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The Ultimate Summer Plumbing Maintenance Guide

Summertime means backyard barbecues, chilling by the pool, and enjoying the sunshine. But all the fun and games can make it easy to overlook important aspects of your home—like the plumbing system.  

Your car isn’t the only thing that requires preventative maintenance. Your pipes, drains, fixtures, and everything else require regular plumbing maintenance to keep everything flowing.  

By taking some proactive steps and investing in preventive plumbing maintenance services, you can avoid costly repairs and ensure your summer plans don’t get derailed by pesky plumbing problems. 

Inspect Outdoor Plumbing   

When the summer season heats up, it’s time to give your outdoor plumbing some TLC. Take a look at your hose bibs, any sprinkler systems, and outdoor faucets. Is everything in working order? Is water leaking through the spigot and causing your hose to drip? If so, you might want to get a new one installed.  

Make sure to understand that a leaky hose bib can waste a shocking amount of water, so replace washers or repair valves before calling a professional to get a new one installed.  

While you’re at it, inspect your garden hoses for cracks or wear, as a burst hose can quickly flood your yard. A little proactive summer plumbing maintenance goes a long way in preventing outdoor water woes. 

Test Your Sump Pump (Before the Big Storm) 

Your sump pump is your first line of defense against basement flooding during heavy summer rainstorms. Don’t wait until water is seeping in to discover your pump isn’t working properly.  

Test it out by pouring a bucket of water into the sump pit and making sure the pump kicks on and drains the water quickly. If it’s slow to start or makes unusual noises, call in a plumbing maintenance service to inspect and repair it before the next big storm hits. 

Clean Gutters and Downspouts 

We know your gutters and downspouts are exactly “part” of your plumbing system but they play an important role in keeping water away from your foundation.  

If the gutters are clogged, this can lead to water running down in between your walls or down around the foundation causing basement flooding and water damage.   

Make it part of your summer plumbing maintenance routine to clean out gutters and ensure downspouts are clear and directed at least five feet away from your home’s foundation. If you’re not comfortable climbing a ladder, hire a professional gutter cleaning service to handle this important task.   

Check Air Conditioner Drain Lines  

Your air conditioning system produces a lot of condensation over time as it cools your home. This moisture is typically drained away through a condensate drain line. However, these lines can become clogged with algae, dirt, and debris, causing water to back up and potentially flood your home – even when you’re not using water anywhere. If you’re going to be gone for any length of time, be sure to turn up the temperature on your thermostat to minimize the amount of condensation forming, especially on very hot days. 

Locate your air handler’s drain line—usually a small PVC pipe near the unit—and check that it’s dripping regularly when the AC is running. If it’s not, it may be clogged. You can try flushing it with distilled white vinegar or call a plumber to clear the blockage. 

Plan Ahead for Summer Vacations  

Before locking the doors and taking off on your summer getaway, you have some home plumbing maintenance to do to avoid coming home to a disaster. If you’ll be gone for more than a few days, shut off the main water supply to prevent leaks or flooding from going undetected.  

It’s also a good idea to turn the temperature setting of your water heater to “vacation mode”. This will intermittently heat the water in your water heater to prevent stagnant water from growing bacteria while reducing the amount of electricity used. After all, there’s no sense in paying to heat water you’re not using. For added peace of mind, consider installing smart leak detectors that can alert you via smartphone if a pipe bursts, leak occurs or in some cases, learn your water usage patterns to detect and notify you, while you’re away. 

Flush Your Water Heater 

Sediment buildup in your water heater can reduce its efficiency and shorten its lifespan. Make it part of your annual summer plumbing system maintenance to flush your water heater tank or tankless water heater (if you have one).  

Turn off the power or gas supply, attach a garden hose to the drain valve, and let the water run until it comes out clear. This simple task can significantly extend the life of your water heater and ensure a steady supply of hot water for showers after a long day in the sun. 

Verify all shutoff valves in your home work properly (including the main water shutoff) for when you need them – if they’re not opened and closed periodically, they degrade over time and often end up either frozen in place or worse – leak and are incapable of closing completely. 

Ensure all your drains are working properly. When running the washing machine, check your bathrooms to be sure you don’t hear gurgling while it’s in the drain cycle. Be sure all sinks & tub/showers are draining slowly. 

Check your toilets for wasted water by putting food coloring in tanks and checking the bowls 20-30 mins later. This ensures your tank is not leaking into the bowl and repeatedly refilling unnecessarily, which wastes a lot of water. 

Final Thoughts 

By tackling these plumbing maintenance tasks, you’ll help prevent summer plumbing emergencies and keep your home’s water flowing freely. It’s also a good idea to establish a relationship with a trusted local plumbing company like Three Way Plumbing. 

We can help ensure these problems don’t get any worse and help guide you in the right direction when it comes to plumbing preventative maintenance.  

Remember, there’s no summer plumbing step that takes it too far. Contact our team today!