You may already understand that your heating and air conditioning equipment needs yearly 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 Ravenna homeowners to help them discover issues before they become big problems. While you should definitely call immediately for plumbing problems and plan your plumbing maintenance every year, here are three ways to get your home in ideal plumbing shape for spring.
Check 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, swapping out the fixtures or repairing the leak could help enhance the faucet’s performance and may even lower your water bill.
After the faucets, scan all accessible pipes for signs of leaks. You can typically access visible pipes below sinks and down in the basement. 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 care
Examine your toilet for any leaks or cracks in the bowl and the tank. If your toilet looks like it’s in good condition, go ahead and put about six drops of food coloring into the actual tank. Wait for about 35 minutes and then look at the bowl. If the bowl is clear, you’re fine. If the color appears in the bowl, you may have a leak and need 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 could be evidence that plumbing maintenance is needed. A properly operating drain shouldn’t release smells into the air. Check to make sure there are strains placed in all your drains to avoid hair and other remains from spoiling in the pipes and causing them to clog. Once you’ve treated them with a common drain cleaner, pour a gallon of water down drains that are not used regularly. This will fill the trap and help to prevent odors from coming in and smelling up your home.
Your water heater takes great care of you so be 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 is probably about time to purchase a new one to be sure you don’t have that unexpected burst of cold water for a week. Regardless if you plan on investing in a new water heater, there are a couple things you can do to help keep it operating properly.
Make sure the temperature setting on the equipment is not set higher than 120°F. This will help reduce your energy use (and help decrease your bills) while also evading scalding. As a safety precaution, you will want to relocate anything from around the water heater. Your yearly Plumbing PLUS Maintenance program includes a water heater maintenance; and it could actually help your water heater perform more efficiently and avoid plumbing problems in the future.
These are just a few ways of how to help get your plumbing ready for the season, but if you are not confident completing any of these tasks, always feel free to call Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning and we can come out and perform your seasonal plumbing maintenance and rectify (or help prevent) any plumbing problems.