How to Prepare Your Pipes for Summer

In every home, the plumbing is the system most susceptible to the weather. While your pipes may be hidden behind walls and buried under the floor, pipes still respond very strongly to the temperature, environmental conditions, and the water pressure as it is influenced by the changing seasons. Here in Spring with the weather warming up, it’s important to begin preparing your pipes for the summer.

Summer is when the water warms up. You can put away your pipe-warming tactics for a few months and instead prepare for drain-care and water conservation during the hottest time of year. Today, we’re sharing our best summer plumbing preparation tips for local families.

Close Dripping Taps

If you have left any taps inside or outside the house dripping to avoid freezing, it’s time to close them. That tiny trickle-drip is still a minimal cost o your water bill that can be saved. Because the water is warming up, there’s no need to keep those taps open to drip. Check every tap, faucet, and spigot in the house and ensure the knobs are turned all the way to the ‘off’ position now that Spring has sprung.

Inspect Your Faucets and Drains

Pipes tend to get more intensive use during the summer. We take more showers, we drink more water, we water our lawns and let the kids enjoy backyard play with the hose. So before you add that extra stress to your winter-weary pipes, perform an inspection. Take a personal look at all pipes, drains, and under-sink areas to spot potential leaks or problems. Then, if you’re concerned, invite a professional to consult and ensure your pipes are in good shape.

Test the Outdoor Faucets

Check on the state of your outdoor faucets. Wear a work glove to twist the valve all the way open and closed once to ensure the spigot still works correctly. Each winter puts outdoor faucets through the wringer, freezing the spigot, the valve, and potentially the water inside. Ensure you have no ice-blockage or hidden leaks by testing with a quick twist.

Casual and Serious Drain Cleaning

If your drains have been slow through the winter, now is the perfect time to clear them up. Clogs tend to be worse when clogging items cool and congeal in the pipes. Hotter weather and hotter water are better for clearing clogs. If you just want to improve your drains, perform at-home drain cleaning with hot water, vinegar, and borax or baking soda. If your drains have been a real problem, drain cleaning services can set your family up for a much more enjoyable summer.

Check Seals and Connections for Signs of Leaks

Keep an eye out for leaks as water and seals warm up together. Watch for drips under your sink and take a close look at the seal around the base of your toilet. Watch your pipes for signs of dripping, but know the difference between a leak and pipe sweating. Pipes sweat when the ambient air is warm but the water inside the pipe is cold, just like water condenses on a cold soda can.

Ready Your Sprinklers

If you picked up your sprinklers during the winter, now is time to find and clean those lines to safely replace your sprinkler heads. If you did not pick up the sprinklers, do so know to ensure each sprinkler head is clean and ready to spray water over the yard. And if you don’t have sprinklers, feel free to skip this step.

Prepare to Fight Summer Drain Clogs

Summer is also a time for increased drain clogs due to increased plumbing use. The best way to prevent that is to build a few healthy drain routines. Get into the habit of flushing hot water down the drain, clearing the garbage disposal regularly, and running citrus or borax down the drain from time to time. This will keep your drains fresh and encourage clogs to move along instead of forming.

Coach Family on Summer Water Conservation

Finally, sit down with your family to talk about plumbing health and water conservation. Recap what doesn’t go down the drain, and talk about ways you can save water this summer as a family to help the environment and reduce household costs.

—

Ory’s Plumbing Solutions, we’re proud to help homeowners maintain clean, high-quality home plumbing no matter what time of year it is. If you need drain services to get your home plumbing in-gear for summer, we’re here to help. Contact us today for more information about our no-contact safe drain services.