You may already be aware that your heating and air conditioning 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? Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning offers the Plumbing PLUS™ Maintenance Agreement for Edmonton homeowners to help them discover issues before they become big problems. While we recommend calling immediately for plumbing problems and plan your plumbing maintenance every year, here are a few ways to get your home in great plumbing shape for spring.
- Verify any plumbing leaks
Check your home’s 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, replacing the fixtures or repairing the leak could help boost the faucet’s performance and may even save you money on your water bill.
After the faucets, examine any exposed pipes for evidence of leaks. You can usually 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 long overdue care
Inspect your toilet for any cracks or leaks in both the tank and the bowl. If your toilet seems to be in good working order, go ahead and add about six drops of food color into the tank. Wait half an hour and then peak at the bowl. If the water in the bowl is clear, you’re fine. If the food coloring appears in the bowl, you could have a leak and need to call a plumbing expert.
- Don’t neglect your water heater maintenance
If something foul seems to be getting in from any of the drains in your home, it might be a sign that plumbing maintenance is required. A properly functioning drain shouldn’t release odors 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 into drains that are not used frequently. This will fill the trap and help to prevent odors from getting in and stinking up your home.
Your water heater takes good care of you so make sure you’re returning the love. Don’t forget that newer water heaters have more energy efficiency, so if yours is more than 15 years old, it is probably about time to start looking into a new one to help make sure you don’t have that unpredicted burst of cold water for multiple days. Whether or not you plan on investing in a new water heater, there are some things you can do to help keep it working 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 the purpose of safety, you will want to remove any items from around the water heater. Your 12 month Plumbing PLUS Maintenance program includes a water heater maintenance; and it may even help your water heater perform more efficiently and avoid plumbing problems from happening.
These are just a couple ways of how to help get your plumbing ready for spring, but if you are not comfortable completing any of these tasks, please call Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning and we can come out and complete your annual plumbing maintenance and fix (or help avoid) any plumbing problems.