Plumbing 17 April 2023

The Importance of Regular Plumbing Maintenance

Plumbing is one of the most important systems in your home. It provides you with clean water, takes away wastewater, and helps to regulate the temperature of your home. But like any system, plumbing can break down over time. That’s why it’s important to have your plumbing regularly maintained.

It Saves Money in the Long Run

Regular plumbing maintenance can help you save money in the long run. By catching small problems early, you can prevent them from becoming big, expensive repairs. For example, a leaky tap may seem like a minor problem, but it can waste a surprising amount of water over a year. That wasted water can add up to a significant increase in your water bill.

It Makes Your Fittings Last Longer

Regular plumbing maintenance can also extend the life of your plumbing fixtures. When your fixtures are properly maintained, they will last longer and function more efficiently. This can save you money on replacement costs down the road.

It Heads Off the Expensive Failures

Regular plumbing maintenance can help to prevent costly repairs. By catching problems early, you can avoid major repairs that run into thousands of pounds. For example, a blocked drain may seem like a minor problem, but it can quickly lead to a major pipe blockage. If the blockage is not cleared, it can cause flooding and extensive damage to your home.

What Regular Maintenance Actually Looks Like

It does not need to be elaborate. Twice a year, with a torch and ten minutes:

• Look under every sink and behind the washing machine. Green or white crusting on a joint is the signature of a slow weep.
• Check the ceiling below the bathroom for staining or a patch that looks subtly different from the rest.
• Run every tap and watch how it drains. Slow today is blocked next month.
• Listen to the toilet after it refills. It should fall silent.
• Check the boiler pressure gauge. Topping it up regularly means water is escaping somewhere.
• Turn the stopcock to confirm it has not seized open — a very common fault, and completely useless in an emergency.

Get the Small Jobs Done Together

Because our first hour is always billable, one visit covering four small jobs costs a great deal less than four visits covering one each. Keep a running list on the fridge — the dripping tap, the loose toilet seat, the radiator that never gets hot — and call us when it has a few items on it.

Don’t Forget the Boiler

An annual service is separate from general plumbing maintenance, and for most manufacturers it is what keeps the warranty valid. Miss one and the cover can lapse quietly, so that it fails at exactly the moment you need it. A service with us is a flat £95 + VAT, and a second gas appliance done on the same visit is half price.

The Jobs Worth Booking Rather Than Watching

Some things do not improve with monitoring. If you notice any of these, get them looked at while they are still small:

• Boiler pressure that keeps dropping. That water is going somewhere, and somewhere is usually a floor.
• A radiator cold at the bottom, which points to sludge in the system rather than air.
• A stopcock that will not turn. A tiny job now; a disaster during a burst.
• Any joint with green or white crusting on it. That is a weep, and weeps do not heal.
• A slow drain that keeps coming back after you have cleared it. Something further down is causing it.

Getting Started

If you’re not sure where to begin, call Plumbing Angels on 01732 792 454. We can look over your plumbing system and recommend a maintenance schedule that suits your home. Our time is charged at £95 + VAT for the first hour, always billable, then £47.50 + VAT an hour after that.