Make Sure Your Plumbing is Good to go for the Holidays

When it comes time to sit down with your family and loved ones for a holiday celebration, the last thing that you want to happen is to experience a plumbing issue in your home. There’s enough stress and pressure that comes with hosting guests for a dinner or get-together, don’t let plumbing problems ruin your plans.

There are some different routine plumbing maintenance tasks that should be addressed ahead of the holidays, as well as the potential for some quick repairs that can ensure your plumbing is working properly in every room of your house.

Water Heaters Need Regular Maintenance

It’s easy to take your hot water for granted, but you’ll definitely notice if you go to turn it on and it doesn’t work – whether you’re showering or washing dishes. Water heaters require regular maintenance in order to keep them running efficiently. It’s also a lot easier to perform routine maintenance than it is to address an emergency repair.

Some of the things that are done to a water heater during a routine appointment include:

-It’s sometimes necessary to drain your hot water tank in order to remove the mineral deposits that are in there. Those deposits can prevent your heater from working properly. This is a common issue in areas that have hard water.

-Checking the heating elements of your water heater will allow for any minor repairs that could prevent your heater from working later on.

-Inspect for any leaks or signs of rust on the tank that could indicate there is a problem.

-Add insulation to the water heater’s pipes to increase its efficiency.

Unclog Slow or Clogged Drains

It’s pretty uncommon for a drain to just all of a sudden stop allowing water to flow through it. In most cases, you’ll notice that a drain is starting to move slower and slower over time. When this starts to happen, make sure that you reach out to a professional as soon as possible. A clogged pipe can be cleared relatively quickly, and you’ll be able to enjoy a functioning sink, shower or tub throughout the holidays.

Fix a Toilet That’s Running Between Uses

Upon flushing the toilet, you walk away, but notice that you hear a running sound coming from it now and again. It might not seem like a big issue to you, but you’d be surprised how much that running toilet can impact your water bill. This situation can waste thousands of gallons of water per month depending on how frequently the toilet runs. This is usually a quick fix that relates to:

-The float inside of your toilet is set too high. A quick adjustment and inspection of your toilet is all that’s needed to get everything back on track.

-The flapper may be getting old and needs to be replaced.

-You have a refill valve on your toilet that isn’t sized correctly to the type of toilet that you have.

-Your toilet handle may be getting stuck when you flush. Just give it a little jiggle to see if this fixes the problem. If not, you may need a new handle, or another interior component replaced.

-The water pressure going into the toilet may be too high.

Garbage Disposal Tips

Your garbage disposal is an excellent convenience feature in your kitchen, but it’s really important that you’re not using it like a garbage can. Too many people do this, and it leads to frequent clogged pipes and drains. Over time, you can really be doing a lot of damage to your home’s plumbing system if you allow all kinds of kitchen waste material to go down your disposal. Here are some tips to protect your plumbing as well as keep your disposal running efficiently:

-Never put any grease down the sink. If you cook something that produces a lot of grease or you have a lot of oil to discard, take it out to your trash receptacle. Just make sure that it has cooled before you dispose of it to prevent a fire.

-Avoid putting vegetable or fruit peelings down the garbage disposal. They often don’t get chopped up well enough and they’ll get stuck further down in your pipes.

-Run the water for a minute or two after you have something go down the disposal in order to flush the entire disposal and pipe out.

If you’re in need of routine plumbing repairs or maintenance prior to the holidays, reach out to our team here at Kelleher HVAC. We would be happy to provide you with a list of the HVAC maintenance tasks that we recommend, as well as some other tips for how you can ensure your plumbing is good to go for the holidays and to help you save water. From our family to yours, have a wonderful holiday season.