There are so many things that can go wrong with the plumbing at your property, dripping taps, blocked pipes and low water pressure just to name a few! You may think to call in a plumber straight away, and with good reason if done incorrectly a small plumbing repair can turn into a huge and costly job. With this said there are a few tips that can help you with minor plumbing problems that could come in useful!

1. When you move into a new property make sure you take note of the location of the water stop tap. This will help you avoid costly damage from any potential leaks if you can easily find the stop tap and turn it off.
2. Before drilling any holes in walls, ceilings and floors try and find out if there are any supply or drainage pipes behind where you want to drill to avoid any accidental punctured pipes! A Cheap stud finder should help locate any potential pipes!
3. Don’t use your toilet as a bin! Find out what can be flushed down the toilet, pretty much anything other than toilet paper can cause a blocked toilet, even “flushable” wipes.
4. Never put food debris, grease, veg peelings or starchy foods down the drain in the kitchen, over time they will build up and cause blocked pipes.
5. Its always handy to have a good quality plunger in the house. They can be used to help clear blocked toilets sinks and drains.
6. If you are trying to dislodge a small hard foreign object such as a child’s toy or toothbrush from a drain, then try using a hoover! With a bit of luck, it will suck the object out whereas as plunger would just push it further down making it even more difficult to remove!
7. Any dripping taps or running toilets are just literally money going down the drain! A running toilet wastes 910 liters of water a day and a dripping tap will waste 36 liters! So, any small leaks need repairing as soon as possible not only will you soon notice a decrease in your water bills, but you could save yourself money on repairing a much larger problem down the line!
8. Don’t over tighten fittings! When fittings and connections are over tightened, they often lead to stripped screws and broken bolts!
9. Invest in some Teflon tape, aka plumbers’ tape. You can use this to seal pipe threads to help prevent leaks around fittings and joints. Its worth noting that the with tape is for household plumbing whereas the yellow tape is used for gas connections.
10. Keep on top of leaks. Check plumbing appliances and pipes regular for leaks this way you can catch them early before they turn into a huge and costly job!

If you are having problems with the plumbing in your home or business, then contact JWC Plumbing and Heating today – 0151 345 4039