Expert Guide to Spring Plumbing Maintenance

You may already understand that your heating and AC equipment needs annual HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) maintenance, but did you realize that you also require annual plumbing maintenance by an expert? Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning offers the Plumbing PLUS™ Maintenance Agreement for Canada homeowners to help them uncover issues before they become big problems. While we recommend calling immediately for plumbing problems and schedule your plumbing maintenance annually, here are a couple ways you can get your home in tip-top plumbing shape for spring.

Look at your home’s 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 reduce your water bill.

After the faucets, check any exposed pipes for indications of leaks. You can typically find 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.

Check your toilet for any fractures or leaks in both the tank and the bowl. If it seems to be in good working order, go ahead and pour about six drops of food color into the actual tank. Wait 30 minutes and then look at the bowl. If the bowl is clear, you’re fine. If the food coloring appears in the bowl, you possibly have a leak and will want to call a plumbing expert.

If an unpleasant odor seems to be coming from any of the drains in your home, it may be an indication that plumbing maintenance is needed. A properly functioning drain shouldn’t release a stench into the air. Check to make sure there are strains inserted in all your drains to prevent hair and other waste from spoiling in the pipes and clogging them up. Following treatment with a common drain cleaner, pour four quarts of water down drains that are not used frequently. This will fill the trap and help to stop odors from sneaking in and stinking up your home.

Your water heater takes great care of you so ensure you’re returning the kindness. Don’t forget 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 unpredicted 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 running properly.

Make sure the temperature setting on the equipment is not set higher than 120°F. This will help decrease your energy usage (and help reduce your bills) while also preventing scalding. For safety sake, you will want to move away anything from around the water heater. Your yearly Plumbing PLUS Maintenance agreement includes a water heater maintenance; and it may actually help your water heater run more efficiently and avoid plumbing problems moving forward.

These are just a few ways of how you can help get your plumbing springtime-ready, but if you are not confident performing any of these tasks, you are welcome to call Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning and we can come out and perform your yearly plumbing maintenance and rectify (or help stop) any plumbing problems.