Plumbing Tips for Fall Season
Vito Services Veteran Plumber Bobby J. Issaces Shares His Top Plumbing Tips for Cold Weather
We all know that Fall Season is a Busy Season in Rockville, MD.
As summer ends and kids head back to school, schedules get filled with practice and activities, the roads seem to be filled with more traffic and, of course, the weather is getting colder.
With so much going on it can be easy to forget about the important things you have to do to prepare your home for the oncoming cold weather.
The good news is that Vito Services has been preparing homes in The DMV for Fall Season for almost 90 years. So, when your Fall Schedule gets busy, don’t worry, Leave it to Vito for all your Fall Plumbing Maintenance planning!
Get Your Home’s Plumbing Ready for Fall
Getting your home’s plumbing ready for Fall Season is extremely important for several reasons, most notably preventing potential issues in your house as the weather gets colder.
Vito Services’ Senior Plumber Bobby J. Isaacs, who has been with Vito for 11 years, gives Vito Customers his Top-5 Plumbing Recommendations to get ready for the fall season.
Inspect & Insulate Pipes
Living in Washington, DC, we all know that frozen pipes can lead to burst pipes, which causes major flooding! Leave it to Vito to Inspect and Insulate all exposed piping:
- Vito Plumbers will check your pipes for any signs of damage, leaks or corrosion and can make expert repairs on any issues found quickly.
Bobby’s Recommendation: Every fall you should have all of the pipping in your home’s crawl spaces and any other exposed piping (in attic, basement, garage, etc.) inspected to make sure your insulation is intact, and your pipes are protected from cold weather. In some instances, we would recommend the application of heat tape on exposed water pipes that could possibly freeze when the cold weather sets in.
Winterize Outdoor Faucets & Hose
It’s wonderful to be able to enjoy all four seasons living here in Maryland, DC & Virginia, and it’s most important to prepare your home for the two extreme Summer and Winter months. Winterizing your home can mean different things, but here in The DMV the winterization of your home means draining and disconnecting all hoses and water supplies from outside.
- Disconnect and drain all outdoor hoses, including garden hoses, garage, pools and sprinkler systems. Store hoses in dry environment to prevent freezing or damage.
- Shut off the outdoor water supply to prevent water from freezing inside the pipes. If your outdoor faucets have a separate shut-off valve inside, turn it off and drain the outdoor lines.
Bobby’s Recommendation: It’s important to Winterize all outdoor plumbing. Hose bibs have the potential to freeze and need to be winterized, in addition to any outdoor faucets, showers, and un-heated pool houses. The most common thing we’ve seen is homeowners forgetting to actually remove the hose from the bib!
Flush Water Heater Before The Cold Starts
Water heaters provide all the hot water to your home, including showers, sinks & laundry. If your water heater goes down, it’s never fun. Only worse, if it floods your house too! Cold weather can cause the plumbing around your heater to expand and contract, which leads to cracks and water leaks.
- Flush your water heater to remove all sediment buildup, which reduces efficiency and shortens lifespan.
- Check water heaters for any cracks, leaks or signs of corrosion.
Bobby’s Recommendation: During the winter months the water coming into your home will be much colder than during the summer months, which makes your water heater WORK TWICE AS HARD to keep up! To help your water heater work as efficiently as possible you should flush the tank of all sediment in the fall, before the weather turns cold. Vito recommends you flush your heater at least once a year, but if you do it twice it won’t hurt, and definitely is in your best interest to get on a fall flushing schedule so your heater can work it best in the cold weather when you need it the most.
Test Sump Pump / Add Battery Backup
In DC Metro, we all know April showers bring May flowers. But we also know it can rain quite a bit during fall season in Rockville, MD. That’s why it’s ultra-important to have a working and reliable sump pump, even better with battery backup!
- Test Sump Pump to ensure it’s working properly before the season starts. Pour water into the pit to activate the pump and make sure your sump pump actually pumps water away from your home’s foundation.
- Considering installing a batter backup system for your sump pump to ensure it remains functional during power outages.
Bobby’s Recommendation: In the winter the runoff of snow and water has nowhere to go because the ground is frozen and the trees and shrubs can’t absorb all that water. So, in the cold, there can be an excess of groundwater that enters your home and can accumulate faster than in the warmer months. So be sure your Sump Pump works and also having a batter backup pump is a great fail safe in case of your sump pump goes out.
Check for Leaks & Dripping Faucets
During our Plumbing Tune-ups and Vito VIP Maintenance, Vito Plumbers always inspect all faucets & sinks for any signs of leaks and drips.
- Inspect all faucets in your home for leaks and dripping, which can add up to significant water wastage and increased utility bills, or hint at a larger plumbing problem.
- Replace worn-out washers and seals in faucets to prevent leaks.
Bobby’s Recommendation: Even a small drip can lead to big problems. The winter and cold and ice can wreak havoc on your plumbing systems, we’ve seen it all through the years. My best advice to you: if something is happening now, fix it before it gets too cold because the cold only makes it worse!
After almost 90 years, Vito Services knows a thing or two about plumbing … almost as much as Bobby! But in all seriousness, Bobby wanted to share his plumbing tips with Vito customers to help ensure your home’s plumbing system remains in good working condition throughout the fall and into the winter! Leave it to Vito – and Bobby! – for all of your home plumbing needs!