You may already be aware that your heating and AC equipment needs seasonal HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) maintenance, but did you realize that you also should have an expert perform your annual plumbing maintenance? Levy & Son Service Experts offers the Plumbing PLUS™ Maintenance Agreement for Dallas homeowners to help them uncover issues before they become big problems. While you should definitely call immediately for plumbing problems and arrange for your plumbing maintenance annually, 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. 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 better the faucet’s performance and may even save you money on your water bill.
After the faucets, check all accessible pipes for signs of leaks. You can usually find 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 long overdue care
Inspect your toilet for any fractures or leaks in both the bowl and tank. If everything looks like it’s in good working order, go ahead and pour about six drops of food color into the water in the tank. Wait 30 minutes and then peak at the bowl. If the bowl is clear, you’re in the clear. If the food coloring appears in the bowl, you possibly have a leak and will want to call a plumbing expert.
- Don’t neglect your water heater maintenance
If a stench seems to be getting in from any of the drains in your home, it be an indication that plumbing maintenance is needed. A properly operating drain shouldn’t release smells into the air. Confirm there are strains installed in all your drains to stop hair and other debris from spoiling in the pipes and clogging them up. Once you’ve treated them with a common drain cleaner, pour four quarts of water through drains that are not used frequently. This will fill the trap and help to avoid odors from sneaking in and smelling up your home.
Your water heater takes great care of you so be sure you’re returning the love. Keep in mind that newer water heaters have more energy efficiency, so if yours is older than 15 years, it is probably about time to start looking into a new one in order to ensure you don’t have that sudden burst of cold water for a week. Regardless if you plan on purchasing an upgraded water heater, there are a few 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 lower your energy consumption (and help reduce your bills) while also evading scalding. For the purpose of safety, you will want to relocate any items from around the water heater. Your annual Plumbing PLUS Maintenance agreement includes a water heater maintenance; and it may 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 ready for the season, but if you are not comfortable performing any of these tasks, you are welcome to call Levy & Son Service Experts and we can come out and complete your yearly plumbing maintenance and repair (or help avoid) any plumbing problems.