blog posts tagged with plumbing

Blocked drains of any description can be a total nightmare. Nobody likes standing in a foot of soapy water every time they have a shower and a blocked toilet is deeply unpleasant, particularly if it’s the only one available and you all ate curry last night. Blockages are one of the commonest plumbing problems. They affect most home and business owners at one time or another, but what not many people realise is that there are two types of blockage: hard and soft. So what is the difference and how should you deal with each type of blockage?

Do I Have a Blocked Drain?

Drain problems often develop slowly. In the beginning when all is right with the world and your drains, water disappears instantly down the plughole and you don’t give the matter a second thought. After a while, though, you have standing water in the sink, shower or bath and curious ‘glugging’ noises are emanating from the plughole as the water slowly drains away. In the case of toilets, you might find that it doesn’t always flush properly and you have to flush several times before the contents of the bowl disappear.

What Causes Blockages?

There are many reasons why drains become blocked and not all of them are within your sphere of control. In answering the question of what causes blockages, I will also address the difference between soft and hard drain blockages.

Soft Drain Blockages

Soft blockages are the most common type of material clogging up drains. Hair mixed with soap scum is a very effective material for gluing up bathroom drains. In the case of toilets, excessive amounts of toilet paper, sanitary towels and even disposable nappies can do a great job of causing a pile-up in the U-bend. In the kitchen, blocked drains are usually caused by a build-up of cooking fat and food residue: deeply unpleasant and difficult to shift if it has been allowed to accumulate over a long period of time.

Clearing Soft Blockages

For minor blockages, your best bet is to try a drain cleaner from your local supermarket. They are usually effective when the blockage is relatively near the sink drain. However, if a lot of material has built up and the blockage extends deep down into the pipe system, you will require professional assistance in the form of a plumber and a plumbing snake. Toilet blockages can often be cleared with the aid of a large plunger. Alternatively, strap some rubber gloves on and go on an exploratory mission down the u-bend. It won’t be pretty, but it could save you time and money. If this doesn’t work, call a plumber.

Hard Drain Blockages

A hard blockage is more serious and expensive to fix. In this instance you are dealing with objects blocking the drain, usually outside. Tree roots are a good example of a hard drain blockage. Over time tree root systems can infiltrate external drains and sewer pipes causing all kinds of mayhem. Mineral build-ups are another example of a hard blockage, although this is more common in hard water areas and doesn’t happen overnight.

Clearing Hard Blockages

A bottle of drain cleaner is not going to get rid of a tree root in your drainpipe. In fact not even a plumber with his trusty sink plunger and plumbing snake is going to have much luck clearing a hard blockage. You may also need to hire a specialist drain camera inspection company to work out exactly where the blockage is.

For blocked drains, leaky towel radiators and any other plumbing emergencies, use your common sense: if you don’t have the skills or tools to fix the job, call in a plumber!

The bathroom is considered one of the most private rooms of the home, and certainly the most important to proper hygiene. We all have heard about the value you can add to your home by remodelling your bathroom, but what many people fail to realise is the potential cost a bathroom can add to your credit card if small issues are not caught and fixed promptly. Between plumbing systems and heating systems that run throughout the area, small problems can quickly turn into costly ordeals that impact the quality and value of your house. While there are quite a few different issues that could potentially arise in any bathroom, we will be covering three major issues that are the most common problems in any bathroom. If you act quickly when the symptoms are spotted, then you'll be able to get one step ahead of the problem and avoid massive remodelling or repair bills.

Check Your Water Pressure

While a bathroom radiator or an ECO heated towel rail can help provide air comfort in the cold winter months, your water is usually heated by a water heater or boiler. This device contains all sorts of equipment that individually are quite simple, but all work together to ensure proper functioning of your plumbing and hot water. The pressure regulator is one of these parts, and it's designed to keep the water flowing properly while not causing damage to your plumbing. If your pressure indicator states that the water pressure in your pipes is above 550 kPa, then you are in danger of causing a pipe rupture. These costly occurrences become astronomically expensive if not easily accessible, so be sure to regularly test your pipe pressure.

Install a Powerful Bathroom Radiator

The winter months can be difficult on your body and spirit, but pipes don't complain until it is too late. The cold climate of winter will in some cases cause weakened pipes to rupture. If your bathroom is adjacent to the exterior of the home, then a risk of ruptured pipes in your bathroom increases. One way you can help prevent this is by installing one of our bathroom radiators. Not only will this keep the ambient temperature in the room high enough on the coldest of nights to prevent a rupture, but it is also useful for avoiding those freezing winter mornings when you have to jump into the shower. A couple of hundred pounds of investment today makes a lot more sense than a couple of thousand pounds of plumbing bills tomorrow.

Install Above-Floor Plumbing

Did you know that many toilets now exist with above-floor plumbing to help minimise repair problems in the bathroom? These macerating, above-floor units take water in from the sink or shower, and use a very powerful pump to liquefy any contents that are expelled before they are sent back the same way, into the sewer or septic tank. A leaky toilet can cause untold number of problems, including smelly bathrooms and rotten floors. An above-floor plumbing system for your toilet (these can also be used on sinks and showers) will prevent these issues from occurring, since the toilet's bond with the floor becomes structural and not plumbing-related. No more replacing toilet seals or worrying about maintenance costs whenever a leak springs up!

Nobody wants to deal with costly plumbing problems. Sometimes, the solution to this is to have a proactive approach. Whether you are keeping an eye on your existing plumbing systems or replacing them with a less-liable alternative, you can certainly minimise the likelihood of any problems tomorrow by acting today. With this information in hand, you can now decide whether or not you are doing everything you can to keep your bathroom – and plumbing – in great shape!

Plumbing emergencies come in all shapes and sizes, from blocked toilets and leaking radiators to burst pipes and broken taps. However, some problems are more urgent than others. For example, you shouldn’t ignore a blocked toilet or a burst pipe whereas a leaking radiator could be left for a bit longer as long as you placed a container under the leaking section of pipe. So if the worst happens and you end up dealing with a plumbing emergency, what do you need to do?

Turn the Water Off Immediately

Hopefully you will know where the stop tap is in the event of a plumbing emergency. In most houses the stop tap is either under the kitchen sink or where the water meter is. However, it could be outside or in a basement if you have one. If you don’t have a clue, it is a seriously good idea to find out well in advance where the stop tap is, or you could end up with a larger than necessary flood should the worst happen and a pipe bursts.

Do Some Damage Limitation

Once water starts spewing everywhere, you need to try and contain the mess as quickly as possible. Grab bowls and place them under the leak to catch as much water as you can. If this isn’t practical for whatever reason, use towels to soak up the water until you are able to disconnect the water supply. If the water is leaking out faster than you can cope with, find someone to empty pots and bowls, or help you scoop water out and into the nearest drain.

Move Furniture and Valuables Out of the Way

Water can wreak havoc as anyone affected by flooding will be all too aware. Water soaks into soft furnishings and carpets very easily, and therefore causes a lot of damage in a short space of time. Water can also damage electrical goods, so it is a good idea to move any vulnerable items well out of the way. If the leak is perilously close to electrical outlets or has already affected electrical equipment, be very careful before you move these items. To be on the safe side, turn off the electricity supply first.

Call the Emergency Plumber

Once you have done some damage limitation, if you are not in a position to fix the problem yourself, you need to contact an emergency plumber. Hopefully you already know a good plumber, but if you are forced to go looking online for someone local, do make sure you are clear about what their call-out fee is before you ask them to come and fix the damage. Don’t forget to check whether you have emergency cover under an insurance policy—some bank current accounts offer this kind of extra as part of their package.

Deal with the Aftermath

De-humidifiers are very useful for drying out damp rooms in the aftermath of a leak. Sodden carpets and furnishings can take a while to dry out, particularly in the winter. A de-humidifier can speed up the process and make the room habitable a lot quicker. And if the damage is extensive, consider claiming on your home insurance policy to replace your old leaky radiator for new ADIGE towel radiators.