Expert Guide to Spring Plumbing Maintenance

You may already know that your heating and air conditioning equipment needs annual HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) maintenance, but were you aware that you also should have an expert perform your annual plumbing maintenance? Stevenson Service Experts offers the Plumbing PLUS™ Maintenance Agreement for Columbus homeowners to help them find issues before they become big problems. While you should definitely call immediately for plumbing problems and plan your plumbing maintenance yearly, here are a couple ways to get your home in tip-top plumbing shape for spring.

    • Verify any plumbing leaks

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, installing new fixtures or repairing the leak could help enhance the faucet’s function and may even save you money on your water bill.

After the faucets, examine all exposed pipes for indications of leaks. You can typically access 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 much needed TLC

Check your toilet for any leaks or cracks in both the tank and the bowl. If everything appears to be in good condition, go ahead and put about six drops of food color into the tank water. Wait for about 35 minutes and then check the bowl. If the bowl water is not colored with the dye, you’re in the clear. If the color appears in the bowl, you may have a leak and will want to call a plumbing expert.

    •       Don’t forget your water heater maintenance

If an unpleasant odor seems to be coming from any of the drains in your home, it might be an indication that plumbing maintenance is required. A properly working drain shouldn’t release a stench into the air. Verify there are strains placed in all your drains to prevent hair and other remains from spoiling in the pipes and resulting in a clog. After you’ve treated 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 getting in and filling up your home.

Your water heater takes good care of you so be sure you’re returning the kindness. Remember that newer water heaters have more energy efficiency, so if yours is over 15 years old, it may be about time to purchase a new one to be sure you don’t have that unexpected burst of cold water for several days. Regardless if you plan on replacing your water heater, there are a couple things you can do to help keep it functioning properly.

Make sure the temperature setting on the equipment is not set higher than 120°F. This will help lower your energy consumption (and help lower your bills) while also preventing scalding. As a safety precaution, you will want to move away any items from around the water heater. Your yearly Plumbing PLUS Maintenance plan includes a water heater maintenance; and it could even help your water heater perform more efficiently and avoid plumbing problems moving forward.

These are just some ways of how you could help get your plumbing springtime-ready, but if you are not comfortable performing any of these tasks, you are welcome to call Stevenson Service Experts and we can come out and perform your seasonal plumbing maintenance and rectify (or help avoid) any plumbing problems.