Call: 02089881662

Month: May 2020

19 Things You Shouldn’t Put Down The Drain (But Probably Do)

Posted on by rob.fullsend

Whether it’s down your toilet or your kitchen sink, there are objects and substances that certainly should not be entering your drainage system. There are common culprits that are often discussed in the media, but there are also an array of random things that you may have never even thought about.

There are several reasons why particular objects shouldn’t end up in your drainage system, with the most common result being blocked drains. Having a blocked system can cause several problems for your home or property, such as bad smells, water levels rising and overflowing and even, in the worst case, flooding.

There are also particular objects that should not be put down the sink for environmental reasons and the impact that they have on wildlife. Non-biodegradable objects that are put down the drain often end up in waste landfill or even our lakes and oceans and can be potentially harmful to the environment.

It’s important that we begin to create healthy habits – not only for the good of the planet, but for the health of your own drain at home! Nobody wants to incur an extra cost when they don’t need it and having a blocked drain that needs to be resolved professionally could be one of those costs – if you don’t pay attention to what you put down your drains.

But what exactly shouldn’t you put down the drain? Here’s a list.

19 things that you should avoid flushing…

  • Pasta & Rice – It continues to swell once flushed!
  • Coffee Grounds – Can cause build up long term in the pipes
  • Cooking Oil – This can harden when cool and limit drainage
  • Grease – Including the cooked fat from your meat!
  • Pet Waste – Cat litter included, even if it is advertised as flushable
  • Fruit & Veg Stickers – These are made of plastic and can stick to the sides of drains or filters
  • Condoms – Latex doesn’t disintegrate
  • Sanitary Products – Contains potential harmful bodily fluids
  • Flushable Wipes – Does not disintegrate as well as biodegradable ones
  • Cotton Balls/Rounds/Wool – These don’t break down, clogging your system
  • Cleaning Solutions – Contain harmful ingredients that can be detrimental to wildlife
  • Medicines – Must be disposed of properly
  • Fruit Rinds/Skin – Can clump together and only takes a few to cause a blockage
  • Flour – This coagulates and hardens in drain pipes
  • Egg Shells – They can be ground up and combined with oil to create a thick mess
  • Paint – Regardless of if the base substance (oil, water etc), paint can contain harmful toxins
  • Paper Towels – Toilet paper should be the only product going down your drain
  • Butter & Margarine – Can congeal
  • Motor Oil – Contains harmful substances

Although you may have been aware of most of the items you shouldn’t flush down your drain, we hope you’ve learnt something new! Some of the items may seem silly, or you couldn’t possibly imagine doing it yourself, but these are things that are commonly found to have been flushed.

Are you only flushing what is completely necessary?

DIY: What You Need & When to Call A Professional

Posted on by rob.fullsend

Fairly often, when things go wrong in the home (or we just need something doing!), the first thing we consider doing is making an emergency call to someone. Sometimes, it can be a family member who you know is fairly handy, but other times it can be an emergency electrician or plumber, depending on what has gone wrong and how quickly you need it solving! We often panic that we can’t do anything ourselves or perhaps we don’t trust ourselves to try and right the wrong.

Despite this, there are definitely a few repairs and home maintenance things that can be done by yourself, provided you have the right tools and equipment to do so. By having some tools ready and waiting, you’ll know when a repair or task is needed, whether you can grab your kit and do it yourself, or if you need to call in a professional.

 

Drains

Drains have a habit of getting blocked from time to time. Whether you’ve put something down there that you shouldn’t have, or there’s been a blockage further along, it happens. Two pieces of equipment that can help you unclog a drain yourself are a plunger and a drain snake. Both together and seperately, these tools can assist in getting your drain unclogged and back in working order if the issue is small.

However, there may be occasions where the blocked drain causes damage and inconvenience like flooding, larger blockages on your street or foul odours. This may be the situation where you may have to call for a professional in blocked drains. They will be able to assess the situation and work to resolve the issue(s), leaving your drains clear and clean.

 

Boilers

Boilers are an aspect of your home/property where you have to be extremely cautious and careful. Issues with boilers and gas pipework can be severely harmful if not looked at by a professional. An issue that we commonly come across involves radiators that aren’t fully warm, affecting heating and costing money. This is something that can be solved at home if the problem isn’t a large one. All that you need is a radiator key to ‘bleed’ your radiators and that may resolve the issue. Some other hands-free solutions that you can perform at home include re-pressurising your boiler and manually resetting it.

There are certainly some instances where boilers need professionals to look at them. Whether you’re looking to replace or install a gas boiler, or you smell gas, ensure that you call a professional – the latter could be extremely dangerous.

 

Odd Jobs

There are plenty of odd repair and maintenance jobs that you can do around your home. Some may require special tools that you can easily grab from your local DIY store, whilst others may require your typical handyman equipment. Jobs include tiling walls, plastering, replacing lightbulbs or fitting new lights altogether, or simply painting and decorating your property.

The above can certainly be simple jobs you can work on yourself with no real danger (if done properly) but they can, however, be time-consuming and messy if not done properly and with care. Property maintenance isn’t something that everyone loves and wants to get involved in, but luckily there are services out there that can take the hassle from you.

 

Ensuring that your DIY box is filled up with appropriate tools could save you both time and money in the long run, allowing you to do some jobs that professionals aren’t required for. However, as always, ensure you know of and look out for the warning signs of certain issues that may require a professional to step in.

Here at Kiasu, we have teams of emergency electricians, gas & heating engineers and plumbers to assist should you need it.