Fall Plumbing Tune-up
The fall season is the time to ensure that the plumbing in your home is properly prepared for the colder months of winter. Temperatures can potentially dip below freezing at night during winter can freeze the pipesin your home. This can lead to burst pipes and other problems that will require a local Jacksonville plumber to repair. Prepare your pipes for the colder weather by following a series of tips.
Plants and grass will not need to be watered when fall arrives. Disconnect any hoses that are connected to an outside faucet. Water that remains in the hose can potentially freeze. The expanding ice can cause your water pipes to break.
Examine all the outside faucets to see if there are any leaks. A leaking faucet will need to be repaired before winter arrives or the water can be shut off. This can be done by closing the shut-off valve for the water line. Faucets that leak can freeze and increase water pressure on the line. Increasing pressure may cause cracking on the pipes. Open all the faucets
to drain the water after closing the shut-off valve.
Obtain a Styrofoam cover from your local home improvement store. This is a kit that you can install on an outside faucet that will protect it from freezing.
Find all water pipes that are located in areas of your home that is not heated. This includes a garage and any crawl spaces. Cover these pipes with pipe insulation or cover the pipes with heat tape. Any pipes in unheated areas are susceptible to freezing.
If you have a sprinkler system installed in your yard, then it should be blown out and then turned off by an experienced plumber at Fenwick Home Services. Blowing out a sprinkler system is done by using an air compressor. This needs to be done to remove any water in the lines.
Flush out your home’s water heater. This can be done by connecting a garden hose to the drain valve on the bottom of the unit. Water from the tank should be directed to a drain out in your yard. The water heater will run more efficiently during the winter after it has been flushed.
Check the thermostat on your water heater to see the set temperature. Make sure the temperature for the unit is set at 120 degrees. This is to allow the water heater to run at peak performance.
Contact our Jacksonville, Florida, plumbers today to receive more tips, or schedule a complete fall plumbing tune-up.