Pre-Holiday Plumbing & Heating Checklist
The holiday season in San Diego brings cooler weather, cheer, visiting family and sometimes, plumbing and heating problems! And, really they’re only problems if you’re in the middle of cleaning up your family dinner and the drains start overflowing, or the furnace goes out in the middle of a cold winter night with guests in your home.
So how do you prevent problems, before you know you have them? With a pre-season home inspection and a little care! Best of all, you can assess many items on your own, and prevent the need to call on a sand geo plumber or heating tech in most cases.
Furnace:
How will you know if your furnace works when you need it most? Check it! If you haven’t been keeping up with seasonal maintenance and tune-ups, turn your furnace on as soon as the weather drops and let it run for a bit to see how it’s working.
If it’s an older furnace that hasn’t been used for a long time, it might be good idea to invest in a professional San Diego heating specialist to do an assessment and/or tune-up.
Water Heater:
Water heaters often go unnoticed until they’re leaking, but there’s a lot you can do to ensure you get the best life from your heater. You can also visually inspect it to check for signs of problem. If any of the water heater pipes or valves look like they have built up scale or water, that’s a sign of a slow leak.
It’s also a great idea to perform annual maintenance on your water heater to extend its life and clear away sediment that can eat away at the tank.
And if you’re having guests, the water heater will be working overtime, so you want to make sure you aren’t looking at a costly repair or replacement in the midst of your holiday celebration. It is also wise to space out hot water usage if you’re having guests to prevent running out of hot water.
Faucets, Shut-off valves, and Shower Fixtures:
Perform a visual inspection of all the fixtures in your home, especially if you will have dinner guests, or long term visitors staying with you.
You want to look for signs of water, scale buildup, and sticking faucets. If they will be getting get lot more use, it could speed up an already small problem.
Also, if you’re losing pressure in showers, check the showerhead for signs of calcium build up. You can easily clean the showerhead on your own with some vinegar and hot water ensuring proper flow.
Our experts in San Diego plumbing cannot stress enough the importance of proper disposal use. Especially during the holiday season, homeowners want to be careful of what they, or their guests, put into the drain.
Some big ones to avoid are coffee grounds, big scraps of food, potato peels and rice. When in doubt, scrape the plates into the trash before placing in the sin, just to make sure no food particles that could clog the drain find their way down. And make sure to communicate to your house guests as well, some people have heavy duty disposals and might be used to a more advanced system.
Drains:
Just like your water and furnace, ensure your drains are ready for excess use. Preventative maintenance programs are available for main sewer lines that will give you peace of mind that they are clear all year long and ready to handle extra use during holiday parties.
And, if you do notice a slow drain, don’t wait and until it turns into a much larger problem or an overflow, call one of the experts in San Diego plumbing for professional help.
Call 1-800 Bill Howe (245-5469) today! And remember, when you call an expert from San Diego plumbing company, Bill Howe, you’re getting an educated and trained specialist that’s right for your job.
Comments