You may already be aware that your heating and cooling equipment needs yearly HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) maintenance, but were you aware that you also need to call an expert for annual plumbing maintenance? Eveready Service Experts offers the Plumbing PLUS™ Maintenance Agreement for Richmond homeowners to help them locate issues before they become big problems. While you should definitely call immediately for plumbing problems and schedule your plumbing maintenance every year, here are a few ways you can get your home in great plumbing shape for spring.
Inspect both your 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 boost the faucet’s function and may even lower your water bill.
After the faucets, inspect all accessible pipes for evidence of leaks. You can typically access visible pipes in basements and below sinks. Sometimes pipes can freeze and then crack so spring is the perfect time to make sure the winter weather didn’t cause any damage or plumbing problems.
- Give your drains some much needed TLC
Check your toilet for any leaks or cracks in the bowl and the tank. If your toilet appears to be in good shape, go ahead and add about six drops of food color into the actual tank. Wait 30 minutes and then check the bowl. If the water in the bowl is uncolored, you’re good to go. If the color 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 something foul seems to be coming from any of the drains in your home, it may be a sign that plumbing maintenance is required. A properly operating drain shouldn’t release a stench into the air. Check to make sure there are strains placed in all your drains to avoid hair and other waste from spoiling in the pipes and resulting in a clog. Following treatment with a common drain cleaner, pour four quarts of water into drains that are not used frequently. This will fill the trap and help to avoid odors from getting in and stinking up your home.
Your water heater takes great care of you so ensure you’re returning the love. Remember that newer water heaters have more energy efficiency, so if yours is older than 15 years, it may be about time to start looking into a new one in order to ensure you don’t have that unexpected burst of cold water for multiple days. Whether or not you plan on replacing your water heater, there are some things you can do to help keep it working properly.
Check the temperature setting on the water heater and make sure it’s not higher than 120°F. This will help reduce your energy consumption (and help lower your bills) while also evading scalding. As a safety precaution, you will want to move away any items from around the water heater. Your yearly Plumbing PLUS Maintenance agreement includes a water heater maintenance; and it could actually help your water heater be more efficient and avoid plumbing problems moving forward.
These are just a couple 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 Eveready Service Experts and we can come out and perform your yearly plumbing maintenance and repair (or help stop) any plumbing problems.