Everyone wants to stay on top of potential plumbing issues and address them before they get out of control. Sometimes, it’s hard to know what exactly you should be looking for- especially when you’re not a plumber yourself. To help you keep a handle on things, we’ve put together a plumbing maintenance checklist as a starting point.
Watch your Water Bill
The water company monitors your water usage and your bill will normally fluctuate from month to month. If your water bill steadily increases month after month, then it might be a sign that you have a water leak somewhere.
Check for Drips
Take a look at the faucets, showers, and hose bibbs around your house to visually confirm there are no drips coming from any fixtures. Common causes of dripping faucets include a damaged cartridge, broken washers, your home’s water pressure, malfunctioning O-rings, or a deteriorated valve seat. Generally, it’s a fairly easy and affordable repair to put an end to the dripping. Drips can become leaks. Don’t compound a minor problem by putting off scheduling the repair for another day.
Check for Leaks
Sometimes, a leak is easy to spot. Other times, not so much. For those hidden leaks, leverage your water meter for insight. Check your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter changed at all, that’s an indicator of a leak. Also, if you notice the little red dial on your water meter is spinning, you have a leak.
If you suspect a toilet leak, place a drop of food coloring in the toilet tank. If any color shows up in the toilet bowl after 10 minutes, you have a leak. (Be sure to flush immediately after your experiment to avoid staining the tank.)
To check for any surface leaks, examine faucet gaskets and pipe fittings for any water on the outside of the pipe. Don’t forget to look under sinks for any signs of moisture, such as puddles of water, water marks, a musty smell, and mold growth.
If you do find a leak, be sure to turn off the water to the affected area before you get started on addressing the issue. If you can’t seem to get to the bottom of a leak, give us a call at 864.444.6570 and we’ll sort it out.
Is Your Toilet Continually Running?
One common plumbing issue that increases your water bill is an intermittently or constantly running toilet. This issue is typically caused by the flapper, fill valve, or flush valve. To identify the issue, a little troubleshooting is needed.
After removing the tank lid, check the water level in the tank to see if it is set correctly. There might be a mark on the tank or on the overflow tube showing the correct height, but if not, typically an inch below the top of the overflow tube works well for most toilets. If water is running into the overflow tube continuously, then the water level is set too high. While it might just need to be adjusted down, more often than not the fill valve needs to be replaced.
If the water isn’t running into the overflow tube, then the flapper is usually what’s causing the issue. The chain could be too short, preventing the flapper (the rubber seal at the bottom of the tank that prevents water from continuously flowing into the bowl) from fully closing. It’s also common for the flapper to become warped, worn, or coated in grime over time that results in a slow leak into the bowl and causes your toilet to run intermittently. If you’ve replaced the flapper and the toilet still intermittently fills up, then it’s time to give us a call so we can replace the entire flush valve assembly.
Know Where Your Main Water Shut-Off Valve Is
A little knowledge about where your main water shut-off valve is located can go a long way. In addition to isolation shut-off valves, which are connected to specific areas of your home, the main shut-off valve stops the flow of water to the entire plumbing system. Isolation shut-off valves are typically located near the fixture it’s connected to, like a toilet or water heater.
Every house has at least one main water shut-off valve at the water meter provided by the water company. It is typically close to the road and will have a metal cover on it that says “WATER” or “WATER METER”. Once you find the lid, you can usually pry it open with a screwdriver, but sometimes a special key is required to open it. To turn the water off at the meter, you will need a water meter key. Water meter keys are readily available at any hardware store and every homeowner should have one in case of an emergency.
Some houses have an additional whole house gate or ball valve shut off as well. If you have a basement or crawl space, the shut-off valve is probably located down there, near the wall closest to the street.
If your home was built on a slab, the main water shut-off valve could be located near your water heater or inside your garage. Some slab houses will have a shut off valve in an irrigation box buried in the ground typically in line with the hose bibb on the front of the house.
Ever tried finding your water meter key while water’s spraying everywhere? It’s not fun! A whole-house shut-off valve makes it easy to stop the flow quickly. Give us a call at 864.444.6570 for a quote or any of your other plumbing needs.
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