When summer comes the traffic in and out of your home changes. Children are out of school, family and friends may be visiting and you will likely go on vacation or camping. This is a good time to think about your plumbing and do any maintenance on your appliances to make sure that everything is in great, working condition and will not cause damage to your home while you are away. Here are some things to consider when preparing your homes plumbing for summer:
Watch For Leaks In Sprinkler Systems – During the summer season, sprinklers are a major source of leaks since they are used regularly. Sprinkler heads can easily be busted by lawn mowers. Leaks most of the times go undetected especially when sprinklers operate on a timer and are not supervised. Make sure outdoor faucets and sprinklers don’t leak. If possible, turn off sprinklers while you are away and ask a neighbor to water by hand. This way, you won’t be forced to ignore weather cues like rain.
Research Before Planting Trees – If not carefully planted, trees can cause havoc in an entire plumbing system. Tree roots can break through strong plumbing pipes. Problems caused by trees can be identified by excess water in your grass, clogging issues or the water pressure is abnormally low. This kind of a problem can be rectified by a plumber.
Clogged Toilet – During the summer vacation, kids spend most of their times at home. This means that the rate of using the toilet increases, and chances of a clog happening are high. Summer plumbing maintenance includes teaching kids how to use the right amount of toilet paper. Use a plunger to try to unclog the toilet, however if the clog doesn’t clear it is time to call a plumber before leaving on vacation. A clog can cause backups, overflows and flooding.
Washing Machine – Most of the summer time is spent doing in outdoor activities which results to so many of dirty clothes and hence a lot of washing. Washing machines should be checked for leaks, bulges and cracks. Rubber hoses are more prone to cracking and bursting and should be replaced with stainless steel hoses if damaged.
Dishwasher and Disposal Maintenance – Pits from fruits, bones and grease from cooked food can mean trouble for a disposal. The summer plumbing maintenance tips for disposals are: do not over stuff, avoid pouring fat and disposing of pits into the disposal. The dishwashers connection should be tight and leak free.
Turn off the ice maker and check for leaks – Prevent potential malfunctions and leaks by giving your automatic ice maker a break. This is important, since ice makers can malfunction, which could result in ice backing up and water leaking into your refrigerator or behind it. While you’re at it, inspect the seals on your fridge and freezer. So, check into the cost to replace rubber tubing.
Check for Leaks – Nothing ruins a vacation than finding out your home had a leak or getting home to see your home has had flooding. To avoid returning to a house that is covered in water, inspect your pipes for leaks. You could find evidence of them under your house (in the slab), in a crawlspace or basement, around wet bars, under bathroom or kitchen sinks, near coolers, beneath appliances such as the washing machine, dishwasher or water heater. Other important spots to check are shower heads, faucets, and toilet bowls. If you see evidence of water staining, even if the stain appears to be old as if the water has dried, call a professional plumber.
We hope that these tips help protect your home and prevent any plumbing problems that you might face. We can help you get a great plumbing service if you need to repair or replace any plumbing in your home. From our family to yours. Happy summer!
