Expert Guide to Spring Plumbing Maintenance

You may already know that your heating and air conditioning equipment needs yearly HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) maintenance, but did you know that you also need to call an expert for annual plumbing maintenance? Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning offers the Plumbing PLUS™ Maintenance Agreement for Gainesville homeowners to help them find issues before they turn into big problems. While you should definitely call immediately for plumbing problems and plan your plumbing maintenance annually, here are a few ways for you to get your home in ideal 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, replacing the fixtures or repairing the leak could help boost the faucet’s operation and may even lower your water bill.

Once you’ve checked the faucets, inspect all exposed pipes for signs of leaks. You can typically see visible pipes in basements and below sinks. Extreme weather can cause pipes to freeze and sometimes crack so spring is the ideal time to make sure the winter weather didn’t cause any damage that would result in plumbing problems.

Check your toilet for any leaks or cracks in both the tank and the bowl. If everything appears to be in good working order, go ahead and pour about six drops of food dye into the tank water. Wait half an hour and then look at the bowl. If the water in the bowl is uncolored, you’re good to go. If the dye appears in the bowl, you may have a leak and should call a plumbing expert.

If a stench seems to be getting in from any of the drains in your home, it might be an indication that plumbing maintenance is needed. A properly running 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 clogging them up. Following treatment with a common drain cleaner, pour four quarts of water through drains that are not used often. This will fill the trap and help to stop odors from coming in and stinking up your home.

Your water heater takes good care of you so ensure you’re returning the love. Keep in mind that newer water heaters have more energy efficiency, so if yours is over 15 years old, it is probably about time to start looking into a new one to be sure you don’t have that unpredicted burst of cold water for multiple days. Regardless if you plan on purchasing an upgraded water heater, there are a few things you can do to help keep it running 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 decrease your bills) while also preventing scalding. For the purpose of safety, you will want to move away any objects from around the water heater. Your annual Plumbing PLUS Maintenance agreement includes a water heater maintenance; and it could even help your water heater run more efficiently and avoid plumbing problems moving forward.

These are just a couple ways of how you can 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 complete your seasonal plumbing maintenance and rectify (or help stop) any plumbing problems.