Plumbers in croydon and surrey

Minor plumbing repairs

Making a few minor plumbing repairs as and when needed will indeed help avoid the risk of having to have more costly repairs carried out at a later date. Minor things such as a dripping or leaking tap will get worse if not repaired and could cause damp problems not to mention wasting water.

Here are a few quick minor plumbing repairs that you can do yourself which may save you a few pounds and do not need any special skills.

Now it is only common sense that you should never attempt to carry out any minor plumbing repairs where water is leaking or dripping onto any type of electrical wires or fittings. If this does occur, then make sure you turn the water off at the mains and the power off at the main fuse box before calling out a reputable plumber.

Dripping and leaking taps

Before making any minor plumbing repairs, always make sure you have turned the water supply off at the stopcock.

Believe it or not dripping and leaking taps are probably the most common of any plumbing repairs needed around the home. And you must agree that there is nothing more annoying than listening to a tap that is leaking or constantly dripping.

There are a couple of reasons why a tap is leaking or dripping and you can follow step by step how to carry these simple minor plumbing repairs here:

Step by step diagram on how to replace a tap washer.

Now we have just shown you how to change a tap washer but believe it or not, the vast majority of the time it is not actually the washer (which is rubber) that is causing leaking and dripping taps, but the valve seat that the washer is sits on when the tap is turned off that needs re-grinding.

What happens is the water is constantly trying to force itself underneath the rubber washer, and gradually erodes the brass seat it sits on and causes leaking and dripping.

This erosion can normally be due to the hard water that we have in the U.K.
There is also another easy way to cure leaking and dripping taps here:

Valve and stopcock maintenance

Stopcocks are the valves that control the flow of incoming water through the rising main, but because stopcocks are very rarely used they tend to get neglected.

It is therefore, advisable to check them every so often by opening and closing them, just to make sure that they operate freely. If, when you check them they seem a little stiff, lubricate them with some penetrating oil.
Failing to carry out this minor task may give you a serious problem if when you need to use them in an emergency they fail to operate.

Toilets – Unblocking

Have you ever noticed that sometimes when you flush the toilet the water in the pan does not drain away? If you have, then there is probably a blockage of some sort. This can normally be rectified by using a simple toilet plunger.
Take the plunger and use the rubber end to seal the U-bend at the base of the toilet pan.

By pushing the handle up and down you will create a pressure vacuum that should clear the obstruction allowing the water to clear away.
(I have been told that you can use a mop with a plastic bag tied around its head as a makeshift plunger)

If this does not work you can use a tool known as a “Toilet Auger” to remove the blockage.

This is a special plumbing tool which uses a flexible clearing rod with a hand crank, a long sleeve handle and a special auger device at the end which is used to break blockages or retrieve whatever it is that is causing the blockage.

You can buy a toilet auger from most plumbing and hardware stores,  B&Q sell them for about £12.00. If you do use one always remember to disinfect it after use.