Emergency Plumber Peterborough

Dealing with plumbing emergencies

Plumbing disasters can range from the devastation of a burst pipe, to the unpleasant smell of a blocked sink. If you keep your plumbing and heating systems well maintained, most problems can be avoided. However, when emergencies hit, our top tips are here to minimise the damage before your emergency plumber in the [ location] area arrives.

Burst Pipes

When the minus temperatures hit, water within exposed and uninsulated pipework can freeze. As water expands when it turns into ice, this can damage pipework, causing it to split. If you are lucky, a split may be minor and only cause a little damage – maybe only noticeable in a drop in pressure to your boiler, or an unusually high water bill – but a major leak can be devastating and cause similar damage to a fire.

Whether your burst pipe is weather or accident related, there are a number of steps to take. The first is to try not to panic and keep a clear head while you prevent water passing the point of the leak by turning off the stop-valve on the incoming water supply main – often sited under the kitchen sink.

Turn off the central heating system and, if it uses a solid fuel boiler, allow the fire to die out. Switch off any electric immersion heater, then call a professional plumber.

Frozen Pipes

, if a pipe freezes these are the steps you should take.. Turn off the mains water supply at the stop valve inside your home.

If it has, empty the cold water storage cistern by opening the cold water taps and flushing the WC. If you know how to, you could siphon the water from the cistern with a hose pipe, then call a professional plumber.

Blocked sinks

When fat or oil (animal and plant based) is poured down the drain, sink or WC at a temperature above its melting point, it will then cool and solidify and this can cause blockages resulting in problems flushing the toilet.

Let it solidify and put it in a disposable container (like a used margarine tub or yogurt pot) and then empty it in the bin. People pouring cooking fats into the kitchen sink or toilets, is the number one cause of blockages in drains.

Empty any surplus water remaining in the sink. Add some washing up liquid and pour boiling water from a kettle onto the sink outlet to soften any hardened fats. If this has not dislodged the blockage, you can use soda crystals (following the directions on the box).

Blocked toilets

You should only ever flush the three P’s – pee, poo and (toilet) paper– down your toilet. This is what your plumbing and sewerage systems were designed for. The pipes are relatively small and easily blocked and there really isn’t much room for anything else to pass through.

Unblocking a toilet is not going to be nice. You must wear long sleeved rubber gloves and safety glasses. You will probably require a bucket of hot water as this might help dissolve things. If you’re going to put any chemicals down the toilet, beware they give off fumes and doors and windows need to be open. Drain un-blocker chemicals are very powerful and can be very dangerous if breathing in, getting on your skin or eyes. Always read the manufacturer’s label to see what they recommend for its correct safe use. If in doubt, don’t use it.

You would start with a plunge/force cup if you have one. Otherwise you might use a traditional mop, but it is very important this is not used thereafter. By plunging the force cup (or mop) down into the outlet, you start a momentum of pressure – as it is pulled backwards the contents ought to be sucked out by the pressure created.

Once clear, flush the WC several times. Thoroughly clean down all areas around and within, including the underside of the seat to ensure there is no contamination. Don’t wait for a slow draining toilet to get worse. Take action as soon as you suspect there may be an issue.

External blockages

In the case of external blockages you must get an agreed cost from a professional engineer. This might be per hour, call out charges or for specialist equipment. Don’t go forward with open ended cost

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