Just like your car, your home also needs regular maintenance to make sure everything is working properly and efficiently. If you’re the type of person who does all your car maintenance on your own, you’d probably want to tackle your household plumbing maintenance as well. If, however, you take the car to a mechanic for regular maintenance and oil changes, you would probably rather have a plumber visit your home to make sure the plumbing system is properly maintained.
It usually takes a proficient person about two to three hours to perform a thorough check of the entire plumbing system. The first step is to make sure that all the valves in the home are working. The main water shutoff and emergency shutoffs under the sink need to be operated to make sure the water is able to be cut off. If something was to burst, it would be critical that these valves are working properly.
Next up is the water heater, which is one of the most crucial pieces of equipment in the plumbing system. If it’s not properly maintained, then you’ll lose money due to lack of optimal energy efficiency. It’s also very likely that the unit would have to be replaced prematurely (or at the very least it’ll make some odd noises). Maintenance of the water heater includes flushing the unit to remove any sediment.
Finally, all the drains in the house should be visually inspected to make sure there’s no corrosion or leaks. During this step, it’s important to make sure that the drains are functioning properly without any obstruction. If hair or debris does build up, sometimes it’s possible to remove the obstruction before the drain becomes stopped up completely.
These primary steps are part of a 75 point checklist that we follow whenever we do maintenance at someone’s home. It’s not that complicated, but sometimes it’s best to leave these things to a qualified professional. Regardless of whether you choose to do it yourself or not, it’s important to make sure that your home’s plumbing system is properly maintained to adequately protect your investment.
In terms of frequency, we recommend that maintenance be performed at least once a year. Some people prefer to have maintenance performed as frequently as every six months, especially if the water quality is bad in their area. Plumbing systems fail at the least opportune times—it might be when you have company staying over, in the middle of the night, or when you don’t have the funds to fix the problem. The best precaution you can take is to check your plumbing system on a regular basis. At Wisler Plumbing we offer our Diamond Club Membership, if you are apart of our Diamond Club already we may have already been out to perform your Annual Maintenance Inspection.
If you understand the status of all the components in your plumbing system, you’ll know if something needs to be addressed before it becomes an emergency. There are some warning signs that proper plumbing maintenance hasn’t been performed. Fluctuations in the hot water temperature might be an indication that the water heater hasn’t been maintained. You might also notice low water pressure or popping/cracking noises in the plumbing system.
Instead of waiting until you see these warning signs, it’s a better idea to perform regular preventative maintenance. Maintenance allows you to have knowledge of your plumbing system and control when plumbing are addressed in a proactive fashion instead of a reactive fashion after something has already broken down.
If you would prefer to have a qualified professional visit your home to perform preventative maintenance, contact us online or give us a call at (540) 685-0366.
