With Christmas just around the corner, the last thing any of us want to deal with is a plumbing problem. Whether you are hosting lots of guests this festive season or just enjoying a few quiet days at home with your immediate family, there are a few things you can do to prevent any issues with your plumbing and drainage this Christmas.
Prep Your Drains
Give your drains a clean out with a shop bought unblocker before the season starts. This way, any minor blockages which could build up over the Christmas period will disappear.
The Toilet
As our bathrooms are used more across the festive period make sure you’re making your guests know NOT to flush items other than toilet paper. Make sure you’ve got a bin in your bathroom to encourage your guests to use it along with some sanitary or nappy bags for your guests to use. Don’t let your guests flush napkins, feminine hygiene products, face wipes, cotton facial pads or cotton wall balls.
If it gets blocked here’s a few ways you can sort it:
Unblock with a plunger – Get yourself a toilet plunger, some rubber gloves and a towel to catch any spilt water. Then check your toilet cistern and see if there’s any water in there, if there is water in there, there’s a problem in the waste pipe so you’ll need your plunger to get rid of the blockage. If there’s no water in there and the system is empty call a plumber, as a plunger won’t help you here. To use the plunger place it firmly the toilet bowl to create a vacuum, grip the handle and plunge vigorously, this should unlock the toilet. If, after several minutes of plunging the water, it hasn’t drained try using a shop bought toilet unblocker such as an enzyme.
There are also DIY methods you can try such as washing up liquid (pour half a bottle into the toilet bowl, let it sink to the bottom and then pour a bucket of water down the toilet) or baking soda and vinegar (mix four tbsp of baking soda with four tbsp of white vinegar in a cup, when it starts to fizz pour it into the toilet bowl and leave for five minutes. Then try to flush.)
Showers & Baths
If you’ve got a house-full this Christmas, space out the time between people having baths and showers. This will help your drains catch up with the amount of water going down the plugholes. Plus, it’ll help you avoid running out of hot water. You can also put a hair catcher in your shower drain or bath plughole to catch anything before it goes into your pipes
If you need assistance this Christmas, don’t be afraid to contact the experts here at Happy Drains on 0800 849 8099 or 07824 757572.