Essential Summertime Plumbing TIps
Just like our customers in Los Angeles and the nearby communities, we at Boss Plumbing look forward to summer. However, even when the weather is beautiful, that doesn’t mean your plumbing won’t require some TLC. By taking time to do a few simple things in between vacations and soaking up the sun at the beach, you can keep your home’s plumbing in great shape. To help you do this, our Boss Plumbing experts came up with some of our very best summer plumbing tips for you to keep in mind.
Why Does Plumbing Need Care in the Summer?
If you are curious as to why you need to worry about preparing plumbing for summer, keep in mind that there are a variety of common plumbing problems in the summer. Since warmer weather finds most people using more water, the warm temperatures can take quite a toll on your home’s plumbing system. Some of the most common problems include sprinkler system leaks from watering the grass, water heaters malfunctioning due to your family’s demands for hot water when taking showers or doing laundry, and clogged drains in the kitchen and bathroom that can prove to be extremely inconvenient.
Summer Plumbing Tips
Inspect for Leaks
Here at Boss Plumbing, we believe leak inspection is one of the best ways to save water and keep your water bill from going sky-high over the summer. Thus, we recommend you check your faucets, shower heads, water heater, and the pipes underneath your sinks for any signs of leakage. After all, should your home have burst pipes that go undetected for just a slight amount of time, significant water damage may occur.
Adjust Your Water Heater
Since it’s likely you and your family will be gone on vacations and other fun trips during the summer, consider adjusting your water heater so that your water bill can stay low while you’re away. Most new water heaters have dials on them that allow you to set them in “vacation” mode, meaning they can be essentially turned off. If you’ve got a water heater that is more than 15 years old, consider getting a new water heater installed that has this feature.
Prepare for Routine Clogs
Unfortunately, clogged drains are a certainty in almost any home at some point. To get prepared for these frustrating and inconvenient events, our team at Boss Plumbing recommends you invest in both a high-quality plunger as well as a three-foot-long auger to use on stubborn clogs. However, if you use the auger in your toilet, do so very carefully. If you don’t, you’ll crack the toilet’s vitreous china, meaning you’ll be calling us to schedule either a toilet repair or new toilet installation.
Check Your Water Pressure
If you are finding you have little or no water in shower and also happen to hear some pipe noises when you take a shower or do the laundry, we suggest you check your water pressure. This should also be done if your toilet flushes slowly as the summer progresses. To check the water pressure, simply buy a gauge at your local hardware store and attach it to an outside spigot. For most homes here in Los Angeles, standard water pressure should measure between 40-45 psi, and should not be more than 60 psi. If it is, let us at Boss Plumbing find out what’s going on with your home’s water pressure.
Check Your Main Water Valve
One of our best summer plumbing tips when preparing plumbing for summer is to always inspect your home’s main water valve. First of all, make sure you, other family members, and anyone who may be housesitting for you while you are on vacation knows where this valve is located and how to turn it off. Should a plumbing emergency happen while you are away, you could find yourself returning to a flooded home.
Test Your Sump Pump
If you live in an area that is prone to getting lots of rain and flash floods during the summer, we advise that you test your sump pump well before it may be called into action. For starters, turn it off and on to make sure it has power. Then, pour a bucket of water in it and let it work its magic. Once you’re satisfied, you’ll know you won’t have to worry about a flooded basement over the summer months.
Be Kind to Your Garbage Disposal
Since you will probably be entertaining quite a bit during the summer, this means you will have more food scraps to be thrown away. While your garbage disposal is great for this, that doesn’t mean anything and everything can be tossed into the disposal. Along with giving it a test to make sure it is working properly, don’t let yourself and others get lax about what gets tossed into your disposal. Thus, make sure the banana peels, celery, corn husks, and other things that can wreak havoc with a disposal’s blades and motor are tossed in a trash can or elsewhere.
Give Us a Call
Now that you have our very best summer plumbing tips, you should be good to go as you begin having fun in the sun. However, if something unexpected arises like a clogged drain or water heater that breaks down, give us a call at Boss Plumbing to get your plumbing back on track.
