You may already know that your heating and cooling equipment needs yearly HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) maintenance, but did you realize that you also require annual plumbing maintenance by an expert? Knochelmann Service Experts offers the Plumbing PLUS™ Maintenance Agreement for Sharonville homeowners to help them discover issues before they turn into big problems. While you should definitely call immediately for plumbing problems and arrange for your plumbing maintenance every year, here are a few ways you can get your home in ideal plumbing shape for spring.
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 improve the faucet’s operation and may even reduce your water bill.
In addition to faucets, check all exposed pipes for signs of leaks. You can usually find 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 long overdue love
Inspect your toilet for any cracks or leaks in both the bowl and tank. If it appears to be in good shape, go ahead and add 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 uncolored, you’re good to go. If the color appears in the bowl, you could have a leak and need to call a plumbing expert.
- Don’t forget your water heater maintenance
If a stench seems to be getting in from any of the drains in your home, it might be a sign that plumbing maintenance is needed. A properly running drain shouldn’t release smells into the air. Verify there are strains placed in all your drains to prevent hair and other remains from spoiling in the pipes and causing them to clog. Following treatment with a common drain cleaner, pour a gallon of water through drains that are not used regularly. This will fill the trap and help to avoid odors from seeping in and stinking up your home.
Your water heater takes great care of you so ensure you’re returning the kindness. Keep in mind that newer water heaters have more energy efficiency, so if yours is more than 15 years old, it could be time to invest in a new one in order to ensure you don’t have that unpredicted burst of cold water for multiple days. Regardless if you plan on replacing your water heater, there are a few 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 decrease your energy consumption (and help lower your bills) while also avoiding scalding. As a safety precaution, you will want to move away anything from around the water heater. Your 12 month Plumbing PLUS Maintenance agreement includes a water heater maintenance; and it may even help your water heater perform more efficiently 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 Knochelmann Service Experts and we can come out and perform your annual plumbing maintenance and fix (or help avoid) any plumbing problems.