Your plumbing

The first thing you need to do is locate the trap under the sink.

Now that you have found the trap, check for leaks or residue to ensure that you don't cause any leaks while plunging.

Next, you need to make sure that there's at least an inch of water in the sink.

Hold your rag or sponge over the overflow and place your plunger over the plug hole ensuring it’s covering the hole fully.

Gently apply pressure in an up and down motion for roughly two minutes making sure to check if the blockage is cleared periodically.

If your sink is still blocked, place a bowl underneath the trap.

This could get a bit messy.

Now loosen the nuts either side of the trap, take the trap off and place it into the bowl.

Take this to another sink or bath and wash the trap out thoroughly.

Make sure you don't lose or damage the seals.

When you're ready to put the trap back on, clean the connections with a damp rag or sponge to remove any muck.

Replace the trap ensuring that the seals are clean and in place.

Hand-tighten the nuts.

Place your bowl back underneath and run the tap to check for any leaks. 

If your toilet isn't flushing and the handle is facing down, this is often a broken link bar on the toilet handle.

The tools you'll need for this will either be a Phillips or flathead screwdriver.

You will need to remove the lid from the top of the cistern.

You should be able to see the broken link arm.

This will need to be replaced.

Undo the screw holding it onto the handle and remove it, then unhook the other piece from the siphon.

Hook the new link bar into the siphon and insert the end over the handle arm and tighten the screw.

Replace the lid and test the flush.

If you notice water running into your toilet or out of the overflow pipe, this could be caused by limescale on the float valve.

Remove the lid from the cistern, inspect the float valve for limescale making sure it isn't caught on the edge of the cistern.

If there is a lot of limescale you can try and remove this with a standard scraper.

If the problem persists, please give us a call.

For this video we're going to show you how to replace your shower head and hose.

You won't need any tools for this, however, if you do have an electric shower we do not advise changing the shower head as installing the incorrect parts can cause the shower to stop working.

Please give us a call if this is the case.

Unscrew the old shower head and hose.

Before you fit your new head and hose, ensure that the half inch rubber washers are inserted to either end.

Remember to feed the hose through the hose retainer.

Now screw your new hose into the shower followed by the shower head.

These only need to be hand-tight.

Finally, turn the shower on and check for leaks.

Find out where your stopcock is located (it’s usually where the water supply enters your home) and test it each year to make sure it works. You do this by turning it off and running the cold tap in the kitchen. The tap should stop running almost immediately. If it doesn’t, report the problem to us.

If there’s a leak or burst pipe you should shut off the water supply to your property immediately.

To avoid your internal pipes freezing, do the following:

• In very cold weather, try to keep some heating on at all times. 
• If you have a loft hatch, open it to allow some warmth to circulate into the loft.
• Look in your loft to check if pipes and tanks are lagged (covered). If they aren’t, please tell us.
• If you go on holiday or leave your home for a long period during the winter, make sure the heating is on for some of each day, even if it’s only for half an hour.

What to do if your pipes freeze

• First turn off the stopcock (see above for how to do this).
• Direct some heat onto the pipe (a hairdryer is ideal).
• If you can’t thaw out the pipe, keep the stopcock turned off unless you need water – this will stop you being flooded if the pipes thaw suddenly and burst.
• It's dangerous to use your central heating boiler, water heater, back boiler or immersion heater without water. If the hot-water tank is not filling up, or no hot water is coming through the hot taps, it's essential you turn off these systems.
• Be prepared for the pipe to thaw – have a bucket or bowl ready to collect any water if the pipe has burst.
• It can take a long time for pipes to thaw out. You can use isolation valves (see below) to shut off the water supply to individual outlets – for example the cistern, taps, bath or basin – while keeping a supply to the rest of your home. But this depends on which pipe has frozen. 

Condensing boilers require a pipe to be fitted to carry away waste water that forms as a result of the normal condensing process. This is called the condensate pipe, it is normally plastic and runs from the boiler to a household drainage system or soakaway outside.

 Watch the video on how to safely defrost a condensate pipe