Backflow testing: a guide for pros

What customers ask, how to win the job, and what to put on your profile.

Offering backflow testing

Backflow testing is a certification job, and the customer is trusting your gauges and your report. Test every valve, record the readings, and file the report on time.

What customers ask

  • Why do I need a test every year?
  • What does the report show?
  • Will the test damage my sprinklers?
  • Why did my assembly fail?
  • Who files the report?

How to win the job

  • On the first call, ask the assembly type and location, whether it is above ground or buried, the last test date, and whether the system has been changed.
  • Bring calibrated test gauges, the test kit, the hoses, the bleed valves, the repair parts for the common valves, and the official test forms.
  • Confirm your certification and show it to the customer before you test, so the customer knows the test is valid.
  • Test each check valve and the relief valve, and read the gauges out loud or show them to the customer.
  • Quote the test, any repairs and the retest as separate lines, so the customer can see what each part of the job includes.
  • File the report where it is required, and give the customer a copy with the date and the next due date.

What to put on your profile

  • Photos of a tested assembly with the gauges connected and the test cocks visible
  • List your certifications and the assembly types you test
  • Note the filing service you provide, and the offices or providers you file with
  • Show a sample test report with the fields you fill in

Follow-up that helps the customer

  • Offer a reminder for the next test, based on the due date
  • Recommend a check of the assembly's location and landscaping, so the test cocks stay accessible
  • Suggest a repair visit when a valve has been weak for several tests

Licenses and permits

Backflow testing is commonly done by certified testers, and the plumber who repairs the assembly is commonly licensed. Confirm the certification and the licensing rules with your state or local licensing agency and your water provider before taking the work.

Questions

What do I say when the customer wants the test skipped to save time?

Explain that the test is what shows the assembly still works, and that a skipped test is a risk to the public supply. Do not sign a report for a test you did not run.

How do I handle an assembly that fails and cannot be repaired on the spot?

Show the failed valve and the readings. Shut the line as the rules require, quote the repair, and retest before the assembly is returned to service.

How do I handle a customer who cannot reach the assembly?

Note the access problem on the report, and explain what has to change before the test can be done.

About this guide

This national guide is written and checked by infinibell. Rules and conditions differ by place, so local pros are credited on guides for the cities they serve, not on national ones.

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