You may already know that your heating and air conditioning equipment needs annual HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) maintenance, but were you aware that you also need to call an expert for annual plumbing maintenance? Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning offers the Plumbing PLUS™ Maintenance Agreement for Miami homeowners to help them find issues before they turn into big problems. While you should always call for plumbing problems and arrange for your plumbing maintenance yearly, here are three ways for you to get your home in great plumbing shape for spring.
- Verify any plumbing leaks
Look at both 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.
In addition to faucets, inspect all accessible pipes for indications of leaks. You can often see visible pipes below sinks and down in the basement. 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 love
Check your toilet for any leaks or cracks 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 coloring into the tank. Wait for about 35 minutes and then peak at the bowl. If the bowl is not colored with the dye, you’re in the clear. If the color appears in the bowl, you may have a leak and will want to call a plumbing expert.
- Don’t forget your water heater maintenance
If something foul seems to be coming from any of the drains in your home, it could be a sign that plumbing maintenance is required. A properly operating drain shouldn’t release a stench into the air. Confirm there are strains inserted in all your drains to avoid hair and other waste from spoiling in the pipes and clogging them up. Following treatment 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 seeping in and filling up your home.
Your water heater takes good care of you so ensure you’re returning the kindness. Keep in mind that newer water heaters have a higher efficiency, so if yours is older than 15 years, it could be 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. Whether or not you plan on purchasing an upgraded water heater, there are a few things you can do to help keep it running properly.
Make sure the temperature setting on the equipment is not set higher than 120°F. This will help lower your energy usage (and help lower your bills) while also avoiding scalding. As a safety precaution, you will want to move away any items from around the water heater. Your 12 month Plumbing PLUS Maintenance plan includes a water heater maintenance; and it could even help your water heater operate more efficiently and avoid plumbing problems in the future.
These are just a few ways of how to help get your plumbing ready for the season, but if you are not comfortable performing any of these tasks, please call Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning and we can come out and perform your annual plumbing maintenance and fix (or help avoid) any plumbing problems.