Don’t Forget About Your Outdoor Plumbing During Your Spring Clean
Winter has passed here in St. Michael, MN and it's time to get ready for the spring. Cold winter weather tends to have a poor effect on outdoor plumbing, which makes it the perfect time to conduct routine maintenance.
It's best to inspect your outdoor appliances in early spring to ensure you're ready to go as the temperatures begin to rise. By performing these tasks, you can get a head start on repairing any damage before it results in costly disasters.
Warmer days are just around the corner. Here are some things you shouldn't forget to do while spring cleaning.
Closely Inspect Every Hose
It doesn't matter if you disconnect your hoses from any plumbing, cold winter temperatures can cause cracks and holes to form. These need to be fixed before you begin using hoses regularly.
A leaky hose can dramatically increase water consumption and result in a huge spike in utility costs. Depending on how often you plan to water your lawn or garden, thousands of gallons of water could go to waste each month. If you take the time to inspect each hose, you will be able to spot any problems and call for a fix right away.
Test Your Sprinkler Heads
An easy spring cleaning task is testing your sprinkler system. By running a quick cycle, you can spot if there are any problems with the sprinkler heads.
If there is trouble with how any of them function, you may simply need to perform a good cleaning or contract a technician to fix the problem.
This is also a good opportunity to take a peek at your hoses for any signs of a leak.
Clean Out Your Gutters
This is one of the most important spring cleaning tasks you can perform to benefit your home's outdoor plumbing. Fall can see many leaves make their way into your gutters, while winter might see dirt and debris accumulate on top of them.
Once the snow melts, it's wise to clear your eavestroughs of any clogs or blockages. These have an impact on drainage capacity, which means if your gutters aren't clean by the first rainfall you could suffer from flooding and water damage to your home and be stuck with costly repairs.
Faucet Testing
One thing you should do before connecting any hoses to outdoor faucets is to test them for leaks. After turning them on and off again, if any faucets drip there may be a problem.
The degree of damage could range from a worn out washer to a broken pipe. At this point, you should call in an expert to inspect any dripping faucets.
They will be able to determine the problem and apply the appropriate fix. If you ignore leaky faucets, it could result in thousands of gallons of wasted water, damage to the building and standing water around the foundation.
Avoid the need to pay for overly expensive repairs or high water bills. Perform these basic maintenance tasks, and you will be able to identify problems before they turn into disasters.