Fall is here, and it’s time to weatherize your plumbing before heading into the deep freeze of the winter months. While we understand that you are still drying out from the incredible amount of rain we’ve had in Toledo, it’s never too early to prepare your plumbing for the changing seasons.
Here’s six fall plumbing tips to help improve your chances of any damage to your system:
Remove, drain and store your garden hoses: To keep your hose around for several years, you want to completely drain them. Once it is completely without water, coil them up and store in an area that is free from freezing temperatures. Even a little bit of water left in the hose can freeze and cause it to split.
Turn off the hose bibbs: One of the most important tasks you’ll do this fall is to properly turn off your hose bibb along with the inside water supply line. If you noticed any leakage this summer, we would recommend that you invest in a frost-proof hose bibb before the first frost occurs. If you don’t properly turn off the water, it can freeze in the line, and cause that line to burst.
Check your sewer system: Believe it or not, the fall, winter and spring months can overwork your sewer system. If you have had any issues in the past or would like to have preventative maintenance completed, give us a call to schedule a sewer line inspection.
Ensure your hot water heater is properly maintained: Annual maintenance is crucial to extend the life of your water heater. While most water heaters last from 8 to 12 years, water heater flushes tend to increase the efficiency and save money on future utility bills. Since you are already doing regular, preventative maintenance on your plumbing, include your hot water heater in that.
Test the heater’s pressure relief valve by lifting up on the lever and letting it snap back. The valve should allow a burst of hot water into the drainpipe. If not, call a professional to have a new valve installed.
Caution: if your water heater is more than five years old and the pressure relief valve has never been tested, you can actually cause a leak by testing older valves that have corroded or stuck seals. In this case, we recommend that you call us to schedule the maintenance on that alone.
Wrap any exposed pipes with an insulation kit: You can get these at Home Depot, Lowes, Menards, or any other hardware store. Many older homes have piping that is exposed to the outside walls, and it’s important to keep them insulated to protect them from freezing either in the pipes or at the valves.
Turn off the water: If you are going to be traveling over the holidays, we advise you to turn off the water at the main water supply and drain the system by opening the faucets at the highest and lowest points in the house. Maintain a temperature of about 55 degrees inside the house as well.
Even when you follow these fall plumbing tips, you can still run into frozen water pipes. Should you run into an emergency, we are available 24/7 to get your water back up and running as quickly as possible.
Quick tip: If your home has interior shut-off valves for outside faucets, close them and drain water from the outside lines.
Thanks for explaining that it would be smart to consider checking my water heating system is in good shape. I can’t stand taking a cold shower. So, I would like to make sure that my home can maintain a lot of hot water before my family can start plumbing.
I like your plumbing tips. I need a plumber for my kitchen. We have a busted pipe.
Hey thanks for posting this useful information about 6 fall plumbing tips, I really hope it will be helpful to many. It will help a lot; these types of content should get appreciated. I will bookmark your site; I hope to read more such informative contents in future. Appreciative content! One must check thishttp://www.insulationservices.co.nz it gives us more info on this topic.
Hey thanks for posting this useful information about 6 fall plumbing tips, I really hope it will be helpful to many. It will help a lot; these types of content should get appreciated. I will bookmark your site; I hope to read more such informative contents in future. Appreciative content! One must check thishttp://www.insulationservices.co.nz it gives us more info on this topic.
I never really thought about how you can turn off the water in your home while you travel so that damages don’t occur. My brother wants to get a new water well on his property this month so that he is independent of the city. He wants to learn how to maintain the pipes and pumps during the winter so that it’s working properly.
It makes sense to always drain the hoses and pipes during the winter so they aren’t damaged. My brother has noticed that his home has some serious plumbing issues right now. He needs to find a local plumber that can help him get this issue fixed before it causes more damages.
I never considered how water heaters last around 8 years. I need to get a new condenser coil. That way my water heater can actually heat up the water.
Thanks, what an informative post! Everything we need to know are found in this article. We hope you keep posting quality articles.
Thanks, what an informative post! Everything we need to know are found in this article. We hope you keep posting quality articles.
Thanks, what an informative post! Everything we need to know are found in this article. We hope you keep posting quality articles.
Thanks, what an informative post! Everything we need to know are found in this article. We hope you keep posting quality articles.
Thanks, what an informative post! Everything we need to know are found in this article. We hope you keep posting quality articles.
Thanks, what an informative post! Everything we need to know are found in this article. We hope you keep posting quality articles.
Thanks, what an informative post! Everything we need to know are found in this article. We hope you keep posting quality articles.
Thanks, what an informative post! Everything we need to know are found in this article. We hope you keep posting quality articles.
Thanks, what an informative post! Everything we need to know are found in this article. We hope you keep posting quality articles.
Thanks, what an informative post! Everything we need to know are found in this article. We hope you keep posting quality articles.
Thanks, what an informative post! Everything we need to know are found in this article. We hope you keep posting quality articles.
Wonderful information about 6fall plumbing tips, thanks a lot for sharing kind of content with us. Your blog gives the best and the most interesting information. I wonder if we can gather such practical information about it, a great post definitely to come across.
Wonderful information about 6fall plumbing tips, thanks a lot for sharing kind of content with us. Your blog gives the best and the most interesting information. I wonder if we can gather such practical information about it, a great post definitely to come across.