You may already know that your heating and air conditioning equipment needs annual HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) maintenance, but did you know that you also need to call an expert for annual plumbing maintenance? Strand Brothers Service Experts offers the Plumbing PLUS™ Maintenance Agreement for Austin homeowners to help them uncover issues before they become big problems. While you should always call for plumbing problems and arrange for your plumbing maintenance annually, here are three ways to get your home in ideal plumbing shape for spring.
Inspect 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 enhance the faucet’s function and may even save you money on your water bill.
In addition to faucets, examine any exposed pipes for indications of leaks. You can typically access visible pipes in the basement and under sinks. In extreme weather pipes can freeze and crack, so springtime is great to make sure the winter weather didn’t damage anything that could cause plumbing problems.
- Give your drains some much needed care
Inspect your toilet for any cracks or leaks in both the tank and the bowl. If it seems to be in good condition, go ahead and put about six drops of food color into the tank water. Wait half an hour and then look at the bowl. If the bowl water is not colored with the dye, you’re in the clear. If the dye appears in the bowl, you possibly have a leak and will want to call a plumbing expert.
- Don’t forget your water heater maintenance
If something foul seems to be getting in from any of the drains in your home, it might be an indication that plumbing maintenance is required. A properly functioning 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 waste from spoiling in the pipes and clogging them up. After you’ve treated with a common drain cleaner, pour eight pints of water into drains that are not used regularly. This will fill the trap and help to stop odors from coming in and stinking up your home.
Your water heater takes great care of you so be sure you’re returning the kindness. Keep in mind that newer water heaters have a higher efficiency, so if yours is more than 15 years old, it may be about time to start looking into a new one in order to ensure 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 working properly.
Make sure the temperature setting on the equipment is not set higher than 120°F. This will help lower your energy use (and help reduce your bills) while also preventing scalding. For safety sake, you will want to move away any items from around the water heater. Your yearly Plumbing PLUS Maintenance agreement includes a water heater maintenance; and it may even help your water heater perform more efficiently and avoid plumbing problems in the future.
These are just some ways of how you can help get your plumbing springtime-ready, but if you are not confident completing any of these tasks, you are welcome to call Strand Brothers Service Experts and we can come out and perform your annual plumbing maintenance and rectify (or help stop) any plumbing problems.