You may already understand that your heating and air conditioning equipment needs annual HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) maintenance, but were you aware that you also should have an expert perform your annual plumbing maintenance? Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning offers the Plumbing PLUS™ Maintenance Agreement for North America homeowners to help them find issues before they turn into big problems. While you should definitely call immediately for plumbing problems and schedule your plumbing maintenance yearly, here are a couple ways to get your home in tip-top plumbing shape for spring.
Check 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, replacing the fixtures or repairing the leak could help better the faucet’s performance and may even save you money on your water bill.
After the faucets, scan any accessible pipes for evidence of leaks. You can often see 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 seriously overdue love
Examine your toilet for any fractures or leaks in the bowl and the tank. If your toilet looks like it’s in good condition, go ahead and add about six drops of food coloring into the actual tank. Wait 30 minutes and then look at the bowl. If the bowl is uncolored, you’re in the clear. If the food coloring appears in the bowl, you could have a leak and need to call a plumbing expert.
- Don’t neglect your water heater maintenance
If a stench seems to be coming from any of the drains in your home, it may be a sign that plumbing maintenance is necessary. A properly running drain shouldn’t release odors into the air. Check to make sure there are strains installed in all your drains to avoid hair and other debris from spoiling in the pipes and resulting in a clog. Once you’ve treated them with a common drain cleaner, pour eight pints of water down drains that are not used frequently. This will fill the trap and help to stop odors from sneaking in and smelling up your home.
Your water heater takes excellent care of you so make sure you’re returning the favor. Don’t forget that newer water heaters have more energy efficiency, so if yours is over 15 years old, it may be about time to start looking into a new one to be sure you don’t have that unexpected burst of cold water for multiple days. Whether or not you plan on investing in a new water heater, there are a couple things you can do to help keep it functioning properly.
Verify that the temperature is set no higher than 120°F. This will help decrease your energy consumption (and help lower your bills) while also preventing scalding. For safety sake, you will want to relocate any items from around the water heater. Your annual Plumbing PLUS Maintenance agreement includes a water heater maintenance; and it may even help your water heater be more efficient and avoid plumbing problems moving forward.
These are just a few ways of how to help get your plumbing springtime-ready, but if you are not confident completing any of these tasks, please call Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning and we can come out and complete your yearly plumbing maintenance and rectify (or help stop) any plumbing problems.