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 require annual plumbing maintenance by an expert? A1 Chesney Service Experts offers the Plumbing PLUS™ Maintenance Agreement for Calgary homeowners to help them find issues before they turn into big problems. While we recommend calling immediately for plumbing problems and schedule your plumbing maintenance yearly, here are three ways for you to get your home in great plumbing shape for spring.
Look at your home’s 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 function and may even save you money on your water bill.
After the faucets, examine all exposed pipes for evidence of leaks. You can typically see visible pipes in basements and below sinks. In extreme weather pipes can freeze and crack, so springtime is great to make sure the winter weather didn’t damage anything that could cause plumbing problems.
- Give your drains some long overdue care
Check your toilet for any cracks or leaks in both the tank and the bowl. If everything looks like it’s in good shape, go ahead and put about six drops of food coloring into the tank water. Wait half an hour and then check 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 possibly have a leak and need to call a plumbing expert.
- Remember your water heater maintenance
If something foul seems to be coming from any of the drains in your home, it may be a sign that plumbing maintenance is required. A properly operating drain shouldn’t release a stench into the air. Confirm there are strains placed 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 four quarts of water into drains that are not used regularly. This will fill the trap and help to prevent odors from seeping in and filling up your home.
Your water heater takes excellent care of you so ensure you’re returning the love. Keep in mind that newer water heaters are going to be more energy efficient, so if yours is more than 15 years old, it is probably about time to invest in a new one to be sure you don’t have that sudden 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 reduce your energy usage (and help lower your bills) while also avoiding scalding. For the purpose of safety, you will want to move away anything from around the water heater. Your 12 month Plumbing PLUS Maintenance program includes a water heater maintenance; and it may actually help your water heater perform more efficiently and avoid plumbing problems from happening.
These are just a few ways of how you could help get your plumbing ready for spring, but if you are not comfortable performing any of these tasks, you are welcome to call A1 Chesney Service Experts and we can come out and complete your yearly plumbing maintenance and fix (or help prevent) any plumbing problems.