Although best advice is always to call in a professional local plumber if you’re not confident in undertaking a home plumbing job, there are plenty of straightforward preventative tasks that you can achieve yourself without too much bother.

Especially in the winter time, water related issues tend to come to the fore and from faulty radiators to overflowing drainage systems, knowing a few handy tips of professional advice can sometimes make all the difference.

Below are just a few preventative pearls of plumbing wisdom to help you and your home make it through to the spring and if you’re not able, or not confident enough, to take on any of these tasks then pick up the phone and dial a local plumbing firm because it always pays to get the job done right first time.

• Stop cocks and outside taps can often become stiff and difficult to turn, especially if they’re rarely used, best practice is to apply a little grease and make sure you give them a turn at least a couple of times a year.
• Condensation can often lead to mould and discolouration of internal walls however, it’s not as disastrous as having a leak cause the excess water. Make sure you know the difference before you continually apply towels or wipe away moisture from around windows.
• External guttering can often be responsible for overflowing drains and discolouration of walls due to leaks and drips. Make sure you get up there and clear the decks if you want to prevent any unnecessary damp patches or worse occurring during the spring.
• Sometimes a blocked sink or waste pipe can be cleared through just adding a dose of soda solution straight down the plug hole. Caustic soda will bubble away and melt any blockages and using a 10% solution with cold water is the best means of doing the job as safely as possible.
• If you’re suffering from a touch of limescale on your chrome taps or surfaces then simply add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and you’ve got yourself an instant stain remover and lifetime preservative.
• Knowing where stop cocks, drain covers and mains water supply taps are should definitely be up there on your home plumbing radar because if you have a water problem, always the first thing to do is to turn off the supply line before you tackle the job.
• If you want to prevent pipes from freezing during the colder months then simply apply insulating tape, lagging or fiberglass around the pipe and this should prevent falling temperatures effecting your water supply.
• Unfortunately, freezing pipes do happen, especially on exposed and outside sections of your water piping system. First thing to do is turn off the water supply at the stop cock. Next you should warm the pipes via electric insulation cables, thick lagging, a hair dryer or portable heater but never apply a naked flame as this is a sure fire means of damaging your pipes and causing cracks to occur. Finally, if you’re still unable to melt the frozen water, call in an expert and save yourself the hassle of waiting for the spring thaw.