Tips From Your Plumber: Preparing Your Home’s Plumbing For The Winter | Florence, SC

Every homeowner desires to keep their residence clean and uncluttered. However, this requires regular maintenance, and in most cases, residential property owners may neglect to service their home’s plumbing infrastructure. The fall season offers ideal temperatures to spend time outdoors. But they may also warn of the harsh winter temperatures around the corner.

The drastic drop in temperatures during the winter can impact your home’s plumbing infrastructure negatively, resulting in extensive water and cash wastage down the road. Luckily, with the help of a professional plumber, it’s possible to avoid such plumbing troubles altogether. Below are some helpful tips to help ensure your home’s plumbing system is in tip-top shape this winter.

Conduct Frequent Sump Pump Evaluations

Heavy rains are a common occurrence in Florence, SC, which means most homeowners may spend significant amounts of money on damages resulting from rainwater damage. However, you can avoid this unnecessary expenditure if your home’s sump pump is working correctly. Weather patterns during the fall season can be unpredictable, so you should have a ready solution for possible flooding in the basement.

To ensure your home’s sump pump is properly working, you can ask your nearest professional plumber to inspect it. They can pour water inside the sump pit, and if the pump doesn’t automatically prompt the system to push the surplus water outward, it may be a clear indicator of a serious problem within the sump pump system.

Under such circumstances, the system may be damaged or clogged by dirt, and your plumbing service provider can clean the sump pump and pit as well as the drain pipes moving water outdoors. Your plumber may also check the sump pump’s power connection since if the power lines have an issue, it may increase the possibility of flooding.

They’ll ensure the pump is running and its power supply is connected appropriately. Under some circumstances, they may install backup power systems to ensure the sump pump operates efficiently, even during stormy weather.

Service the Water Heater

As the temperatures drop during the cold winter season, water heater usage in your residence may increase, which may overwork the unit and eventually result in premature malfunctions or breakdowns. For this reason, you should have a professional plumber inspect, service, and clean the unit before the winter season begins.

According to the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, residential water heaters can typically last for about 10 years, depending on their maintenance. However, their operational efficiency may depreciate due to the gradual accumulation of debris, especially in homes that rely on hard water for their daily needs. To avoid such predicaments, you can request your local plumbing service contractor to conduct a comprehensive cleanup.

Also, you can ask them to inspect the system’s pressure relief valve to ensure that water doesn’t gush out the nearest drainpipe when the lever is turned down. If this isn’t the case, your plumbing service technician may recommend installing a new valve.

Service Outdoor Faucets

Outdoor hose spigots and garden faucets are invaluable in any residence, especially during the summer. However, their usefulness is often reduced during the cold winter season. Failing to turn off the water supply through outdoor appliances and fixtures can result in extensive plumbing system damage if the outdoor fixtures freeze.

To avoid such scenarios, your local plumber can help drain and dislodge hoses and outdoor water gear attached to spigots outside your residence. Afterward, it’s up to you to ensure the disconnected components are kept safe during the winter.

For added safety, your plumbing service provider will also drain water remaining in the exposed pipes to prevent freezing in the future. Additionally, for certainty, they can shut off the main water supply to these particular components for the season to avoid unforeseen issues.

Install Plumbing Insulation

Many homeowners wrongfully believe that pipes running through covered or interior spaces such as the drainpipe, garage, or crawlspace can’t be impacted by the dropping winter temperatures, similar to plumbing components located outside.

However, such fixtures are also susceptible to freezing, irrespective of their materials. With that in mind, if you plan to schedule a fall maintenance service, pipe insulation should be a priority to avoid unprecedented damage when temperatures go below zero.

Ask your local plumber to cover such components with thermal tape or ensure heat from your residential heating, and the AC system reaches these fixtures. For maximum effect, you can also request your local plumbing service provider to purchase and install a pipe insulation kit from your nearest home improvement supplies provider.

Address Frequent Plumbing Leaks

The first step in ensuring your home’s plumbing system remains operationally efficient during the fall and winter seasons is addressing leaks in the infrastructure.

During the summer, a minor faucet leak may not be a cause for alarm. But, during the cold winter weather, small leaks can significantly impact the operational efficiency of your home’s plumbing infrastructure.

Plumbing system leaks typically indicate the presence of weak spots, and as temperatures begin to drop, the water inside the pipes may expand. The pipe may burst in the weekend areas as the pressure builds up.

Besides leaving behind an extensive mess, such issues may also be hard to repair. Luckily, asking your nearest plumber to inspect and fix pre-existing leaks can help avoid such inconveniences during the stressful winter.

Check the Sewer System

Although sewer systems may be used all year round, many homeowners may fail to schedule regular maintenance when making their fall and winter preparation to-do lists. Most people prefer spending their time outdoors when the temperatures drop, bringing a lot of traffic to the system due to the increased bathroom, kitchen, and laundry usage.

If the sewer is blocked, the overflowing pipes and foul odor can pose a major inconvenience in your Florence, SC home. To avoid such scenarios, you can ask your nearest plumber to inspect the infrastructure before the winter rolls in for any blockages or elements that could burst or clog your home’s plumbing pipes.

Also, it may be in your best interest to have the contacts of an emergency plumbing service provider on speed dial in case the situation gets out of hand unexpectedly.

Ready to Request Professional Assistance: Contact the Experts at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Florence

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Florence strives to deliver quality solutions for clients’ plumbing needs throughout Florence, SC, and the surrounding areas. Our plumbers can assist with plumbing system inspection, installation, replacement, and repairs, ensuring your home’s infrastructure is in tip-top shape during winter. Contact us today for professional solutions.

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