As springtime heralds the impending arrival of much warmer weather, it’s always a good idea to make sure that your plumbing system is prepared for the changes in temperature. Here are four suggestions which could help you make sure that your plumbing system won’t let you down, just so long as you treat them as an annual checklist and not a one-off thing.
Do a Water Audit
The first good idea is to obtain an accurate record of just how much water you use as a household, and exactly how much money that costs you. There is a database available to the public, courtesy of The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which logs all the costs associated with water heating facilities and any upgrades you may want to make if your system is functioning inefficiently.
There’s a good chance that an entire replacement might be cheaper than an upgrade if your system is reaching 20 years in age, but until you have a full and detailed breakdown of your usage and costs, you can’t make an informed decision.
Check for Leaks
It might sound simple, but there’s beauty in simplicity sometimes. This is easy maintenance that could save you a lot of money in the long run. Every spring you should check all your faucets and toilets for any leakages.
This is good practice at every change in season, but the change from wintertime to springtime is a pretty monumental shift, and so if you only do it once, do it now. Spotting and addressing a leak early is the easiest and cheapest way to resolve a potential problem.
Check for Other Leaks
All of the faucets and toilets in your home should be pretty easy to check. However, there are plenty of other places where you may have sprung a leak, so be sure to check those too. You need to check all of the pipes that you can see in your home, including down in the basement.
Out of sight may well be out of mind, but it doesn’t rule the pipe out of being a problem. Underneath sinks and inside gutters are good places to check as well. Remember, winter may be gone but she may have left some damage behind. She’s like that.
Get a Tune Up
Just like you’d treat your car’s engine system to a tune-up, springtime is the perfect time to look after your plumbing system. The plummeting temperatures of the last few months will likely have resulted in some damage to all plumbing systems. With the freeze-thaw action of winter weather taking its toll bit by bit, and it’ll do no harm to get a plumber out to check on how things are working.
As part of this tune-up, it may be a good idea to get your sewer line checked out. It will be a lot easier to get to at this time of year and any minor problems can be addressed way before they start to cause a stink or a blockage in the sink.
In Summary
The winter can do some pretty harsh stuff to your pipes and plumbing. It’s mostly from the freezing and thawing of water, and the extreme lows MN residents experience really magnify the problem.
Make sure your plumbing is ready for the warmer months by having an experienced pro check them out.
