Expert Guide to Spring Plumbing Maintenance

You may already know that your heating and cooling equipment needs annual HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) maintenance, but were you aware that you also require annual plumbing maintenance by an expert? Winnipeg Supply Service Experts offers the Plumbing PLUS™ Maintenance Agreement for Winnipeg homeowners to help them discover issues before they result in big problems. While you should definitely call immediately for plumbing problems and plan your plumbing maintenance yearly, here are three ways you can get your home in great plumbing shape for spring.

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, swapping out the fixtures or repairing the leak could help boost the faucet’s function and may even lower your water bill.

In addition to faucets, check all exposed pipes for evidence 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.

Inspect your toilet for any cracks or leaks in both the tank and the bowl. If it appears to be in good shape, go ahead and put about six drops of food color into the tank water. Wait half an hour and then peak at the bowl. If the bowl is not colored with the dye, you’re good to go. If the color appears in the bowl, you could have a leak and need to call a plumbing expert.

If a stench seems to be drifting up through any of the drains in your home, it could be an indication that plumbing maintenance is required. A properly running drain shouldn’t release a stench into the air. Check to make sure there are strains inserted in all your drains to stop hair and other remains from spoiling in the pipes and resulting in a clog. 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 stop odors from coming in and stinking up your home.

Your water heater takes good care of you so be sure you’re returning the love. Don’t forget that newer water heaters have more energy efficiency, so if yours is older than 15 years, it is probably about time to start looking into a new one to be sure you don’t have that unpredicted burst of cold water for a week. Whether or not you plan on purchasing an upgraded water heater, there are some things you can do to help keep it functioning properly.

Verify that the temperature is set no higher than 120°F. This will help lower your energy usage (and help decrease your bills) while also evading scalding. For safety sake, you will want to relocate any items from around the water heater. Your yearly Plumbing PLUS Maintenance plan 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 comfortable performing any of these tasks, you are welcome to call Winnipeg Supply Service Experts and we can come out and perform your seasonal plumbing maintenance and rectify (or help avoid) any plumbing problems.