You may already be aware that your heating and AC equipment needs annual HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) maintenance, but did you know that you also should have an expert perform your annual plumbing maintenance? Fras-Air/General Service Experts offers the Plumbing PLUS™ Maintenance Agreement for Hillsborough homeowners to help them locate issues before they become big problems. While you should always call for plumbing problems and arrange for your plumbing maintenance every year, here are a couple ways for you to get your home in ideal plumbing shape for spring.
Inspect both 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, installing new fixtures or repairing the leak could help improve the faucet’s function and may even lower your water bill.
Once you’ve checked the faucets, scan all accessible pipes for evidence of leaks. You can usually find visible pipes in the basement and under sinks. Sometimes pipes can freeze and then crack so spring is the perfect time to make sure the winter weather didn’t cause any damage or plumbing problems.
- Give your drains some long overdue attention
Check your toilet for any cracks or leaks in the bowl and the tank. If your toilet looks like it’s in good condition, go ahead and pour about six drops of food color into the actual tank. Wait for about 35 minutes and then peak at the bowl. If the bowl water is clear, you’re good to go. If the food coloring appears in the bowl, you possibly have a leak and will want to call a plumbing expert.
- Remember your water heater maintenance
If a stench seems to be drifting up through any of the drains in your home, it may be a sign that plumbing maintenance is required. A properly functioning drain shouldn’t release a stench into the air. Check to make sure there are strains installed in all your drains to prevent hair and other remains from spoiling in the pipes and clogging them up. Once you’ve treated them with a common drain cleaner, pour a gallon of water down drains that are not used often. This will fill the trap and help to prevent odors from coming in and smelling up your home.
Your water heater takes excellent care of you so make sure you’re returning the kindness. Remember that newer water heaters have a higher efficiency, so if yours is older than 15 years, it may be about time to start looking into a new one to help make sure you don’t have that unpredicted burst of cold water for a week. Despite 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 reduce your energy usage (and help decrease your bills) while also avoiding scalding. For safety sake, you will want to relocate anything from around the water heater. Your 12 month Plumbing PLUS Maintenance plan includes a water heater maintenance; and it may even help your water heater operate more efficiently and avoid plumbing problems from happening.
These are just some ways of how you can help get your plumbing ready for spring, but if you are not comfortable performing any of these tasks, please call Fras-Air/General Service Experts and we can come out and conduct your annual plumbing maintenance and rectify (or help stop) any plumbing problems.