You may already understand that your heating and cooling equipment needs seasonal HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) maintenance, but did you realize that you also require annual plumbing maintenance by an expert? Parker Pearce Service Experts offers the Plumbing PLUS™ Maintenance Agreement for Gaithersburg homeowners to help them find issues before they turn into big problems. While you should always call for plumbing problems and plan your plumbing maintenance annually, here are a few ways to get your home in ideal plumbing shape for spring.
- Verify any plumbing leaks
Check all 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 function and may even reduce your water bill.
Once you’ve checked the faucets, inspect any accessible pipes for signs of leaks. You can usually see visible pipes in basements and below 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 much needed care
Examine your toilet for any fractures or leaks in the bowl and the tank. If it seems to be in good shape, go ahead and put about six drops of food coloring into the tank water. Wait half an hour and then check the bowl. If the bowl is uncolored, you’re in the clear. If the dye appears in the bowl, you may have a leak and should call a plumbing expert.
- Don’t forget your water heater maintenance
If a stench seems to be drifting up through any of the drains in your home, it might be an indication that plumbing maintenance is necessary. A properly working drain shouldn’t release odors into the air. Verify there are strains inserted in all your drains to avoid hair and other debris from spoiling in the pipes and resulting in a clog. Once you’ve treated them with a common drain cleaner, pour eight pints of water down drains that are not used regularly. This will fill the trap and help to avoid odors from getting in and filling up your home.
Your water heater takes good care of you so be sure you’re returning the favor. Remember that newer water heaters have a higher efficiency, so if yours is more than 15 years old, it could be time to start looking into a new one to be sure you don’t have that unpredicted burst of cold water for multiple days. Despite whether or not you plan on replacing your water heater, there are some 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 use (and help lower your bills) while also preventing scalding. For safety sake, you will want to remove any objects from around the water heater. Your yearly Plumbing PLUS Maintenance agreement includes a water heater maintenance; and it could actually help your water heater operate more efficiently and avoid plumbing problems in the future.
These are just some ways of how you can help get your plumbing springtime-ready, but if you are not confident performing any of these tasks, always feel free to call Parker Pearce Service Experts and we can come out and perform your seasonal plumbing maintenance and repair (or help avoid) any plumbing problems.