{"id":12080,"date":"2019-03-27T01:37:58","date_gmt":"2019-03-27T08:37:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/what-is-a-sewer-line-cleanout-copy\/"},"modified":"2019-03-27T01:37:58","modified_gmt":"2019-03-27T08:37:58","slug":"spring-cleaning-tips-plumbing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/spring-cleaning-tips-plumbing\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring Cleaning Tips for Your Plumbing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Like spring cleaning, the start of spring is a good reminder to check up on plumbing.\u00a0 And it often saves time to do your major cleaning and plumbing checks together.\u00a0 So here are some simple spring cleaning plumbing tips to help you save money, inconveniences, and possibly major water damage.<\/p>\n<h2>Special in Spring<\/h2>\n<p>A few of our tips are specific to the winter to spring switch outdoors.<\/p>\n<p>Remove any temporary insulation from hose bibs and check all your outdoor faucets for leaks after opening and closing the valve a few times.\u00a0 If you have a sprinkler system, open its supply valve and check for leaks.<\/p>\n<p>With warmer weather you can turn down the temperature on your water heater&#8217;s thermostat.\u00a0 That saves energy and extends the lifetime of the heater.\u00a0 While you&#8217;re at it, check for leaks and any signs of rust and corrosion.\u00a0 And even if you have a water softener an annual drain and flush is recommended.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"><strong>Did You Know?<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 A single small leak can easily waste 20 gallons per day, for a whopping 7,300 gallons in a year.\u00a0 So it pays to check from time to time.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=&#8221;yes&#8221; overflow=&#8221;visible&#8221;][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=&#8221;1_1&#8243; background_position=&#8221;left top&#8221; background_color=&#8221;&#8221; border_size=&#8221;&#8221; border_color=&#8221;&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221; spacing=&#8221;yes&#8221; background_image=&#8221;&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;no-repeat&#8221; padding=&#8221;&#8221; margin_top=&#8221;0px&#8221; margin_bottom=&#8221;0px&#8221; class=&#8221;&#8221; id=&#8221;&#8221; animation_type=&#8221;&#8221; animation_speed=&#8221;0.3&#8243; animation_direction=&#8221;left&#8221; hide_on_mobile=&#8221;no&#8221; center_content=&#8221;no&#8221; min_height=&#8221;none&#8221;][fusion_tagline_box backgroundcolor=&#8221;&#8221; shadow=&#8221;no&#8221; shadowopacity=&#8221;0.1&#8243; border=&#8221;1px&#8221; bordercolor=&#8221;#666&#8243; highlightposition=&#8221;left&#8221; link=&#8221;tel:7607448489&#8243; linktarget=&#8221;_blank&#8221; buttoncolor=&#8221;blue&#8221; button=&#8221;(760) 744-8489&#8243; title=&#8221;Spring Cleaning or Maintenance?&#8221; description=&#8221;Call Now for Prompt and Professional Service&#8221; animation_type=&#8221;0&#8243; animation_direction=&#8221;down&#8221; animation_speed=&#8221;0.1&#8243;][\/fusion_tagline_box]<\/p>\n<h2>Regular Checks<\/h2>\n<p>These remaining spring plumbing tips cover items you should take care of at least once a year.<\/p>\n<p>Check all your sink, shower, and tub faucets for leaks.\u00a0 Better still, shut off all water users (don&#8217;t forget things like ice makers) and compare water meter readings from a couple of hours apart.\u00a0 Your utility company&#8217;s website should have pictures and instructions for the type of meters used in your area.\u00a0 If there&#8217;s a change there&#8217;s a significant leak somewhere.<\/p>\n<p>Inspect the flex connections to toilets, sinks, dishwashers, and water heaters for leaks.\u00a0 While you&#8217;re at it, open and close their shutoff-valves.\u00a0 That helps keep them from jamming and makes sure they&#8217;re working should you need them in an emergency.\u00a0 Likewise the main shutoff valve often jams after several years, so give it a close-and-open as well.\u00a0 The same goes for any faucets and taps that you rarely use.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"><strong>Did You Know?<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 Burst washing machine hoses are one of the main causes of home flooding.\u00a0 Immediately replace any that are cracked or bulging.\u00a0 Replace rubber-only hoses with more durable ones having a steel sheathing.\u00a0 And even those should be replaced every 5-10 years.<\/p>\n<p>Are your toilets flushing properly?\u00a0 Or have you gotten in the habit of ignoring a problem.\u00a0 A leak from the tank to the bowl can waste a lot of water, and cause the noise of frequent refills.\u00a0 To test this, put about a half-dozen drops of food coloring into the tank and wait a half-hour.\u00a0 Has any color made it into the bowl?\u00a0 If so, there&#8217;s a leak.\u00a0 This makes a pretty cool experiment for kids.<\/p>\n<p>Pour a gallon or so of water into infrequently used sinks and floor drains.\u00a0 That checks drainage and fills the &#8220;trap&#8221; that blocks sewer gases.<\/p>\n<p>Clean mineral buildup from your shower heads for more enjoyable showering.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 24px;\"><strong>Did You Know?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span> You don&#8217;t need any special calcium or lime cleaners for this.\u00a0 Regular vinegar will do.\u00a0 But it takes a full day, so put it in a plastic bag and attach the bag with rubber bands.<\/p>\n<p>If you have a flood alarm or sump pump, test them.\u00a0 If you don&#8217;t, consider installing them.<\/p>\n<p>While you&#8217;re in plumbing mode, consider upgrading to ultra-low flow toilets, shower heads, and faucets.\u00a0 Or even a high-performance or tankless water heater.<\/p>\n<h2>ASAP Plumbing &amp; Drains Spring Cleaning for Plumbing<\/h2>\n<p>If all this seems like a bit too much we can provide an annual inspection and maintenance service, including the hot water heater\u00a0drain and flush recommended by manufacturers.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re here for all of your spring cleaning plumbing needs or any other plumbing needs. We&#8217;re <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbb.org\/sdoc\/business-reviews\/plumbers\/asap-drain-guys-plumbing-in-san-marcos-ca-48000135\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A+ BBB rated<\/a> and have been serving San Diego since 2001. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/about-us\/\">Learn more<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/contact-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">contact us<\/a> any time.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Like spring cleaning, the start of spring is a good reminder to check up on plumbing.\u00a0 And it often saves time to do your major [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12082,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12080\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}