its west and the open Tasman Sea to its east. Vaucluse is so amazing, because it’s harbour on one side, and the ocean on the other. It also means that the suburb cops salt air from both ends and salt is one of the stealthiest and most destructive foes of domestic plumbing.
Air loaded with salt will cause corrosion of metal; pipes, fittings, tanks and connections will corrode faster in saline air. That’s a thing in a suburb with water on one side. Very few homes in Vaucluse are protected from the spray of the surf-driven Tasman, with the harbour to the west. On the eastern cliffs near Diamond Bay and the Macquarie Lighthouse, homes are exposed to the ocean’s harshest winds, while on the western side of the harbour, the homes experience the more serene but salty air of the harbour. In either case, the salt is affecting your plumbing.
Where the salt does its damage
Hot water systems
The casing, fittings and connections of a hot water unit corrode faster in salt air. But most important of all, the sacrificial anode rod in a storage tank which is meant to corrode before the tank does, can be consumed faster in coastal conditions. After it is used up, the tank starts rusting from the inside and you’re in trouble. In a doubly salted suburb such as Vaucluse, it’s actually worthwhile to check the anode every three to four years instead of the usual five.
Flexi hoses and concealed fittings
The flexi hoses, which are the braided stainless ones under sinks and vanities, can corrode over time at the point of the braid and salt hastens the process. Here, a hose may last a shorter period than inland. Vaucluse homes are at significant risk for flooding due to a burst flexi hose, as many homes in these neighbourhoods contain several flexi hoses in multiple bathrooms.
Outdoor and exposed metalwork
Vaucluse homes have a great deal of outdoor plumbing to deal with: pool equipment, irrigation systems, outdoor taps, garden plumbing, balcony and terrace pipes etc. It’s all in the salt air, and on the exposed eastern side, in salt spray. The closer exposed metal is to the water, and the more directly it faces it, the quicker it will corrode.
Hot Water Gone or a Corroded Fitting Let Go?
Sudden failures are due to salt-driven corrosion. We have a team on duty 24/7 in Vaucluse and the surrounding Eastern Suburbs. Talk to an Emergency Plumber on 1300 026 452.
Why it usually shows up as a sudden emergency
The sad thing about salt corrosion is that it’s not visible until it is. It operates from the inside of a tank or from the inside strands of a hose and there is usually no warning, until the fitting weeps, the hose bursts, or the tank that was fine yesterday is leaking on the floor today. Suburbs such as Vaucluse, which are doubly exposed to the coast and have a higher than average risk of it failing “out of nowhere”, receive a disproportionate number of such calls.
The positive side of it is that failures are constant and can be anticipated. When the hot water system appears to be rusty, with water collecting at the base, or is just over 10 years old in this salty environment, it is best to replace the system on a planned schedule rather than wait for the cold-shower emergency. A flexi hose isn’t really expensive, change it out on a regular basis, not when it floods a bathroom. If a corroded fitting or tank does start to leak, as with water emergencies, shut off the water at the main and call a licensed plumber to come out. Our emergency plumber in Vaucluse and surrounding Rose Bay has seen the corrosion of fittings on the peninsula happen all the time and carries the parts to deal with them.
The bottom line
A double aspect to Vaucluse, harbour and ocean, is a significant part of its beauty, but salt is at work on your plumbing from both sides. The action items: inspect the hot water anode more frequently than you would in the interior; replace flexi hoses on a regular basis; monitor outdoor and pool metalwork; and view any hot water system over 10 years old as living on borrowed time. Better to pay a little attention to these things proactively, than to be caught out by the failure, and the failure here comes with little warning, since it’s an exposed peninsula.
