Expert Guide to Spring Plumbing Maintenance

You may already understand that your heating and air conditioning equipment needs seasonal HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) maintenance, but were you aware that you also need to call an expert for 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 turn into big problems. While we recommend calling immediately for plumbing problems and schedule your plumbing maintenance annually, here are a couple ways you can get your home in ideal 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 boost the faucet’s function and may even lower your water bill.

Once you’ve checked the faucets, examine any exposed pipes for indications of leaks. You can typically access 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 seriously overdue attention

Check your toilet for any fractures or leaks in both the bowl and tank. If it appears to be in good shape, go ahead and add about six drops of food dye into the actual tank. Wait 30 minutes and then look at the bowl. If the bowl water is uncolored, you’re in the clear. If the color appears in the bowl, you might have a leak and will want to call a plumbing expert.

• •       Don’t neglect your water heater maintenance

If an unpleasant odor seems to be drifting up through any of the drains in your home, it might be an indication that plumbing maintenance is required. A properly working drain shouldn’t release a stench into the air. Check to make sure there are strains installed in all your drains to avoid hair and other remains from spoiling in the pipes and resulting in a clog. After you’ve treated with a common drain cleaner, pour four quarts of water through drains that are not used often. This will fill the trap and help to prevent odors from sneaking in and filling up your home.

Your water heater takes good care of you so make sure you’re returning the love. Keep in mind that newer water heaters have more energy efficiency, so if yours is older than 15 years, it may be about time to purchase a new one to be sure you don’t have that sudden burst of cold water for a week. Whether or not you plan on investing in a new water heater, there are some things you can do to help keep it operating properly.

Verify that the temperature is set no higher than 120°F. This will help decrease your energy usage (and help lower your bills) while also evading 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 springtime-ready, but if you are not comfortable performing any of these tasks, always feel free to call Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing and we can come out and complete your yearly plumbing maintenance and rectify (or help stop) any plumbing problems.