Expert Guide to Spring Plumbing Maintenance

You may already know that your heating and cooling equipment needs annual HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) maintenance, but did you realize that you also require annual plumbing maintenance by an expert? Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing offers the Plumbing PLUS™ Maintenance Agreement for the U.S. homeowners to help them locate issues before they result in big problems. While you should always call for plumbing problems and schedule your plumbing maintenance every year, here are a couple ways for you to get your home in ideal plumbing shape for spring.

• • Verify any plumbing leaks

Inspect both your faucets and toilets for any leaks. When you turn off your faucets check around the connections for water dripping out; if there is, swapping out the fixtures or repairing the leak could help better the faucet’s operation and may even reduce your water bill.

After the faucets, scan any exposed pipes for evidence of leaks. You can often find visible pipes in basements and below sinks. Extreme weather can cause pipes to freeze and sometimes crack so spring is the ideal time to make sure the winter weather didn’t cause any damage that would result in plumbing problems.

• •       Give your drains some long overdue TLC

Examine your toilet for any leaks or cracks in the bowl and the tank. If your toilet appears to be in good shape, go ahead and put about six drops of food dye into the tank water. Wait half an hour and then look at the bowl. If the water in the bowl is uncolored, you’re in the clear. If the dye appears in the bowl, you possibly have a leak and should call a plumbing expert.

• •       Don’t forget your water heater maintenance

If an unpleasant odor seems to be coming from any of the drains in your home, it could be an indication that plumbing maintenance is necessary. A properly operating drain shouldn’t release odors into the air. Confirm there are strains inserted in all your drains to avoid hair and other waste from spoiling in the pipes and resulting in a clog. Once you’ve treated them with a common drain cleaner, pour a gallon of water down drains that are not used regularly. This will fill the trap and help to avoid odors from seeping in and stinking up your home.

Your water heater takes great care of you so ensure you’re returning the kindness. Remember that newer water heaters have a higher efficiency, so if yours is more than 15 years old, it may be about time to start looking into a new one to be sure you don’t have that sudden burst of cold water for multiple days. Whether or not you plan on purchasing an upgraded water heater, there are a few things you can do to help keep it functioning properly.

Make sure the temperature setting on the equipment is not set higher than 120°F. This will help decrease your energy usage (and help reduce your bills) while also avoiding scalding. For the purpose of safety, you will want to move away any objects from around the water heater. Your yearly Plumbing PLUS Maintenance program includes a water heater maintenance; and it may actually help your water heater run more efficiently and avoid plumbing problems moving forward.

These are just a few ways of how you can help get your plumbing ready for spring, but if you are not confident performing any of these tasks, please call Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing and we can come out and perform your yearly plumbing maintenance and rectify (or help prevent) any plumbing problems.