Plumbing

Well the weather sucks right now doesn’t it! Who said you can get a tan from standing in the English rain?

For those lucky enough to be planning a holiday, or even just a weekend getaway, there is no doubt a long list of endless turgid tasks to complete before you throw your cares aside and set off into the sun.

Well, as a bearer of the most relevant modernistic plumbing must have tips, tricks and news, please allow me to add a few more cash saving, catastrophe avoiding points to the now mandatory list that awaits us all.

No longer is it enough to leave a simple voice mail alerting folks of your leave of absence and re-program the thermostat, your plumbing system needs some quick and easy TLC too.

Avoid a catastrophe

Let’s say a pipe bursts in your house. What would you do? Of course, we’d look to switch off the main stop cock at the first sign of trouble. But what happens if the leak springs while you’re on your summer hols? Trouble keeps on flowing! And our kitchens, front rooms, hallways… they’re simple not designed to house indoor swimming pools. That’s why we skip off in the first place!
While the odds on this happening to a well maintained home our slim, the stakes are high, and the solutions simple. Whenever you plan on leaving your home for a day and a night, you can buy yourself some insurance by simply shutting off the main stop cock supplying the incoming main to your home.

In most homes, the stopcock is located underneath the kitchen sink. Some can be turned by hand, others may require a wrench to turn it on and off. If you’re having trouble locating your stop cock you can call us on 07825268097. Even if you are home in the event of a plumbing emergency, it counts to know where your valve is and how to shut it off, saving you potentially thousands of pounds in damage!

Save Energy, Save Water

What sort of money do we save whilst leaving the house unoccupied? We can reap the savings by not using the household lights, appliances and electronics for several days and it does make a big difference to the electric bill. You may see a difference to your water bill while showering in the hotels and letting the restaurants do the dishes (assuming no indoor swimming pools.)
We can do more. With a few small adjustments, we can extend these savings a little extra. If you have an automatic ice make in your freezer, for instance, shutting it off before you leave will help save a little extra water. And if you have a water softener, shutting it down will conserve energy and water softening salt.

The biggest of the savings though will come from your hot water cylinder. This beast consumes more energy than most appliances in your home. When there’s no one home to take a hot shower, there’s no need to keep it running. You’ll risk burning out the heating element. The easiest way to turn off the immersion heater is by the fuse spur located near the cylinder. Some hot water/heating systems now have a holiday mode on the control dials. If you need any assistance in ticking the boxes of your plumbing prep tasks, be sure to call Solutions Plumbing & Heating to schedule an appointment.