Winter is in the books, which means it's time for spring cleaning in households across Monterey & Santa Cruz Counties. This is a great time to take stock of your home's outdoor plumbing and ensure every appliance is operating at peak efficiency as temperatures begin to rise.
Conducting simple maintenance tasks will ensure any problems are caught early and won't be an issue going forward. Luckily for you, we've compiled a list of simple tasks to help you gear up for spring. Here are four ways you can take care of your outdoor plumbing.
1. Get Rid of Debris in Your Gutters
Cleaning up your home's gutters is one of the most important ways you can avoid problems with flooding or water damage to your home during heavy bouts of precipitation.
Just clear them up of any leaves or debris that accumulates over the months in order to prevent any clogs or blockages.
By ensuring any rainfall can seamlessly travel through your eavestroughs, you can avoid a major disaster.
2. Investigate Every Hose
As temperatures fluctuate through the seasons, it can add strain to hoses and cause cracks and holes. It's wise to inspect your hoses to ensure no damage has been done as a result of the cooler winter temperatures.
A leaky hose is one of the most annoying problems a homeowner can experience. It could cause thousands of gallons of water to be wasted while increasing your utility charges.
Make sure to check every hose you have in storage to see if they need repairs.
3. Run Your Sprinkler System
If you want to see how well your sprinkler system is running, all you have to do is run some water through it.
You should be able to spot any problems with the sprinkler heads right away. Any that aren't working properly may need to be cleaned or taken to a plumber for repairs.
One advantage of testing your sprinkler system is you can identify any problems with your hoses as well.
4. Inspect Outdoor Faucets
It's always a good idea, before you try out any hoses, to test your outdoor faucets for any problems. Just turn them on and off again. If any of them drip, it could be a problem.
Dripping could be caused by a number of things, ranging from a worn-out washer to a busted pipe. Either way, the result is the same.
A faucet that drips wasted water and could potentially cause damage to your building's foundation. Call an expert right away if you suffer from a dripping outdoor faucet.
By following the advice above, you can make sure your outdoor plumbing system is ready to go by the time spring is in full swing. Save yourself the hassle and potential damages by taking care of your appliances.
