How to Avoid Plumbing Emergencies When You’re On Holiday

Avoiding having to call in emergency plumbing services in London when you’re away on holiday

Lots of London residents never give it a second thought, and it invariably means they’re going to have to call on the services of CW Services (Plumbing and heating) for emergency plumbing services in London.

What are we talking about? Why, going on holiday of course! People troll off, assuming that their plumbing back home will behave itself in their absence. If it doesn’t, they could be in for a very rude awakening upon their return; which could have them scrambling for the Yellow Pages in a panic to find the best emergency plumbing services in London.

It pays to be safe, rather than sorry

This is one of those occasions where it pays to be safe, rather than sorry. Ideally you should shut the water supply off at the mains. But if you don’t, here are a few simple checks and tweaks that will take only moments. They will minimise the chances of coming back home to a disaster. What are those checks and tweaks? Read on and find out.

Hi there neighbour!

If you’re not going to turn the mains water supply off, (you may have an automatic sprinkler system to water your garden plants) then it’s a good idea to ask a friendly neighbour to pop in from time to time just to cast an eye over things and make sure everything looks fine. You should show them where the mains stop-cock is just in case something does go wrong, that way, if something does happen, they can then shut the water off and it will save them having to call in a plumber that provides emergency plumbing services in London.

CW Services – best plumbing services in London

In the event that something does go awry while you’re away, you can make a note of CW Services’ (Plumbing and Heating) name and phone number. We have two contact numbers. The first one is our landline – 020 7733 6812, and the second is a mobile number – 07949 095 184. Either can be used in case of emergency. Give the note to the neighbour for use just in case. CW Services provide the best emergency plumbing services in London.

Leaving the heating on in the winter

If you’re going on a short winter break, and it’s possible that the temperature could drop below freezing while you’re away, you need to be careful your pipes don’t freeze up. The best thing to do is to leave the heating on. If you don’t, and a freeze sets in, any poorly or non-lagged pipes in attics and basements etc. could freeze. When the ice then unfreezes and expands inside the pipes, it will burst the pipes and flood the house. Leaving the heating on, would prevent this from happening.

To be honest, leaving your heating running unattended for any length of time is not a good idea. If you do go down this route, that friendly neighbour, and leaving a note with the contact details of your preferred emergency plumbing services in London, is a must.

Empty the ice-maker

If you have an ice-maker in your fridge/freezer and you’re going to be turning the electricity off while you’re away, be sure to empty the ice maker. This is still true even if you’re going to leave the electricity on, because you never know; a fuse might blow, or there could be a power cut while you’re away, and you could end up with large volumes of water as a result of melted ice. It pays to simply empty the ice-maker just to be on the safe side. It won’t warrant called out the emergency plumbing services in London, but it will save you a lot of mess to clear up when you get back.

The safe thing to do

The safest thing to do if you’re planning on going away for a few days is to shut the mains water supply off. This is done quite simply by locating the mains water inlet pipe. It will be fitted with a stock-cock, and it’s this you need to shut down. If you’re not sure how to do this, call us here at CW Services. We will either help you out over the phone, or if you prefer you can instruct us to pop round and do it for you, for a small fee. When it comes down to anything to do with plumbing services in London, you can rely on us here at CW Services (Plumbing and Heating).