Plumbing Maintenance Checklist

Here at Scott English Plumbing, Inc., we pride ourselves on providing top-of-the-line plumbing maintenance and repair work. However, we also understand that many home and business owners like to do their own plumbing maintenance. In light of that fact, we’ve put together a home plumbing maintenance checklist that you can use to make sure that none of your plumbing goes unchecked. So, without further ado, here is the Scott English Plumbing, Inc. plumbing maintenance checklist:

Piping Maintenance Checklist

• Check for leaks throughout your entire home
• Test all of your shut-off valves for water supplies and under certain plumbing fixtures (like toilets and dishwashers)
• Look out for signs of corrosion. Corrosion on copper pipes will be bluish-green. For galvanized steel pipes, corrosion will be rust-colored (it is rust, after all). While corrosion itself isn’t a sign of trouble, it is a harbinger of leaks to come.

Maintenance Checklist for Drains, Faucets, and Sinks

• Check your drains for bubbling, gurgling, or slow drainage. Any of those issues are signs of a clogged drain and should be addressed ASAP.
• Clean out all your drain traps underneath your sinks to help prevent future clogs from forming.
• While you’re under the sink, you might as well check for any visible signs of leaks. Even something as seemingly harmless as a little moisture buildup around pipes can signify a leak.
• If you have a garbage disposal, then follow the maintenance instructions included in your user manual. Even if you don’t have the manual, you can always clean out your garbage disposal by placing a few ice cubes made of white vinegar into the system and turning it on.
• Check your faucet aerators and showerhead for debris and clogs. Faucet aerators are the little screens that fit over the end of faucets and are usually easy to unscrew by hand.

Bathroom and Laundry Room Plumbing Maintenance

• Inspect caulking and seals around the tub, shower, sink, and toilet. If any caulking looks dry, cracked, or otherwise off in some way, then scrape off the old caulking and apply new liquid silicon.
• Try to shake your toilet (gently). If it wiggles, then check the mounting bolts located at the bottom of the toilet and near the back. If those are tight and the toilet still moves, then you may need the help of a professional to remount your toilet to the flange.
• Speaking of toilets, remove the tank lid of every toilet in your home and check for signs of damage.
• Check for leaking toilets. To do so, put a small amount of food dye in the water stored in the tank. If any of the food die shows up in the toilet without flushing, then you have a leaking toilet.
• Examine any washing machine hoses for cracks or visible signs of brittleness. Make sure all the connections are secure and that the surrounding area is dry and free of excess moisture.

Water Pressure and Water Heater Maintenance

• Check your water pressure using a test gauge. Ideally, your water pressure should be somewhere between 40 and 65 PSI (Pounds per Square Inch).
• Flush your water heater and replace the anode rod annually.
• Make sure that your water heater’s pressure relief valve and temperature relief valve are functioning.
• Learn the locations of your main water shut-off valve, your sewage cleanouts, and test them annually to ensure everything is as it should be.