Top tips to keep your household plumbing in top condition

It’s easy to overlook the plumbing around your home. And then when there’s a problem – a leaky tap, or a blocked toilet, it can sometimes come as a rude awakening! By keeping on top of simple plumbing maintenance tasks you can help to prevent any nasty surprises. Here are some of our top tips:

Maintaining your taps and washers

If your tap is leaking, chances are your washer needs changing. Don’t leave a leaking tap to drip – it’ll waste water and also cost you a lot in your water bill. Following online guides and video; it’s easy to find a tutorial to guide you in fixing a leaky tap. Remember not to over-tighten a tap when you put it back together – this can also cause unwanted problems.

Getting rid of drain flies

Drain flies aren’t harmful but they can be annoying. The pests are attracted to the organic matter build up in your plumbing, often hovering around your bathroom or kitchen sink. To keep the bugs away, make sure your sink is always left clean, and scrub the pipe that leads from the sink with disinfectant. Remove the grate from the top of the pipe and use a long and skinny brush to clean it out.

Cleaning out your drains

Dirty pipes can cause unwanted smells to waft into your home. Thankfully, you can clean out your drains and get rid of the smell rather easily. With natural products such as baking soda and vinegar, you can unclog drains and get them smelling neutral again. Here’s a short guide on how to do this easily.

Looking after your gutters

Rain gutters are great at collecting water off flow, but unfortunately they’re also good at collecting leaves and other natural elements that can clog them up. If your gutters go without clearing, then they can cause seepage and water damage in areas of your home you want to keep dry.

By using a sturdy ladder, preferably with someone holding it still for you at the bottom, you should clear out your gutters twice a year. Using a gutter scoop, pick up the leaves and tip them into a nearby bucket. Then blast the gutters with a hose to check the water is flowing correctly where it should. If you are still finding blockages at certain points, try and find the source and clear it out.

Be careful where you plant your trees

If you’re new to landscaping, you might want to think carefully about where you plant trees in your garden before you put them into the ground. Some trees have huge and long tree roots that can damage underground plumbing pipes.If there is a leak in a pipe, tree roots will be attracted to it for the extra nutrients and water. So make sure you keep tree roots well away from sewage and other pipes, and call a plumber immediately if you suspect there’s a problem.

We hope these tips on plumbing maintenance have given you an idea of how to fix small plumbing issues around your home and garden. If the issue is more serious and you need further help, do not hesitate to give us a call.