Summer Plumbing Checklist

Summer is approaching and the kids are finishing the school year. That means planning vacations and more activities outdoors. You may find yourself mowing the lawn more often and working in the garden. All these involve plumbing, including if you have a pool, fountain, or other water features at your home. We have a summer plumbing checklist to help you keep your lawn and garden beautiful with those water features working properly.

Before you head outside, take a visual inspection of plumbing around the house. Note any problems in your plumbing system and make the repairs while the weather is warm. No one wants to handle a plumbing problem when it is freezing outside, so use the summer months as an incentive to get minor repairs done. Use our checklist for general plumbing maintenance.

While you are heading outside this summer, here are a few summer plumbing items you will want to check off:

Clear your access to the main water supply. It is always important to be able to quickly turn off your main water supply in case of a plumbing emergency. You will also want to easily access your shut off valve if you are heading out on vacation.
Test your water supply valve. Older valves that haven’t been turned in a while have more likelihood to leak. And if you plan to turn off the water coming into your house before you leave for vacation (recommended), you don’t want to deal with a leaking valve right before you are ready to go.
Inspect your sump pump. If you have a basement, you likely have a sump pump. Your sump pump is designed to prevent your basement from getting flooded. Now that we are in the dry season, make sure your sump pump is in good working order.
Inspect your well pump. If you are on well water, your well pump is working constantly to get you water. Wintertime could have caused some cracks and leaks, and put stress on the motor. So now that you would like to be outside more, it is the perfect time to verify it is operating optimally.
Test your sprinklers. With warm weather comes the need to water your lawn. And if you have a sprinkler system, you will want to make sure the sprinklers are working properly. Repair any leaks in your pipes and replace any broken sprinkler heads.
Check and repair garden water features. Many people love working in their garden during the summer months. And a fountain is a popular feature for gardens. If you have a fountain or other water feature, check the pump and hose connections to make sure they are working properly. Also, verify the piping to the fountain/water feature is not leaking. Then fix or replace as needed.
Perform maintenance on your pool pump. If you have a pool, you know there is maintenance involved. But besides cleaning the pool of any debris, filling it with water, and adding cleaning tablets, there are also pool pump motors, connections, and filters that should be maintained. Check with your pump manual for maintenance requirements.