Expert Guide to Spring Plumbing Maintenance

You may already be aware that your heating and cooling equipment needs yearly HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) maintenance, but did you realize that you also should have an expert perform your annual plumbing maintenance? Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing offers the Plumbing PLUS™ Maintenance Agreement for the U.S. homeowners to help them find issues before they become big problems. While we recommend calling immediately for plumbing problems and plan your plumbing maintenance every year, here are three ways for you to get your home in ideal plumbing shape for spring.

• • Check for plumbing leaks

Look at all your faucets and toilets for any leaks. Confirm there is no water dripping out of or around the connections when you shut off your faucets. 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 accessible pipes for indications of leaks. You can often see visible pipes in basements and below sinks. In extreme weather pipes can freeze and crack, so springtime is great to make sure the winter weather didn’t damage anything that could cause plumbing problems.

• •       Give your drains some long overdue care

Examine your toilet for any leaks or cracks in both the tank and the bowl. If your toilet appears to be in good condition, go ahead and add about six drops of food color into the tank. Wait half an hour and then look at the bowl. If the bowl is clear, you’re in the clear. If the food coloring appears in the bowl, you may have a leak and need to call a plumbing expert.

• •       Don’t neglect your water heater maintenance

If something foul seems to be drifting up through any of the drains in your home, it may be evidence that plumbing maintenance is required. A properly operating drain shouldn’t release a stench into the air. Confirm there are strains placed in all your drains to stop hair and other remains from spoiling in the pipes and clogging them up. Once you’ve treated them with a common drain cleaner, pour four quarts of water into drains that are not used often. This will fill the trap and help to avoid odors from sneaking in and smelling up your home.

Your water heater takes great care of you so make sure you’re returning the favor. Don’t forget that newer water heaters are going to be more energy efficient, so if yours is over 15 years old, it is probably about time to invest in a new one to help make sure you don’t have that unpredicted burst of cold water for a week. Regardless if you plan on replacing your water heater, there are some things you can do to help keep it functioning properly.

Check the temperature setting on the water heater and make sure it’s not higher than 120°F. This will help reduce your energy consumption (and help decrease your bills) while also preventing scalding. For safety sake, you will want to move away any items from around the water heater. Your 12 month Plumbing PLUS Maintenance program includes a water heater maintenance; and it may even help your water heater run more efficiently and avoid plumbing problems in the future.

These are just some ways of how you could help get your plumbing ready for the season, but if you are not confident completing any of these tasks, always feel free to call Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing and we can come out and perform your yearly plumbing maintenance and fix (or help stop) any plumbing problems.