You may already understand that your heating and air conditioning equipment needs yearly HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) maintenance, but were you aware that you also should have an expert perform your annual plumbing maintenance? Stallion Heating Plumbing Air Conditioning offers the Plumbing PLUS™ Maintenance Agreement for Philadelphia homeowners to help them locate issues before they become big problems. While you should definitely call immediately for plumbing problems and arrange for your plumbing maintenance yearly, here are a couple ways for you to get your home in ideal plumbing shape for spring.
Look at all 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 enhance the faucet’s performance and may even lower your water bill.
After the faucets, inspect any exposed pipes for signs of leaks. You can usually 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.
- Give your drains some seriously overdue love
Examine your toilet for any cracks or leaks in both the bowl and tank. If everything appears to be in good shape, go ahead and pour about six drops of food coloring into the water in the tank. Wait for about 35 minutes and then look at the bowl. If the water in the bowl is not colored with the dye, you’re fine. If the food coloring appears in the bowl, you may have a leak and should call a plumbing expert.
- Don’t neglect your water heater maintenance
If an unpleasant odor seems to be drifting up through any of the drains in your home, it be a sign that plumbing maintenance is necessary. A properly working drain shouldn’t release odors into the air. Confirm there are strains inserted in all your drains to stop hair and other waste from spoiling in the pipes and causing them to clog. Following treatment with a common drain cleaner, pour eight pints of water into drains that are not used frequently. This will fill the trap and help to avoid odors from coming in and smelling up your home.
Your water heater takes good care of you so ensure you’re returning the kindness. Don’t forget that newer water heaters have a higher efficiency, so if yours is over 15 years old, it is probably about time to purchase a new one to help make sure you don’t have that unexpected burst of cold water for multiple days. Regardless if you plan on investing in a new 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 decrease your energy use (and help lower your bills) while also evading scalding. For the purpose of safety, you will want to move away any items from around the water heater. Your annual Plumbing PLUS Maintenance agreement includes a water heater maintenance; and it could actually help your water heater be more efficient 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 comfortable completing any of these tasks, you are welcome to call Stallion Heating Plumbing Air Conditioning and we can come out and conduct your annual plumbing maintenance and repair (or help avoid) any plumbing problems.