You may already know 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? Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning offers the Plumbing PLUS™ Maintenance Agreement for Memphis homeowners to help them discover issues before they become big problems. While you should definitely call immediately for plumbing problems and arrange for your plumbing maintenance annually, here are a few ways you can get your home in great plumbing shape for spring.
Look at your home’s 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, replacing the fixtures or repairing the leak could help boost the faucet’s operation and may even lower your water bill.
After the faucets, examine all exposed pipes for indications of leaks. You can usually see visible pipes below sinks and down in the basement. 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 long overdue attention
Check your toilet for any cracks or leaks in the bowl and the tank. If your toilet 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 peak at the bowl. If the bowl water is uncolored, you’re fine. If the color 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 be a sign that plumbing maintenance is required. A properly functioning drain shouldn’t release odors into the air. Confirm there are strains placed in all your drains to stop hair and other waste from spoiling in the pipes and resulting in a clog. Following treatment with a common drain cleaner, pour eight pints of water into drains that are not used frequently. This will fill the trap and help to prevent odors from seeping in and stinking up your home.
Your water heater takes excellent care of you so ensure you’re returning the favor. Keep in mind that newer water heaters are going to be more energy efficient, so if yours is older than 15 years, 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 a week. Whether or not you plan on replacing your water heater, there are some things you can do to help keep it functioning properly.
Check the temperature setting on the water heater and make sure it’s not higher than 120°F. This will help lower your energy usage (and help lower your bills) while also avoiding scalding. For the purpose of safety, you will want to remove any objects from around the water heater. Your 12 month Plumbing PLUS Maintenance agreement includes a water heater maintenance; and it may even help your water heater run more efficiently and avoid plumbing problems in the future.
These are just some ways of how you can help get your plumbing ready for spring, but if you are not comfortable completing any of these tasks, always feel free to call Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning and we can come out and complete your yearly plumbing maintenance and repair (or help avoid) any plumbing problems.