You may already know that your heating and cooling equipment needs yearly HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) maintenance, but did you realize that you also should have an expert perform your annual plumbing maintenance? Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning offers the Plumbing PLUS™ Maintenance Agreement for West Palm Beach homeowners to help them locate issues before they turn into big problems. While you should always call for plumbing problems and arrange for your plumbing maintenance every year, here are three ways for you to get your home in great plumbing shape for spring.
Check 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 boost the faucet’s performance and may even reduce your water bill.
In addition to faucets, inspect all accessible pipes for signs of leaks. You can often see 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 long overdue TLC
Examine your toilet for any cracks or leaks in both the bowl and tank. If everything appears to be in good working order, go ahead and add about six drops of food coloring into the actual tank. Wait 30 minutes and then check the bowl. If the water in the bowl is uncolored, you’re in the clear. If the food coloring appears in the bowl, you might have a leak and will want to call a plumbing expert.
- Remember your water heater maintenance
If an unpleasant odor seems to be coming from any of the drains in your home, it may be a sign that plumbing maintenance is needed. 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 avoid hair and other debris from spoiling in the pipes and resulting in a clog. Following treatment with a common drain cleaner, pour a gallon of water into drains that are not used regularly. This will fill the trap and help to prevent odors from seeping in and smelling up your home.
Your water heater takes great care of you so make sure you’re returning the favor. Don’t forget that newer water heaters are going to be more energy efficient, so if yours is over 15 years old, it may be about time to invest in a new one to be sure 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 functioning properly.
Verify that the temperature is set no higher than 120°F. This will help decrease your energy consumption (and help reduce your bills) while also evading 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 actually help your water heater perform more efficiently and avoid plumbing problems moving forward.
These are just a couple ways of how to help get your plumbing ready for the season, but if you are not confident completing any of these tasks, please call Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning and we can come out and complete your annual plumbing maintenance and fix (or help prevent) any plumbing problems.