Six habits that keep your pipes healthy
Most of the emergency calls we take could have been a quiet non-event. Here’s how to stay on the boring side of plumbing.
Plumbing · A 4-minute read
Pipes rarely fail without warning. They corrode slowly, clog gradually and drip quietly behind cabinets long before they burst. A few habits keep small problems small.
1. Learn where your main stop-cock is
When a pipe lets go, the difference between a mop and a renovation is how fast you can shut off the water. Find your main valve today, make sure it turns, and tell everyone in the house where it lives.
2. Never treat the drain as a bin
Cooking oil, coffee grounds and rice are the usual suspects behind blocked kitchen lines. Oil congeals on the pipe wall and everything else sticks to it. Wipe greasy pans before washing and keep a strainer over the plughole.
3. Watch your water pressure
Pressure that’s too high stresses joints and shortens the life of heaters and hoses. If your taps hammer or bang when you shut them, that’s worth a look — a pressure-limiting valve is cheap insurance.
4. Service the water heater
Sediment builds up in storage heaters and makes them work harder. An annual check and flush keeps them efficient and catches a corroding element before it floods the bathroom.
5. Don’t ignore a slow drain
A sink that empties a little slower each week is telling you a blockage is forming. Clearing it early with proper equipment is simple; waiting until it backs up entirely is not.
6. Deal with drips promptly
A dripping tap or a weeping joint wastes water and, more importantly, signals a worn washer or seal that will only get worse. Fixing it takes minutes; the water damage it can cause does not.
When to call us
If you spot damp patches, hear running water with every tap closed, or your bill jumps for no reason, get it checked. We’ll trace the cause and quote a fixed price before any work starts.