Expert Guide to Spring Plumbing Maintenance

You may already know that your heating and cooling 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? Becht/Givens Service Experts offers the Plumbing PLUS™ Maintenance Agreement for Louisville homeowners to help them uncover issues before they become big problems. While you should always call for plumbing problems and arrange for your plumbing maintenance yearly, here are a few ways for you to get your home in tip-top plumbing shape for spring.

Check 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, swapping out the fixtures or repairing the leak could help improve the faucet’s performance and may even reduce your water bill.

In addition to faucets, check any accessible pipes for indications of leaks. You can often see visible pipes in basements and below sinks. 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 fractures or leaks in both the tank and the bowl. If your toilet appears to be in good condition, go ahead and put about six drops of food dye into the water in the tank. Wait half an hour and then look at the bowl. If the bowl water is not colored with the dye, you’re fine. If the dye appears in the bowl, you may have a leak and need to call a plumbing expert.

If a stench seems to be coming from any of the drains in your home, it might be evidence that plumbing maintenance is required. A properly functioning drain shouldn’t release odors into the air. Check to make sure there are strains installed in all your drains to avoid 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 avoid odors from seeping in and stinking up your home.

Your water heater takes good care of you so ensure you’re returning the kindness. Remember that newer water heaters have more energy efficiency, so if yours is older than 15 years, it may be about time to start looking into a new one to be sure you don’t have that sudden burst of cold water for several days. Whether or not you plan on investing in a new water heater, there are some 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 decrease your energy consumption (and help lower your bills) while also evading scalding. For safety sake, you will want to move away any items from around the water heater. Your 12 month Plumbing PLUS Maintenance program includes a water heater maintenance; and it could even help your water heater perform more efficiently and avoid plumbing problems in the future.

These are just some ways of how to help get your plumbing springtime-ready, but if you are not comfortable completing any of these tasks, you are welcome to call Becht/Givens Service Experts and we can come out and conduct your annual plumbing maintenance and repair (or help prevent) any plumbing problems.