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Now that the cold weather has moved on, it’s time to be thinking of your central heating system with a view to some maintenance. Just like a car, regular maintenance on your core heating system is vital. Left to chance, you could end up facing enormous bills for entire system replacement, where routine inspections could have avoided all that.
Thermostat Check
Modern home heating systems allow you to control the degree of heat through a conveniently mounted thermostat – it’s usually located in the hallway passage.  In the warmer months you can switch off the thermostat or set it well down, so that the system never actually kicks in. Keep in mind that thermostats can develop faults, but replacing them is probably a job best left to an expert – you can find a heating technician right here on Mr-Skill.
Other Areas You Can Check
Assuming you are quite familiar with your central heating system, there are some tasks you could perform yourself. Remember though, that the skills level is moderate, indicating that we assume a minimum level of knowledge and experience here:
- Furnace Filters – These should be changed each year, especially if you have furry friends such as cats and dogs. Moreover, if you run air-conditioning in the hotter months, you can expect more dust and fluff in the atmosphere of your home. Dirty furnace filters are easily detected when the central heating struggles to push warm air about.
Interlude: Don’t forget that central heating systems cost a lot of money, so rather than fiddle with them yourself, get a heating quote right here on Mr-Skill.
- Internal and External Wall Vents – It is essential to clear obstructions from the vents to ensure efficient air flow. Inside, you should check for household dust and insects, whereas outside vents tend to clog with leaves and other debris. Don’t forget to keep your cold-air return vents clear as well.
Cautionary
Pilot Light Inspection – About the only other routine maintenance you can perform yourself, is to check the flame-quality of your central heating pilot light. With the prevalence of natural gas these days, you should see a clear blue flame. If it’s yellow or orange in appearance though, then a problem is indicated, so find a heating technician without delay.
A Little Knowledge Can be Dangerous
One of our London heating experts laughs to himself when he gets called out to fix a problem caused by a DIY “heating expert”. He says that the old adage “penny wise and pound foolish” is so relevant to his line of business!
Tags: Central Heating, dust, find a plumbing-heating-and-gas expert, flame, furnace filters, heat, knowledge, leaves, london heating specialist, maintenance, plumbing-heating-and-gas quote, thermostat, vents, warm air
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Most homes in the UK use natural gas for central heating, cooking and boiler-warming purposes. What makes natural gas so popular is that it is clean burning, smokeless, quick and highly efficient. However, despite advanced safety measures, leaks can and do occur, so it is important that you know what to do should you become aware of a leak inside or outside your home.
The first clue of a leak will be a sulphurous smell in the home. This odour is actually a chemical additive mixed with the gas by the supplier. Its only purpose is to alert the user to the fact that there is a leak in the system, and that it needs urgent attention to avoid the risk of asphyxiation, or an explosion. Remember to train children from the earliest possible age to report any gas smells around your home.
Self-Checking Gas Appliances
 If the gas smell is only a mild odour, it will be fine to check out certain gas-powered appliances yourself. More often than not, it will likely be as simple as a failed pilot ignition system, and relatively easy to replace. Remember to switch off the gas and clear the smell from your house before igniting any gas appliance.
Gas heaters and gas-fired central heating systems require checking and servicing by registered gas fitters at least once a year. This is not a DIY job for obvious reasons, so you can find a gas fitter in your area right here on Mr-Skill. Ask for a gas fitting quote to service all your gas appliances.
Strong Smell of Gas
A hissing noise anywhere near a gas appliance or a powerful smell of gas in your home indicates a far more serious leak. Under such circumstances, do not attempt to trace the problem yourself. Open all windows and evacuate your home immediately, checking each room carefully for other people and pets. Avoid using any electrical switches or lighting up cigarettes – you could inadvertently trigger an explosion that way. Stay away from any electrical appliance, especially mobile phones. Once you are safely outside, you can call your gas supply company and declare an emergency. If you don’t have the gas company’s telephone number, then call emergency 999. 
Outdoor Gas Leaks
Ernest, our long-standing London gas fitter says that If you smell gas outside your property, or you accidently damage a gas pipe in your garden, you should call emergency services immediately. Do not attempt to repair or fix the problem yourself, because you could be risking life in your entire neighbourhood.
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It really is quite astonishing to discover what can enter our drains, and cause a blockage. Often, the problem is not visible as with tree and shrub roots finding ways into drain pipes, and creating havoc. Sometimes, we only become aware of a problem when we see an accumulation of water and other debris near drain covers. Some jobs are going to require you to find a plumber, because of the specialist nature of the work. Here are some preventative measures you can take to avoid unnecessary callouts.
What You’ll Need
- A tool to remove the drain cover, such as a crowbar
- A hose connected to the hot water supply
- A plunger that covers the drain diameter
- A drain rod, if you have one
- Gloves to protect your hands
Before you start, why not get a plumber quote to solve the problem? Remember that Mr-Skill’s plumbers are required to guarantee their work, so you can use them in confidence.
Steps
- Remove the cover of the obstructed drain. Drain covers can prove difficult to budge if they have not been lifted for a while so you may need a crowbar
- Turn the hot tap on fully and push the hose as far down the drain as you can. The higher the pressure and the hotter the water, the more effective the solution
- If the water in the drain starts welling back up, place the plunger over the drain and plunge it back and forth. This creates a suction or vacuum effect and helps dislodge the debris
- Tip a large pot of boiling water down the drain – this will neutralize any grease or oil that may have entered.
- If you are confident that your drain is independent of the sewer system, pour a commercial drain cleaner down and wait for the chemical action to complete. Flush after 15 minutes with hot water
- If the waste water is not running freely after all the above attempts and you own a rodding set, you could try clearing the drain with a back and forth motion,
One of our London plumbers advises, “Blocked drains outside our properties are not always easy to clear and may not be our responsibility. Sometimes roots completely clog up a drain. They can even cause fractures, particularly in older clay pipes.”
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There’s nothing quite as irritating as water hammering in pipes, especially when you’re trying to sleep and someone gets up to use the loo. Unfortunately water is one of those things that has its own mind. There are however ways that you can control it,  and you may not even need to Find a Plumber if you read further.
When you turn off a water tap that’s under pressure (usually the cold one), the water suddenly stops flowing as it comes up against the valve. It pushes back against the water that’s still on its way. The result’s a slight collision between opposing forces.
The energy that’s released transmits to the pipes themselves, which respond by reverberating. Normally, you don’t hear the slight sound that results. However, when the pipes are hanging loose they bang about, and that’s the noise we call a water hammer. There are two ways to sort the problem out. Fix it completely, or manage it.
- Solve the problem at its source – Obtain a Plumbing Quote on Mr-Skill to install a water
 hammer arrestor. This is in effect a shock-absorber that absorbs the impact and eliminates the root cause. The picture above is of arrestors attached to dish-washer inlet pipes. London Plumbers often install these in older homes, where loose pipes are bricked up behind rendering.
- Eliminate the consequences – Take a look at the picture opposite. It’s typical of what you might find when you look. Can you see how many pipes are hanging loose? What an opportunity for a water hammer. Your most likely culprit though is an unsupported run of pipe across the ceiling. Find it, secure it, solve the problem.
These water hammer solutions come to you with the compliments of Mr-Skill, the website where you find the perfect solution to every home repair. Don’t take a chance and hire an unknown trades person off the street. We personally investigate the ones we recommend.
Tags: arrestor, bang, control, find, find a plumber, fix, hammer, knock, london plumbers, loose, pipe, plumbing quote, pressure, reverberate, secure, solve, transmit, water, water hammer
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One of life’s more unpleasant moments is flushing the loo and watching the pan fill up almost to overflowing on a Sunday morning. Fortunately it never does though, and that’s because bowls and tanks come in matched sets.  And then there’s the small matter of having to Find a Plumber to come out over a weekend, and what to do without a bathroom while you wait for them to arrive.
This is why many of us like to keep a plunger in the garage “just in case”. These simple tools cost far less than a plumber’s call-out fee, and are just the job when you need them most.
- Lift up the toilet seat, and insert the plunger rubber-end down trying to trap as much floating matter as you can. While London Plumbers are pretty used to unpleasant jobs like this, even they still wear rubber gloves, and mouth and eye protection.
 With the plunger pressed down firmly and covering the toilet outlet completely, pump the handle up and down a few times.
- HINT As you do so bear in mind that the aim is to get water inside the plunger rubber and then force it out again to clear the stoppage.
This should do the job. If it doesn’t please don’t try to clear the outlet with rods that could crack the porcelain. Rather ask Mr-Skill for a Plumbing Quote from a reputable tradesperson working in your area.
Remember, it costs absolutely nothing to use our services and the plumbers’ rates are fair!
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Remember the days of central heating radiators when you got just one choice like porridge in a boarding house. Great lumbering cast-iron things they were, and broad enough to support two schoolboy bums chilled from walking across frozen fields to get to school.  That’s all changed thank heavens. These days, when you get Plumbing Quotes on Mr-Skill you get flooded with designer brochures too.
Even the old fashioned cast-iron radiator has become a thing of beauty with inboard towel-drying rail incorporated in the design. Stainless steel ones are even more alluring thanks to the opportunities this metal offers. These days you can have bars that run horizontally too. Perfect for drying the washing on a rainy day!
Lightweight aluminium offers unlimited opportunities for air-circulation through the fins, although I still doubt the thermal properties of the alloy metal. Flat steel-panel radiators are ideal for commercial applications, although useless for drying out a wet coat. And then there are the tubular ones – just perfect for warming seats in cold stone parish churches. You just need to Find a Plumber to install them as a gift of love!
 Designer radiators are the ones I really love though. Modern metal-working techniques permit a stunning collection of gently flowing tubes and angles. These days more than a few London Plumbers are full of creative ideas. Your friends could even think that yours are pure decoration, and that there’s under-floor heating concealed elsewhere in the room.
I really love these great ideas for modernising old trusted friends like central heating radiators, as much as I love having Mr-Skill to help me Find a Reliable Plumber too. One last thought. I doubt that all the modern contraptions I described would take the weight of two healthy schoolboys … this one should though.
Tags: air circulation, alloy, aluminium, bars, brochure, cast iron, central, design, designer, dry, fin, find a plumber, heating, horizontal, london plumbers, panel, plumbing quotes, radiator, rail, stainless, steel, towel, tubular
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The kitchen truly is at the heart of every home, and if you think about it the sink tap is at its core. First thing in the morning we use it to fill the kettle. Last thing at night we rinse the dirty dishes. Cook uses it at least a dozen times a day. The family gathers around it to do the washing up.
 There are some really handsome kitchen taps around these days. Why not Find a Plumber and spoil yourself with a new one. If you are thinking of doing it yourself, then here’s what’s involved.
1. Isolate the hot and cold water supply, making sure the flow stops completely. Position a bucket beneath the tap under the sink.
2. Loosen off the nut that holds the tap in place. London Plumbers always travel with a basin wrench – if the nut is hard to get at, you’ll know why.
3. Disconnect the flexible water lines connecting the tap to the water supply at the lower end. Be careful not to strain the piping. As you remove the couplings a little water will flow out. Make sure the bucket is in place before you do!
4. Remove the old tap complete with the flexible pipes attached. Clean the sink surface thoroughly where the old tap rested. Take your time to do this properly. Apply a  generous bead of plumbers putty around the hole in the surface of the sink, and gently bed the rubber gasket into it.
5. Insert the new tap assembly through the hole including the flexible water lines. Locate the fixing nut, position the tap, and tighten the nut firmly. Attach the pipes to the water supply remembering to be generous with plumber’s tape.
6. Re-tighten the nut that secures the tap as it will have bedded down. Remove the surplus putty that squeezed out and clean the sink top thoroughly. Turn on the water and test the tap. No leaks? You’ve earned a cup of tea and a biscuit too!
Sound’s easy, doesn’t it? But there are various things that could go wrong, resulting in water leaks that could ruin expensive kitchen cabinetry. Why not get a Plumber’s Quote on Mr-Skill instead? You’ll save pounds off normal rates, and could still enjoy that cup of tea and biscuit.
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Carbon monoxide is a colourless, tasteless odourless gas that is the product of incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels. These fuels include gas, oil, coal and wood, but all are however safe when used correctly. According to the Health and Safety Executive, approximately twenty people die in Britain every year from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by wrongly installed gas appliances, and flues that  have not been properly maintained and cleaned. If there ever was a reason to Find a Heating Engineer, then surely this is it.
These people all probably died from a sudden intake of the deadly gas that prevented their blood from carrying oxygen to their tissues, skin and other organs. The gas may however also kill almost imperceptibly over a longer period of slow leaks. These are the sensible precautions you could follow to avoid this happening to you and your family.
o Make sure that any work carried out in your home is done by a Gas Safe registered engineer who is competent to do the particular job. You can get Gas Fitting Quotes right here.
o Arrange for regular inspections by a Gas Safe registered firm as recommended by them.
o Ensure that any room containing a gas appliance is adequately ventilated, and that any chimneys, vents and flues do not become blocked. If you have one, get your chimney swept annually,
o  Never use any heating appliance that burns carbon-based fuel without a flue installed by a Gas Safe registered fitter. Paraffin and cabinet heaters are never completely safe and should not be used.
o Fossil-burning appliances outside the remit of Gas-Safe registered fitters should be regularly inspected by another person competent to do the work.
There could hardly be a London Plumber who does not also recommend the installation of audible carbon monoxide alarms in every room, although these are no substitute for proper maintenance. This is because in the event of sudden failure, carbon monoxide could kill you in your sleep. Sobering words today from Mr-Skill.
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At Mr-Skill we like to recommend that our customers review their heating requirements in the height of summer when they can afford to have an outage without getting cold.  The heart of every home is of course the furnace, and even the best of these cannot last for ever safely. When I was involved with a Gas Fitting London Firm some years ago, I began to wonder whether it’s not a case of the British going soft as opposed to their furnaces not working properly any more. No worries, our foreman always said, who needs to be cold these days.
Cheap of course is never cheap, or wise when it comes to gas equipment. The trick is to install the furnace that’s right for your own requirements – here are some criteria to consider:
o Find a Gas Fitter to work out the size of furnace you require in terms of output. After all, it makes no sense to pay for capacity you may never use. If you are going green like me, use the opportunity to determine your home’s heat loss factors too. You could save a deal of money down the years if you no  longer have to turn the panels on in summer.
o Some modern gas furnaces have condensers that convert energy that might otherwise be wasted into what amounts to free heat for your home. Trust me, when the North Sea Gas runs out we are going to start paying for alternatives through the neck. Plan for that change now.
o Buy your new gas furnace from a reputable firm, preferably local with after-sales service and good spares availability. It makes absolutely no sense to save a few pounds up-front, only to buy your self a bucket-load of troubles down the line.
At Mr-Skill we hope that these few ideas will hold you in good stead, when evaluating the Gas Fitting Quotes we hope you get from us too. Stay warm next winter, and thanks for visiting.
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These days an amazing variety of different power drills are available for different jobs, and homeowners often wonder about the necessity of getting Plumber Quotes at all. Trust me,  one burst pipe above the bedroom ceiling on Christmas Eve cured me of any further desire to tackle advanced plumbing jobs again – and then I still had to endure criticism and Find a Plumber too.
This is not to say that small plumbing jobs are beyond the reach of the average home handy girl or handy man. I’m thinking here of plumbing-in a washing machine or extending a garden tap. Both will inevitably involve making holes through which pipes will pass, or where screws will hold things down. The question is, which electric drill is best?
Plug-in drills are available in a wide variety of power ratings and their price varies accordingly. I don’t see much point in buying down, and I have left a few worked-out drills behind me to prove the point. So buy something decent in the 600W power range with a name that you can trust, and that’s not made in an obscure country either.
I dislike the clutchless drills so popular these days. True, there is no chuck key to lose, but equally there is a fair chance of chucks locking up or not tightening  properly. A sales clerk once thoughtlessly remarked that my hands were getting old. My response included buying elsewhere and never shopping there again.
A cordless drill with re-chargeable battery is a handy tool to have around the house, and I would personally not be without one. What they may lack in power is compensated for by their convenience. However please forget about drilling into brick or concrete using one. I have yet to see a professional Plumber in London using one either, which says a lot in itself.
Before choosing an electric drill I recommend you first hold it in your hand. Is it well-balanced? Does it feel right? Does the chuck work easily? Finally, make sure that the motor speed is both variable, and reversible (for stuck bits) and that there is an impact option too. A power drill should be a reliable friend for life – choose yours carefully.
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