FLUSH THAT WEE AWAY!!!
I know, many of us do it, we get up during our sleep to go to the loo and we DON'T flush the toilet to avoid waking anyone else in the house. Am I right?
Anyway, think about this, if a few people use the same toilet during the night then a lot of wee will be left sitting in the base of your loo.
A chemical reaction occurs causing urine to stick to the toilet bowl and over time the urine forms a rough coating on the base of your toilet.
Your toilet will discolour, and the deposits will form a rough surface that can cause toilet paper to get caught on the throat of the S-bend, eventually the toilet will block up. We see this problem a lot.
The solution is to press the toilet button slightly after you"ve been, which allows a small amount of water to pass through the loo - diluting the wee and reducing the sediment  build-up.
Anyway, think about this, if a few people use the same toilet during the night then a lot of wee will be left sitting in the base of your loo.
A chemical reaction occurs causing urine to stick to the toilet bowl and over time the urine forms a rough coating on the base of your toilet.
Your toilet will discolour, and the deposits will form a rough surface that can cause toilet paper to get caught on the throat of the S-bend, eventually the toilet will block up. We see this problem a lot.
The solution is to press the toilet button slightly after you"ve been, which allows a small amount of water to pass through the loo - diluting the wee and reducing the sediment  build-up.
L
Q.
Can a unit or apartment be made water efficient if there isn't a separate water meter.
A.
The dwelling must be individually metered and all cold taps to deliver no more than 9 litres per minute .
The toilets are to be 6.5 litres maximum full flush and 3.5 litres maximum half flush if you want to charge a tenant for water usage.
A property may be deemed "water efficient" to suit other purposes such as a council requirement as the water usage at a property may have been considered too high
and it's OK to deem an older cistern to be compliant for this purpose as long as an existing toilet cistern does not exceed 9 litres full flush and 4.5 litres half flush.
This is not to be confused with the regulation that requires the cistern to be the maximum 6 litre full and 3 litre half flush if you want to to charge for water usage.
Q.
The flow restricting shower head you installed hasn't made any difference to the water pressure. Why?
A.
This is due to the way the new shower roses are designed. There is more water directed to the outside of the shower rose giving the effect that a lot of water comes out of the shower.
If you're not sure of the water rating of your shower head, hold up a small bucket under your shower head (majority are 10 litres) to see how long it takes to fill the bucket. If it is full within one minute, the shower head is not water efficient.
Â
Water hammer
Q. How Can I stop the water hammer sound?
A. First we see if we can install extra clips on your pipes. Also you need to check that the washing machine taps are turned off.
We can install water hammer devices which work quite well except sometimes the water hammer then moves to another area of your house and you need to add more water hammer devices. The devices cost around $50 and take between 30 minutes to an hour to install.
Question. Why is it the cold water is sometimes brown in colour?
Answer.
This is usually the result of recent work on the water mains in the street. Or it could be that the water pipes at the property are still in galvanised iron.
The rust will be present in the water especially if the tap hasn't been used for a while, or the water has recently been turned off.
My advice is to replace the pipes in either copper or plastic. Expect an approximate cost of between $1500 to $2000 to replace these pipes on the average house, depending on access. The average job would take about a day and a half.
Question.
How come the toilet sounds like its always running but I can't see the water running into the bowl?
Answer.
It may be that the toilet takes a long time to fill. The best way to check if the toilet is leaking would be wait a few minutes after flushing the toilet. Hold some dry toilet paper against the back centre of the toilet bowl where the water would be seen if it was obviously still running.
If the paper continues to get wet, there's a problem with the toilet cistern.
It will either be in inlet valve or the outlet valve and you need to call a plumber. (From clearline of course)
Question.
How come the shower keeps dripping and yet you just replaced the washers?
Quite often it takes a few minutes for the water to completely drain from the shower rose, especially if the rose is on an angle.
Answer.
The best way to know if there is a problem with the shower is to turn off the tap and have the shower rose so that the base of the shower rose (where the water comes out) is flat or horizontal to the shower base. If it keeps leaking, there is still a problem with the tap.
Question.
How do I top up the hot water service?
Answer.
While most of us don't top up the hot water service, it IS very important to top up the SAXON brand hot water services about every 4 to 6 weeks.
These units are just like a bucket of water with a copper hose inside. The water in the hose gets heated by the water in the bucket.
If the bucket aint full, the water in the hose doesn't heat up. To fill the hot water service you need to pull on the lever on the valve near the top of the hot water service until water comes out.
The longer it takes for the water to come out, means that it's been a while since the unit has been topped up.
For your other brands of hot water service about every 6 months is enough.
You need to pull the silver lever which is about 2 cm long that is atached to a brass fitting near the top of the hot water service. Pull this lever until water comes out.
Who do I call if my electric hot water service isn't working properly?
WHO YOU GOTTA CALL, A PLUMBER OR AN ELECTRICIAN
If you electric hot water service isn't working as it should be and you have topped it, you may need to call an electrician unless it's leaking of course and then you call us!
Question.
Why am I running out of hot water so soon?
Answer.
As it is gets cooler, the water coming in off the street is around 10 degrees cooler than in warmer months.
Therefore a greater volume of water from the storage unit is required to provide the same temperature in the shower.
The hot water runs out quicker than warmer months.
Noisy insinkerator
Q
What can I do about a noisy insinkerator?
You could try re-setting the insinkerator by finding the small red re-set button underneath the unit and push it in.
If that doesn't work you could try and rotate the motor manually (turn off the power first) with a suitable Allen key and insert it into the bottom of the unit. Try and turn it to free it up.
A
We recommend that aonce an insinkerator starts playing up that you remove it all together.
It costs around $180- $200 to re-plumb the sink back to normal or around $400 to replace the insinkerator.
HOSES
Have you checked your flexible hoses lately?
I hope so!! These are the shiny hoses that serve kitchen and bathroom mixer taps underneath your kitchen or vanity benchtops. They need to be checked at least once a year to be sure that they are not about to burst .We have attended to dozens of properties where thehoses have burst and it is not a pretty site.
So PLEASE check them out and if they appear to be rusting OR if the stainless steel is spreading, you will need to have them replaced.
Are you aware of where you would need to turn off your water supply in case of an emergency?
All too often, people get caught out when they encounter a burst pipe or hose and need to turn off the water in a hurry. I recommend that you know where your tap shut off valve is and make sure that it's not too difficult to turn off.
For Brizzie residents, if you find it hard to turn off your main tap (which is usually located just before your water meter) you can call Urban Utilities on 13 23 64 and they will come out free of charge to either replace your shut off tap OR make it easier to turn off your tap.
Keep in mind that if a hot pipe was the cause of a problem you can turn the water off at the hot water service and leave the cold charged.
For any other plumbing needs, just call and I'd be more than happy to check it out.
Please contact us if you have any suggestions for tips in this section.
Click on this link to hear more of our tips from an interview I had with Steve Austin on 612 ABC about plumbing.
Click on this link to see more about our service
Please wait...