You may already know 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? Teays Valley Service Experts offers the Plumbing PLUS™ Maintenance Agreement for Hurricane homeowners to help them find issues before they become big problems. While you should definitely call immediately for plumbing problems and schedule your plumbing maintenance yearly, here are three ways you can get your home in tip-top plumbing shape for spring.
- Verify any plumbing leaks
Look at your home’s 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, installing new fixtures or repairing the leak could help better the faucet’s performance and may even lower your water bill.
In addition to faucets, inspect any exposed pipes for evidence 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 much needed attention
Inspect your toilet for any fractures or leaks in both the bowl and tank. If everything looks like it’s in good condition, go ahead and pour about six drops of food coloring into the tank. Wait half an hour and then look at the bowl. If the water in the bowl is not colored with the dye, you’re good to go. If the color appears in the bowl, you could have a leak and will want to call a plumbing expert.
- Don’t forget your water heater maintenance
If an unpleasant odor seems to be getting in from any of the drains in your home, it be a sign that plumbing maintenance is required. A properly operating drain shouldn’t release odors into the air. Confirm there are strains installed in all your drains to prevent hair and other debris from spoiling in the pipes and causing them to clog. After you’ve treated 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 avoid odors from getting in and smelling up your home.
Your water heater takes excellent care of you so make sure you’re returning the kindness. Don’t forget that newer water heaters are going to be more energy efficient, so if yours is over 15 years old, it could be 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 purchasing an upgraded water heater, there are a few things you can do to help keep it working properly.
Make sure the temperature setting on the equipment is not set higher than 120°F. This will help reduce your energy usage (and help decrease your bills) while also evading scalding. For safety sake, you will want to relocate any objects from around the water heater. Your yearly Plumbing PLUS Maintenance agreement includes a water heater maintenance; and it may even help your water heater operate more efficiently and avoid plumbing problems in the future.
These are just a few ways of how you could help get your plumbing ready for the season, but if you are not comfortable completing any of these tasks, always feel free to call Teays Valley Service Experts and we can come out and conduct your annual plumbing maintenance and rectify (or help prevent) any plumbing problems.