It’s Time to Review Your Home Plumbing System
In Portland, springtime is a beautiful time of year—a time to enjoy the outdoors while dusting up and reorganizing things indoors. As a season of renewal, spring is the perfect time of year to catch up on household projects we’ve been putting off. Part of that cleaning should include a review of our home’s plumbing systems.
One of our biggest plumbing concerns this time of year in the northwest is excessive rain. For over a decade, 3 Mountains Home Services has been serving the greater Portland, Oregon area and we repeatedly receive flooding and sump pump emergency calls during the spring months. In addition to providing your sump pump with some extra TLC (more on that later), there are several other simple actions homeowners can take to ensure the safety of their home’s plumbing systems.
Incorporating the following list of tasks into your regular spring cleaning routine may prevent future emergency plumbing situations:
- Check your sump pump: Make sure your sump pump is properly functioning before another major rain storm. Sump pumps are typically located in the lowest part of your home’s basement or crawlspace. Their primary function is to move unwanted and excessive water build-up to a safe location away from your home. The most common problem we see with sump pumps is the float switches. Testing may be accomplished by pouring water into your sump pump to see that it functions properly.
- Replace dripping faucets: Not only can dripping faucets be pesky and annoying, but they can also be sending your money right down the drain. Help maintain your utility bill costs by inspecting your faucets. 3 Mountains Home Services can certainly help repair leaky bathroom or kitchen faucets, but we can also guide you through a remodeling project. Bathroom and kitchen fixtures are an easy and affordable place to begin.
- Avoid drain clogs: One simple way to avoid toilet drain clogs is to clear all space above and behind your toilet. We are often called to remove a range of fallen items such as knick-knacks, toys, candles, and more from toilet drains.
- Clear gutter debris: Take a walk outside and double-check that each of your gutters, downspouts, and plumbing vents is clear of debris such as leaves, sticks, and animal or insect nests.
While most of these checklist tasks are fairly simple things to do, we find it’s more a matter of just making the time to take a look.
To keep your home and accompanying plumbing systems safe and clean, or for a thorough Portland springtime plumbing inspection by experienced professionals, contact 3 Mountains Home Services.
