Christmas cheer without the plumbing emergency fear

The CIPHE will be shutting down for our Christmas break from 1pm on Friday 23^rd December until 9am on Tuesday 3^rd January. To help avoid plumbing disasters this yuletide, we have the following festive tips to keep the emergency plumbing or heating engineer from your door.

Don’t pour hot fat or oil down your sink

If you pour hot fat, oil or grease (FOG) into the kitchen sink 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 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, pooh and pee should be flushed down the toilet. All wet wipes - even if they say they are suitable for flushing - and sanitary products should be disposed of in a waste bin. The last thing you need on Christmas Day, or indeed at any time, is an overflowing toilet, so make sure you give your loo some TLC and don’t flush anything you shouldn’t!

Be prepared

Plumbing and heating engineering professionals want to spend Christmas with their families. 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 plumbing and heating 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 dinners on Christmas day!

We wish everyone – especially all of our members, Approved Training Centres, Industrial Associates and volunteers - a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!