Plumbing Advice For the Home

Inspect your porch drains before the rainy season begins. Do you really want to find out in the middle of a storm that your porch doesn't drain?

If you hear your toilet running (you'll know by the hissing sound) don't ignore it. Get it fixed. You may waste tens of liters of water every day.

Never throw baby wipes, sanitary napkins or anything other than toilet paper and toilet tissue down the toilet! The latter is manufactured to readily dissolve in the water. The former, on the other hand, will stay in tact, get caught somewhere in the pipe or manhole, and eventually create a clog -- resulting in you calling us when either the toilet won't flush or the sewage backs up.

Try not to put F.O.G. into your kitchen sink. Over time, Fat, Oil and Grease will constrict your pipes to the point where the water in your sink will no longer drain. Either flush it down the toilet or throw it in the garbage.

Use strainers religiously in your sinks. Not only your kitchen sinks but your bathroom sinks and tubs as well.

Never leave your water boiler on for more than a few hours as excessive heating can result in the pipes bursting. We advise installing a special timer for you boiler.

When you have a patio built outside your home ensure that the workers know to create an access point for the sewer (a.k.a they shouldn't seal over the manhole cover). If they do cover it up have them redo the work at their expense. Having a manhole covered by brick and concrete may turn into a horror story some time down the line. Plan ahead. Be wise. Don't say, "we'll deal with it when the time comes." Imagine a backed-up sewer and the plumber asking, "so where is the manhole anyway?"