When you bought your home, the plumbing system probably got about five minutes of your attention. The taps ran, the toilet flushed, and the survey didn’t flag anything major, so you moved on to more exciting things, like choosing paint colours.
But the network of pipes hiding behind your plasterboard has been working overtime for decades, and some problems can go unnoticed for months. The good news is that a few simple checks will help you catch them early.
Find Leaks
First off, take a look under your sink, since that’s where slow leaks tend to hide. Move the bleach bottles out of the way, grab a flashlight, and run your hand along the pipes to feel for moisture.
Once you’ve done that, move on to the toilet. Check the floor around the base and the pipe connecting to the cistern, then have a look at any exposed pipework in the airing cupboard or garage.
So, what are the warning signs? Look out for damp patches, water stains, a musty smell, or a green crust around copper joints.
It’s easy to ignore a leak that only produces a few drops a day. Over time, though, that small leak can rot cupboards, lift your flooring, and leave a brown stain on the ceiling below that no amount of paint will hide.
Sometimes, the fix is as simple as tightening a loose fitting. But if the water is coming from a corroded pipe or a joint you can’t reach, call in a professional before the damage spreads.
If you need help with your plumbing, Croydon has plenty of local professionals who can find the source of a leak and repair it properly.
Keep Your Drains Clear
Have you ever wondered where the leftover fat from your Sunday roast ends up?
Unfortunately, most of it settles inside your drains, mixing with coffee grounds, food scraps, and hair. Gradually, this buildup restricts the flow of water until your sink starts draining slowly.
Grease is one of the main causes of kitchen drain blockages. It goes down the plughole as a liquid, then cools and hardens inside the pipe, where it catches everything that follows.
So, let used fat cool off in the pan and wipe it straight into the bin with kitchen paper. Coffee grounds and food scraps can go in your food waste caddy instead.
Hair can also build up in your shower and sink drains, making it harder for water to flow away. A cheap drain strainer from B&Q or Screwfix will catch most of it, and emptying a strainer is a lot easier than fishing a clump of hair out of the plughole later.
If the water starts draining slowly or gurgling, deal with it straight away, as that usually means a blockage is forming.
Test Your Taps and Toilets
With your drains sorted, it’s time to check your taps and toilets.
If a tap keeps dripping after you’ve turned it off, the washer or cartridge inside has probably worn out. While it may not seem like an emergency, it can add up to thousands of litres a year. And if you’re on a water meter, you’ll be paying for every wasted drop.
As for your toilet, it might have passed the leak check, but water can still trickle from the cistern into the bowl without you noticing. If you can still hear a faint hiss or trickle long after the last flush, the flush valve probably isn’t sealing properly.
To double-check, add a few drops of food colouring to the cistern and leave it for 30 minutes without flushing. If the colour finds its way into the bowl, the valve or seal needs replacing.
Protect Your Pipes
A sudden cold snap can cause serious damage overnight, even if your plumbing has been in good shape all year. When water freezes inside a pipe, it expands. The pipe then splits, and water pours out as soon as it thaws.
So, before the first frost, wrap any pipes in the loft, the garage, or along external walls in foam lagging.
During a cold snap, keep your heating on low, even if you’re going away. Around 12°C is usually enough to stop your pipes from freezing.
You should also find your main stopcock before you need it. It’s usually under the kitchen sink, but it can also be under the stairs. Give it a turn a couple of times a year so it doesn’t seize up.
Maintain Your Hot Water System
While you’re getting ready for the colder months, don’t forget about your boiler. You want to make sure it’s going to turn on when winter arrives instead of leaving you shivering on the coldest morning of November.
Start by checking the casing and the pipes underneath it for drips, rust marks, or water stains. Then, listen out for banging, gurgling, or whistling.
If you’ve got a combi boiler, keep an eye on the pressure gauge. It should read between 1 and 1.5 bar when the heating is off, and if it keeps dropping, there could be a leak in the system.
Most manufacturers recommend an annual service, and missing one can void your warranty. Gas boiler maintenance must be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer, so ask to see their ID card before they start.
Whatever you do, never take the cover off your boiler or try to repair it yourself, no matter how easy a YouTube tutorial makes it look.
Check Your Water Pressure
With your boiler in good shape, the last thing to check is your water pressure.
You’ll usually spot a pressure drop during your morning shower, right when the refreshing spray suddenly turns into a weak trickle. If that happens, turn on a few other taps to see if they’re affected as well.
If the issue is limited to one tap or shower, limescale is the usual cause. Croydon is in a hard water area, so your tap aerators and showerheads can clog up quickly.
To clear them, remove the aerator or showerhead and soak it in white vinegar overnight, then rinse it and screw it back on.
If the pressure has dropped throughout your home, check your water supplier’s website for planned work. If there’s nothing listed, you could be dealing with a hidden leak or a fault in your supply pipe, so get a plumber to take a look.
Conclusion
The first sign of a plumbing problem is often a damp patch on the ceiling or a shower that drops to a trickle while your hair is still full of shampoo. Thankfully, a quick check every month will help you catch most problems early.
Keep on top of these habits, and you’ll never have to explain to a guest why there’s a bucket sitting in the middle of your living room.
