Here are some tips from a licensed plumber on how to get your house ready for the winter.

Are Your Pipes Insulated?

Your pipework’s water can quickly freeze during the winter because of how much the temperature drops and how difficult it is for the mercury to rise. This freezing can cause pipes to burst, causing home floods, and do enormous amounts of damage to your furniture and property’s foundation.

To try and lessen the risk of this happening, investing in a foam insulation jacket for your pipes is a wise choice. Homeowners may routinely install insulation, but skilled plumbers can provide the correct level of insulation and install pipes in hard-to-reach places.

Avoid Clogs 

In the winter, clogged drains are a typical problem in most households. You must make sure your drains and gutters are functioning effectively, both inside and outdoors due to the amount of leaves and debris that accumulate during the cold winter.

When the weather gets colder and your gutters start to fill up with debris, ice can start to form. This can cause damage to the guttering itself, including breaks. The last thing a homeowner needs is a gutter overflow that results in dampness and drainage issues.

Turn Off Water If You’re Leaving Home

In the winter, never forget to turn off the water in your house correctly and empty the system before leaving. Unused or drained plumbing systems face the risk of freezing, which can cause pipes to rupture and a variety of other issues. 

You can do this yourself if you have confidence in your plumbing systems, or you can contact our plumbers to help make sure that no water is wasted and doesn’t freeze in your pipes this winter.

Is Your Boiler Serviced?

You should start by looking into your boiler’s service history because it’s one of the most crucial elements of a house. It’s best for a certified professional to enter your boiler details and check that it is operating properly. This winter, be one step ahead of the game by servicing your boiler before it breaks down to guarantee a warm house.

Contact Servo Rod For Plumbing This Winter

If you need assistance preparing your plumbing systems for the winter, use a plumber who is completely licensed. Pre-winter inspections and any plumbing maintenance you believe your property needs may be trusted to the skilled professionals at Servo Rod.

The post Is Your Home’s Plumbing Ready For The Winter? appeared first on Servo-Rod.

Gullies: What Are They and How Do They Get Blocked?

An outdoor drain pipe called a gully is used to remove wastewater. This includes grey water from your sinks, shower, washing machine, and dishwasher as well as rainwater from your guttering. Given the variety of sources flowing into your gullies, it’s not unusual that they occasionally become clogged and need a thorough cleaning to get them back in working order.

The most frequent causes of blocked gullies include garden debris like leaves and grass, oil or grease that has solidified, and tree roots that have made their way into the drain and kept growing.

4 Tips for Avoiding Blocked Gullies

1. 1.Plan Your Planting Promptly: Keep trees like willow, maple, oak, beech, and poplar that have active root systems away from drainage systems. 
2. Think Before You Put Anything Down the Sink: To prevent particles from entering your drains, we advise utilising a sink strainer. Never dump fat, grease, or oil down the sink. 
3. Apply Strict Flushing Rules: There are only two things you should flush: paper or biowastes. Wipes don’t completely decompose, and neither do nappies or period products, despite what the packaging on them says. 
4. Clean Around Gullies: Your gully becomes clogged with leaves, silt, twigs, and other debris, especially in the autumn. To prevent items from falling into the drain, keep the area free.

Use a Drain Rod

If you want to tackle unblocking gullies our advice would be to use a drain rod. Drain rods are metre-long, flexible rods that may be fastened together and placed into a drain to unclog any obstructions. Once a blockage is encountered, carefully poke it with the rod. This procedure aims to disassemble the obstruction into more manageable, simple-to-flush parts. You risk pushing the obstruction farther down the drain if you attempt to remove it.

How Can We Help?

If at-home solutions don’t work for your blockage, Servo Rod can help! For tree roots or any objects that are hard removed manually a powerful jet would be able to force the object out. For this, we suggest our Drain Jetting service.

Our drain jetting hose is flexible and strong enough to fight the blockage and clear drains in no time! If you would like more information or book our service, fill in our contact form and we will be in touch. 

The post Causes of Blocked Gullies and How To Avoid Them appeared first on Servo-Rod.

The Sewer Trap

Every drain has, or ought to have a trap, which is a low bend. Water builds up inside the downward-facing curve, preventing the sewer gases from escaping the drain. Every time you turn on the faucet, new water is added. There can be few things wrong with the trap:

– If you haven’t used any water for weeks, the water may have just evaporated from the trap

– There could be a leak meaning the water is escaping

Dirty Garbage Disposal

While a waste disposal is very convenient, it is possible for food to become stuck in the blades and for food to spoil, which may be the cause of the odour coming from your kitchen sink drain. This can happen if you don’t run enough water down the drain each time you put food in it or if you drop a lot of food down the sink at once.

The nasty sink could be resolved by cleaning it out with coarse salt, ice cubes, cold water, and lemon peels. If it doesn’t, you might need to replace your disposal.

Clogged Vent

It’s possible that germs and muck accumulation are to blame for the odour. Keep in mind that everything that goes down your drains, such as food, hair, and dirt, can build up. An odour may develop as a result of such objects becoming lodged in the pipes.

Blockages frequently come with smells, so this is a strong indication that it’s time to empty your pipes. Hopefully cleaning your pipes will eliminate the odour (and slow drains).

Unused Drain

A dry Sewer trap is often to blame for the smelly sink drain that develops after a period of inactivity. Your plumbing system has a device called a p trap that collects water and the base of the curve to block odours. The water in the p trap will evaporate, though, if it hasn’t been used for a time, leaving you exposed to your foul sink drains.

Sulphates

You may have too much sulphate in your water if your sink has a strong rotten egg odour. Sulphates can harm clothes and create stomach problems when consumed, although they are not dangerous. An excessive amount of sulphates in your water can also cause drainage issues, so the stench may originate from both the sulphates themselves and a clog.

Get Fresh Smelling Drains

If you’ve noticed a bad smell around your sink drain and you can’t fix the problem on your own, it’s time to get outside help. Contact us today on 0116 277 5863 to arrange a visit or fill in our contact form.

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How Does High-Pressure Drain Jetting Work?

A high-pressure cleaning technique for clogged drains and sewer systems is drain jetting. It operates by forcing water (that is kept in tanks) via a high-pressure hose that has a jetting nozzle on it.

Drainage engineers can target obstructions and remove them using this procedure, which propels strong streams of water into the pipeline. Jetting hoses are excellent for clearing blockages that would be challenging to access with other tools like drain rods or DIY clearing kits since they can manoeuvre around tight bends in pipes.

High-pressure water drain jetting is an efficient way to unclog some types of drain obstructions or blockages, including:

– Hair follicle growth

– Lather scum

– Grease and fat accumulate

– It can even get rid of garbage and tree roots that shouldn’t have entered the drain in the first place

When Do You Need to Drain Jetting?

If a drain is blocked completely or partially by debris, drain jetting may be the perfect answer. Drain jetting is a completely “no-dig” option because the water jets move through sturdy hoses. This implies that in order to restore functionality, technicians won’t need to dig up any pipes or remove drains. Instead, the problem can be promptly and effectively solved by applying drain jetting from the drain’s mouth.

Can I clear block drains with Drain Jetting?

The approach isn’t always helpful when a drain gets clogged. It is also useful for cleaning your drains and pipes if they are becoming clogged and require a little upkeep. We advise routine drain cleaning to preserve excellent water flow and prevent any clogging or buildup that could cause blockages and problems later on. This will help prevent your drains from becoming clogged in the future.

How powerful is drain jetting?

The PSI utilised for drain jetting depends on the type of obstruction you have because it can be pretty powerful. For instance, lesser clogs brought on by excess hair, soap suds, or toilet paper may only need 2,000 PSI.

However, we would use a higher PSI if extensive scale, fat buildups, or particularly persistent blockages needed to be removed.

Are there any safety issues with drain jetting?

It’s important to note that high-pressure water jetting operations present a number of safety concerns. Along with the obvious dangers like open manholes and the high water pressure that may readily pierce the skin. We advise leaving drain jetting to the professionals who have received the appropriate training, employ the best tools and dress safely.

Contact Specialists

If you require a drain jetting service, Servo-Rod can help as we provide full high-pressure jetting service for drains. Contact us on 0116 277 5863 or fill out our quick enquiry form.

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Slow Drains 

Clogs can also be caused by collapsing pipes. Slow drains in numerous toilets or other drains in your home are a sign that the situation is more serious. This can add up over time and is an indication that you should hire an expert. Make an appointment with a professional plumber to get your plumbing inspected. 

Amount of Toilet Paper

Only a certain amount of material can be flushed down the toilet. We’ve all done it before: stuffed too much tissue paper down the toilet. It’s a common blunder that may be quickly remedied by flushing the toilet twice in a succession. This doubles the flushing pressure, ensuring that all flushable waste is properly pushed through the system. This will help to protect your toilet from clogging and ensure that it functions properly.

‘Flushable’ Wipes

Baby wipes, believe it or not, are not meant to be flushed. It seems natural that everything used to wipe should be able to pass through the toilet, but this is not the case. These convenience products can cause clogs and costly plumbing damage. Despite the fact that toilet and baby wipes often have a logo indicating that they are safe to flush, they can easily produce a severe backup, especially if a drain is already partially stopped. We recommend that you throw these ‘flushable’ wipes in the dust bin even though they are advertised as flushable for a clean clear toilet drain. 

There’s Not Enough Water in the Tank

Any waste that makes its way out of the toilet must be pressed down. There won’t be enough pressure to clean the bowl if the toilet tank isn’t totally filled when flushed.

Check to see if the supply valve is open, then inspect the water line supply for leaks. If neither of these issues exist, the fill valve should be replaced.

Contact Us

We hope these tips are useful and help you prevent clogging, if you require a plumber or any more information the team at Servo-Rod can help. Call us on 0116 277 5863 or fill out a quick enquiry form.   

The post Reasons Your Toilet Keeps Blockings & How To Prevent it appeared first on Servo-Rod.

Slower Drain

Sinks that are slow to drain are a definite sign you have a clog. A clogged drain can be caused by a variety of factors, but the most common culprits are objects or substances that plug it up. If more than one fixture is slowing down, there’s probably a major clog in your sewer line. You can use a mixture of hot water and mild detergent to try to flush these clogs out on your own. If this does not work, you should hire a plumber to clear your drains professionally. 

Funny Smell

If you can’t see anything wrong, you’ll almost certainly smell something nasty around your drains. This could be the result of a sewage line crash, which can discharge toxic fumes through cracks. Fortunately, a plumber should be able to pinpoint the source of the odours with a drain cleaning and inspection.

Mould Near Your Drains

Another sign your drains need professional help could be mould around your drains. Mould has a foul odour and is incredibly harmful to your health. It also grows in wet, gloomy environments, which could indicate a leak. Hire a professional to remove the mould, and get your drains cleaned by a reputable plumber while they’re at it. 

Critters in the Drains

If you’ve never had any problems with critters such as fruit flies or bugs but overnight it’s become an issue it may be due to blocked drains. Fruit flies are drawn to food caught in your drainage pipes, which many people are unaware of. Fruit flies will notice when there is a surplus of food. Professional plumbers will be able to remove all traces of food from your drains. Your fruit flies will have no choice but to move on after the meal is gone.

Contact Us

Now that you know that you are in need of a drain cleaning Servo-Rod can help with our professional drain survey and cleaning service. Contact Us on 0800 358 5995 or fill a quick enquiry form.

The post Signs Your Drain Needs Unblocking appeared first on Servo-Rod.

Cost Effective

Carrying out a CCTV drain survey can help you detect problems early on, saving you time and money on using other methods to detect any drainage issues. A CCTV drain survey can be better value for money as it is more efficient and accurate than other services. 

Specific Diagnosis 

A CCTV drain survey will be carried out by a drainage professional, leading to an accurate diagnosis of any drainage issues. The specialist will be able to examine exactly what is causing the obstruction, allowing them to locate the suitable treatment right away.

Efficient Investigation 

A drainage issue can be tough to deal with because it can lead to water difficulties and an unpleasant smell. This can be very inconvenient without a CCTV drain survey, especially during the winter months. A CCTV drain survey can help speed up the restoration of your drains by promptly diagnosing the problem.

Minor Disruption 

Not only does a CCTV drain survey save you time and money but it also keeps disruption to a minimum. The CCTV camera does all the work identifying the problem causing minimum disruption. So a full scale excavation won’t need to be carried out. 

Contact Us

Servo Rod can provide CCTV drain surveys with a free no obligation quote on all work undertaken and can guarantee you will be 100% satisfied with the outcome. For more information contact us on 0800 358 5995 or fill our easy contact form.

The post Why You Need A CCTV Drain Survey appeared first on Servo-Rod.

1. Grease and Fat

Grease and fat may not seem like substances that would cause a blocked sink as it washes away easily. Fats in food can be sticky and binding which can build up over time, so it’s best not to pour it down the sink. These are some things that contain fat which are better disposed of in the bin; bacon grease, steak or other fatty meat trimmings, butter, cream etc. receive 

1. Toiletries

The only thing flushed down the toilet should be toilet paper, items like nappies should not be flushed down the toilet and should be disposed of in the dustbin. The same goes for baby wipes as they do not break down like toilet paper does so there is a higher chance of it being built up and clog drains. 

1. Foreign objects

Foreign objects, such as children’s toys or even a build-up of materials, can clog drains and stop water flow unexpectedly. Soaps and sanitary products might end up in the toilet, clogging drains, so keep an eye out for what’s been flushed!

1. Tree roots

This may appear to be an unusual object to clog your drain, but it is prevented with a well-kept garden. Tree roots can be pulled to the nearest supply of water, causing pipes to become clogged and broken over time. Ensure that your garden is clear of leaves and debris, as they might also clog your drain.

1. Mineral build up 

Minerals dissolved in hard water can build up, resulting in insoluble masses that clog your drain. If you reside in an area where hard water is a problem, a water softener can easily tackle the problem. Another method is to descale and remove the build-up on a regular basis; however, if this does not work, it is better to contact a professional plumber!

Hope the tips and tricks mentioned above can help you keep healthy pipes and drains. But if major issues arise its ideal to contact a plumber to fix the issue. Servo Rod specialise in plumbing services covering everything from unblocking drains to drain inspection. Get in touch with our friendly team to learn more about our services by calling us on 0800 358 5995 or filling in our quick contact form. 

The post Why is my drain blocked? 5 main causes of blocked drains appeared first on Servo-Rod.

Boiling Water

Using hot boiling water to clear a drain is the easiest and fastest method. Boil as much water as you need and pour it down the drain that is clogged. It’s possible that you’ll want to do this a few times. Water will flow through the pipes, dissolving any waste or obstructions that may be present.

Cleaning the Pipe

This is an excellent method for cleaning and unblocking drains, but you must be able to dismantle and reconnect pipes, which is a simple process. To have a free-flowing drain, follow the steps below:

1. Find a bucket or container and position it under the U-shaped pipe as the first step.

2. Next, remove the pipe by unscrewing the slip nuts at both ends with a wrench.

3. Clean the pipes with a small brush to ensure that all debris is flushed out into the bucket.

4. Clean the pipes with a mixture of water and dish soap.

5. Connect the pipes and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with drains that aren’t clogged.

Salt, Baking Soda and Vinegar

This is easy to unblock drains, if you don’t have chemicals at hand or do not want to use harsh chemicals. For this combine 1/2 cup salt, 1/2 cup baking soda, and 1 cup white vinegar in a mixing bowl. Allow it to work its magic overnight, then flush the drain the next morning with hot or boiling water.

Plunger

If your sink drain is clogged, the old school method of using a plunger gets the job done. Follow the steps below for an easy and effective fix.

1. Half-fill your sink with hot water.

2. Begin pushing the plunger in an up and down motion to produce an airtight seal on the drain.

3. Hold for 60 seconds and then release to examine if the water has subsided; if not, repeat the process.

Contact Us

Servo Rod can provide drain unblocking for more severe cases with a free no obligation quote on all work undertaken and can guarantee you will be 100% satisfied with the outcome. For more information contact us on 0800 358 5995 or fill out our easy contact form.

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