Expert Guide to Spring Plumbing Maintenance

You may already know that your heating and AC 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 turn into big problems. While you should definitely call immediately for plumbing problems and plan your plumbing maintenance yearly, here are three ways for you to get your home in great plumbing shape for spring.

• • Inspect for leaks

Check 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 enhance the faucet’s performance and may even reduce your water bill.

Once you’ve checked the faucets, inspect any accessible pipes for evidence of leaks. You can usually see visible pipes in the basement and under 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 much needed care

Inspect your toilet for any leaks or cracks in the bowl and the tank. If it looks like it’s in good shape, go ahead and pour about six drops of food color into the tank. Wait for about 35 minutes and then look at the bowl. If the bowl is uncolored, you’re in the clear. If the dye appears in the bowl, you possibly have a leak and need to call a plumbing expert.

• •       Don’t neglect your water heater maintenance

If an unpleasant odor seems to be coming from any of the drains in your home, it could be a sign that plumbing maintenance is needed. A properly operating drain shouldn’t release odors into the air. Confirm there are strains placed in all your drains to prevent hair and other waste from spoiling in the pipes and clogging them up. Following treatment with a common drain cleaner, pour eight pints of water into drains that are not used frequently. This will fill the trap and help to prevent odors from seeping in and stinking up your home.

Your water heater takes excellent care of you so be sure you’re returning the love. Remember that newer water heaters have more energy efficiency, so if yours is older than 15 years, it could be time to purchase a new one in order to ensure you don’t have that unpredicted burst of cold water for multiple days. Despite whether or not you plan on purchasing an upgraded water heater, there are some things you can do to help keep it running properly.

Check the temperature setting on the water heater and make sure it’s not higher than 120°F. This will help lower your energy use (and help decrease your bills) while also avoiding scalding. As a safety precaution, you will want to remove any items from around the water heater. Your yearly Plumbing PLUS Maintenance plan includes a water heater maintenance; and it may actually help your water heater operate more efficiently and avoid plumbing problems moving forward.

These are just some ways of how you could help get your plumbing ready for the season, but if you are not comfortable completing any of these tasks, please call Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing and we can come out and perform your annual plumbing maintenance and rectify (or help prevent) any plumbing problems.