Save Money with Proper Maintenance

Plumbing is an important part of what is most likely your largest investment: your home. Just like your car, which requires maintenance such as oil changes and tire rotations, your home’s plumbing system should receive regular maintenance as well.

After all, your plumbing system is operating 24/7 to provide your home with hot and cold water; gas for cooking, heating or cooling; and a sanitary waste system to safely remove waste water. To ensure it provides you with years of service life, here are some of the things that you should watch for and do:

• Moisture – Watch for moisture around the bases of toilets or under the kitchen or bathroom sinks. Moisture is a sign of a leak, and should be repaired quickly. Left unchecked it can lead to water damage and major repairs.
• Slow draining sinks or other drains – This can be an early sign that hair or some other item is building up in the pipes. Catching this early can save you a great deal of money in the long run, so it’s important to contact us as soon as you notice this seemingly harmless annoyance. If someone in your household has long hair, it is also a good idea to install an inexpensive “hair catcher” (available at your local hardware store) in the shower, to prevent hair from going down the drain.
• Spots on your faucets – Hard water is likely to cause spotting on your faucets and shower doors, and cause some build-up of material in your faucet aerators. To protect the finished surfaces of faucets and shower doors, use the manufacturers’ recommended cleaning products. In addition, clean out your faucet aerator screens once every few months. These maintenance tasks will help keep your home looking its best and functioning properly, and avoid costly repairs and replacements down the road.
• Mineral build-up in tankless water heater – The effects of hard water on your tankless water heater’s “heat exchanger” (which is the part that heats the water) can make the water heater function poorly. Minerals can build up and negatively affect the heater’s efficient delivery of hot water.

Your water heater’s warranty states that you MUST maintain a service schedule that includes cleaning the water filter and flushing the heat exchanger.

In addition, the warranty also recommends that you install what is called a “scale shield.” In fact, in hard water areas this is a condition of your water heater’s warranty. A scale shield will prevent the buildup of minerals on the heat exchanger. Of course, Infinity Plumbing Designs, Inc. is available to install the scale shield for you. One benefit of the scale shield is that it eliminates the need to clean the water filter and flush the heat exchanger.