Avoid plumbing and heating disasters this Christmas

We’ll be shutting down for our Christmas break from 1pm on Christmas Eve. To help avoid plumbing disasters this yuletide, (as our little gift to you) we have the following festive tips to keep the emergency plumbing or heating engineer from your door.

Don’t pour hot fat down your sink

If you pour hot fat into the kitchen sink (when washing roasting tins, etc.) it could well cool in the wastepipe, build up and cause a blockage. Nobody wants overflowing plumbing systems and nasty whiffs on Christmas day! Wait for the fat to cool and solidify, then scrape it into a plastic container such as a margarine tub and throw it in the bin.

Make sure you have a lovely loo

Toilets can easily get blocked and it’s normally caused by flushing items that do not break down in the waste pipes. Only toilet roll, poo and pee should be flushed down the toilet, wipes (even if they say they are suitable for flushing) and sanitary products should be disposed in a waste bin. If you have lots of guests over this Christmas the last thing you need is an overflowing toilet, so make sure you give you loo some TLC and don’t flush anything you shouldn’t!

Going away For Christmas or NYE?

If you are leaving your home empty for a couple of days, make sure you have read the small print on your insurance to see if you need to take precautions against frozen and burst pipes such as turning the water off or maintaining a minimum temperature level in the property.

Be prepared

Plumbing and heating engineering professionals want to spend Christmas with their families too! Not every engineer will offer an emergency call out service over the festive period. If you find yourself facing an emergency, check out our plumbing emergencies page. And if you don’t already have a regular engineer, use our find a plumber online search tool to find a professional tradesperson.

If you need the assistance of a tradesperson over Christmas, don’t forget to ask what their rates are before they come out to you. They may charge extra, especially if you are calling them away from their families and Christmas dinner on Christmas day!

The CIPHE’s head office will be closed from 1pm on 24 December and will reopen at 9am on 2nd January. We wish everyone - especially all of our members, Industrial Associates and volunteers - a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!