While plumbing largely stays the same throughout the year, including the maintenance needed to keep your plumbing system running effectively, there’s no denying that the change in seasons can require you to potentially make some adjustments to your strategy. A perfect example of this that many people would be familiar with is how the winter weather can wreak havoc on your plumbing system and result in some plumbing headaches, with one of the most well-known issues being frozen pipes. However, now that we’re officially into the summer season, this week’s blog post is going to be solely focused on managing your plumbing system during these warmer summer months. We’ll provide you with some tips and tricks to ensure everything continues to operate smoothly even with the weather outside heating up!
Before we get started on some summer plumbing advice, we would first like to welcome anyone stopping by our plumbing blog for the first time. Stine-Nichols Plumbing is a plumbing business located in North Kansas City, MO. While providing services throughout the entire Kansas City area and many of the surrounding cities, we’re pleased to offer residential, commercial and new construction plumbing solutions. Whether that be cleaning a slow drain, installing a new water heater or even assisting on a major new construction project, we have you covered! As referenced above, this week’s blog post is going to be all about summer plumbing advice. We’ll touch on a few tasks that you’ll want to complete this summer. Let’s dive right in!
Make Sure the Sump Pump is Ready!
We’ll start off this week’s blog post with an item that you hopefully already have on your plumbing maintenance routine, but given its importance, we wanted to mention it here too! The sump pump is one of those plumbing components that can be incredibly useful in preventing plumbing emergencies. At the same time, it is also a plumbing component that won’t be used every single day in most cases. Having said that, as a homeowner, you’ll want to make sure that it is ready to go when needed. After all, what’s the point in having a sump pump installed if it doesn’t work when you actually need it?
Having said all of that, we can now discuss the first item for your summer plumbing to-do list and that is to test out your sump pump. Pour some water into the pit and make sure it kicks on like normal. Make sure the water goes through the discharge line and heads outside away from the home’s foundation. If that all works, you’re in great shape! To add to it though, it would also be a good idea to make sure there isn’t any debris in the pit, as well as confirm that the pump itself is standing upright. Lastly, if you’re wanting to take another step towards an effective sump pump system, it wouldn’t hurt to consider having a battery back-up installed. This would just ensure you’re covered in the event that you lose power during a storm.
Heading Out of Town? Plan Ahead!
It’s safe to say that the summer season is a popular time for traveling and vacations, right? No surprises there! While this should be an enjoyable time, I’m going to guess that you don’t want to be greeted with plumbing problems upon arriving back home! Fortunately, for the most part, everything plumbing-related will do just fine while you’re out of town. However, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing that you can do ahead of time. What might you consider?
Limit the potential of water damage. It goes without saying that water damage can require costly repairs, as well as lost possessions. With that being the case, especially when you’re going to be gone for a few days, you’ll want to do anything possible to limit the odds of something happening while you’re gone. A potential solution here could be turning off the main water shut-off valve. This would, at the very least, limit the water damage if a leak occurred. On this topic, another idea worth mentioning would be having a monitor of some sort installed to notify you of any leaks. The Flo Smart Water Monitor and Shutoff from Moen would be a terrific option for that, as it will ensure you can both monitor water usage and automatically shut it off if a leak is detected. Keep in mind that a solution like this would be a worthwhile investment for all months of the year, not just those times in which you’re out of town.
Adjust your water heater settings. While we just discussed a task designed to limit the odds of a plumbing emergency, our next topic of discussion is one intended to keep everything operating efficiently. After all, since you’re going to be gone for a few days, is there a way to improve the efficiency levels when the plumbing system won’t be used as often? Simply put, the answer to that question is yes and one perfect example is in regards to your water heater. As you can likely imagine, water heaters can use a decent amount of energy when heating water for your home. Especially with a tank water heater, the unit has to consistently heat water to account for potential heat loss that may occur. This is actually a reason why some may consider upgrading to a tankless water heater, thanks to their efficiency advantages.
Nonetheless, what can you do to the water heater settings to maximize efficiency while you’re gone? Well…you’ll be pleased to know that several water heaters have a setting designed for this exact purpose and it is called “vacation mode.” This allows your water heater to operate at reduced temperature levels while you’re gone, thus saving energy in the process. Just remember to turn the heat back up upon arriving home!
Utilize this Time to Take Care of Projects!
Thus far in this blog post, we’ve talked about a few things that any homeowner could add to their to-do list for the summer season. However, in addition to that, the summer months can also be the perfect time to knock out other plumbing projects around the house. That could entail:
Avoiding procrastination on plumbing repairs that have lingered. Would you agree that it is very easy to put off smaller plumbing repairs? Think of things like a running toilet or a dripping faucet as perfect examples of that! Rather than procrastinate on getting them fixed, add those to your list of items to take care of. After all, the longer they sit unfixed, the more water they waste.
Make a maintenance checklist. Maintenance is an integral component for plumbing management. Doing so will ensure that you’ve done your due diligence in limiting the likelihood of plumbing issues arising. Along with what we discussed about sump pumps, you can also create a checklist of other maintenance-related items to complete this summer. Flushing your water heater and cleaning any slow drains are two that you may want to add!
To sum it up, plumbing is something that you have to keep tabs on year-round, including the summer months!
Need Plumbing Help? Call the Pros at Stine-Nichols Plumbing!
The one thing about plumbing is that it is essentially impossible to predict when a plumbing problem may pop up. It could be in the middle of the night, on a weekend or just during a regular weekday. Having said that, there is definitely value in having a reliable local plumbing company that you can count on for any project. Throughout this week’s blog post, we reviewed a few different ideas worth considering when it comes to managing your plumbing system throughout the summer months. We hope you learned a thing or two about summer plumbing and feel more confident in managing your plumbing system for these next few months.
If you do have a plumbing problem at your house or commercial facility and need a local professional to call in the Kansas City area, we would be more than happy to lend a hand. To speak with a member of our team, you’re welcome to reach out to us by filling out the form HERE.