You may already understand that your heating and cooling equipment needs seasonal HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) maintenance, but did you know that you also should have an expert perform your annual plumbing maintenance? Pardee Service Experts offers the Plumbing PLUS™ Maintenance Agreement for Charleston homeowners to help them locate issues before they turn into big problems. While you should always call for plumbing problems and plan your plumbing maintenance annually, here are three ways to get your home in great plumbing shape for spring.
Check all your faucets and toilets for any leaks. Make sure there isn’t any water dripping out of or around the connections when you turn off your faucets. If there is, swapping out the fixtures or repairing the leak could help boost the faucet’s function and may even save you money on your water bill.
After the faucets, scan any accessible pipes for signs of leaks. You can usually access visible pipes below sinks and down in the basement. 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 care
Check your toilet for any cracks or leaks in the bowl and the tank. If it appears to be in good condition, go ahead and put about six drops of food dye into the actual tank. Wait half an hour and then peak at the bowl. If the bowl water is clear, you’re good to go. If the dye 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 be evidence that plumbing maintenance is required. A properly running drain shouldn’t release odors into the air. Check to make sure there are strains installed in all your drains to prevent hair and other debris from spoiling in the pipes and clogging them up. Once you’ve treated them with a common drain cleaner, pour a gallon of water into drains that are not used frequently. This will fill the trap and help to prevent odors from getting in and smelling up your home.
Your water heater takes great care of you so ensure you’re returning the favor. Remember that newer water heaters have a higher efficiency, so if yours is older than 15 years, it could be time to purchase a new one to be sure you don’t have that unpredicted burst of cold water for multiple days. Whether or not you plan on replacing your water heater, there are some things you can do to help keep it functioning properly.
Verify that the temperature is set no higher than 120°F. This will help lower your energy usage (and help reduce your bills) while also preventing scalding. As a safety precaution, you will want to move away 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 from happening.
These are just some ways of how you could help get your plumbing springtime-ready, but if you are not comfortable completing any of these tasks, always feel free to call Pardee Service Experts and we can come out and conduct your yearly plumbing maintenance and repair (or help avoid) any plumbing problems.