Expert Guide to Spring Plumbing Maintenance

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 & Plumbing offers the Plumbing PLUS™ Maintenance Agreement for Canada homeowners to help them find issues before they result in big problems. While we recommend calling immediately for plumbing problems and arrange for your plumbing maintenance yearly, here are three ways to get your home in tip-top plumbing shape for spring.

• • Check for plumbing leaks

Inspect your home’s faucets and toilets for any leaks. When you turn off your faucets check around the connections for water dripping out; if there is, replacing the fixtures or repairing the leak could help enhance the faucet’s operation and may even lower your water bill.

Once you’ve checked the faucets, inspect all accessible pipes for signs of leaks. You can usually see visible pipes below sinks and down in the basement. 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 long overdue love

Inspect your toilet for any cracks or leaks in both the bowl and tank. If your toilet looks like it’s in good condition, go ahead and put about six drops of food coloring into the tank. Wait 30 minutes and then peak at the bowl. If the bowl water is uncolored, you’re in the clear. If the dye appears in the bowl, you may have a leak and will want to call a plumbing expert.

• •       Remember your water heater maintenance

If a stench seems to be coming from any of the drains in your home, it might be a sign that plumbing maintenance is needed. A properly operating drain shouldn’t release smells into the air. Verify there are strains inserted in all your drains to avoid hair and other remains from spoiling in the pipes and causing them to clog. Once you’ve treated them with a common drain cleaner, pour a gallon of water down drains that are not used frequently. This will fill the trap and help to prevent odors from seeping 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 more than 15 years old, it could be time to start looking into a new one to help make sure you don’t have that unexpected burst of cold water for several days. Despite whether or not you plan on purchasing an upgraded water heater, there are a few 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 reduce your energy usage (and help decrease your bills) while also evading scalding. For the purpose of safety, you will want to remove anything 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 run more efficiently and avoid plumbing problems moving forward.

These are just some ways of how you could help get your plumbing ready for the season, but if you are not confident performing any of these tasks, you are welcome to call Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing and we can come out and complete your seasonal plumbing maintenance and fix (or help prevent) any plumbing problems.