Four stocking-fillers for your plumbing this Christmas
How you can prevent your plumbing from ruining Christmas with seven simple, cheap and timeless gifts you can give again and again.
The Christmas period encourages everything in excess, too much food to eat and fun to be had. But occasionally our plumbing, as well as our waistlines, can pay the price for the tasty treats and drunken decisions. More people in the house, taking more showers and making more waste, inevitably puts pressure on your plumbing system. These festive stocking fillers will help you make sure the only red-faced bloke wearing a hat is the one bringing you pressies, not taking your money.
Trash is trash; even at Christmas
It should be a no-brainer, but the festive spirit can turn even the most domesticated of folks against their better judgement and cause them to make questionable decisions when it comes to waste products. Everything that isn’t soap or water should go in the trash, prawn heads to veggie peelings – no expectations. Whilst the clean-up after Christmas lunch isn’t one to be envied, neither is calling an emergency plumber to come and unblock your sink before you have it all to do again on boxing day.
Common culprits:
- Fibrous or stringy foods (such as celery or other tough vegetables)
- Rice, pasta, or bread-based products that can expand when exposed to moisture
- Animal bones and fat
- Eggshells
- Paper, metal, or plastic materials
Think of your tomorrow self, get a strainer for the sink and do your best to keep the trash in the trash.
Drains don’t like fat, at all
You know that feeling when your Autie hands you your gift? That sinking feeling in your stomach when you realise it is yet another hand-knitted garment that you will be forced to wear for the rest of the day, regardless of the heat, hating every second of it? That is how your plumbing feels when you pour fat and grease down the drain – yuk.
A kitchen is a busy place at Christmas, but that is no excuse to pour your excess cooking fats and oils away out of convenience because the chances are, out of sight isn’t out of mind and you won’t forget about them for long. Once in the cool depths of your plumbing, fat, and oil solidifies and can cause blockages anywhere from your kitchen sink to the boundary tap. Try to pour excess fat into a glass jar where it will solidify safely, before putting it in the bin.
Bathroom etiquette
No one wants to follow Pop into the bathroom, Christmas or not – the blokes never heard of a courtesy flush. But it’s not the kind of etiquette we mean. With more toilet traffic than usual, your sewer line can become strained, and when opportunities, people can get a little lazy and flush away items that are likely to cause you trouble down the drain track. As unfestive as it may be, try to spread a little joy for your toilet by ensuring your guests don’t flush anything they shouldn’t. Items on the naughty list include:
- Sanitary napkins
- Feminine hygiene products
- Cleansing wipes
- Facial pads
- Cotton balls and swabs
- Paper towels
It can also help to give your plumbing a little breathing room between showers to let your drains clear away excess hair or tinsel before the next one.
Pre Christmas check-up
When pipes, drains, or sewers become blocked, it is often a culmination of smaller issues that build up and grow into much bigger ones. Just like all those Christmas party drinks and nibbles added together to give you some work to do in the new year, a culmination of all of the above plus and existing faults could create a terrible start to 2021. If you were thinking about getting a health check done on your plumbing, now is the time, so you can put your feet up and listen to your favourite Christmas tunes in peace, as many times as you choose!
January can often be a busy time for the Sydney Relining team as issues are exacerbated over the break, and whilst we’re happy to help, we love Christmas as much as you do. Don’t let your plumbing ruin the most wonderful time of the year.
As always, please get in touch if you have any questions about your plumbing or relining requirements, we’re always happy to chat.
We’ve had a relationship with Ranelagh for over 15 years now. At first, they asked us to reline their nine-inch boundary trap. Since that time, we have relined most of their subsoil exterior drainage. Over time, the building realised that they were actually starting to develop issues with the cast iron stack drainage. Cast iron is now defunct material, and it actually rust from the inside out.
Some of the symptoms that the residents were experiencing in relation to the dilapidated cast iron network were smells, leaks, blockages, and in the most extreme case, flooding. It would have been best if we could actually move the residents out of the building. Because that was logistically impossible, we had to break down the project into individual length reline shots. We brought on our friends from Time to Reline, which enabled us to have two inversion teams and two junction robot teams doing two shots per day and also cutting out all the junctions as necessary. We were able to reline over a kilometre of drainage, do 800 cuts, and remove one and a half tonnes of metallic silt within a six-week time period.
“We’ve had a relationship with Ranelagh for over 15 years now”
If you’re a manager of a building that was built in the ’60s and ’70s, you will have cast iron sewer drainage. Sooner or later, this will leak, break, and cause major issues for the building. Now is the time to have a look at it and see if we can provide you a solution.
Our reputation supersedes any issues that the residence or building itself might actually have. No problem is too big or small. I’m extremely proud of this project. It’s the biggest residential project of its kind in Australia and possibly the world. It’s been a great opportunity not to showcase to the industry what our skills and capabilities are, but also to other building managers and committees alike in Sydney that are experiencing the same issues with cast iron pipe work.
Frequently Asked Pipe Relining Questions
The Advantages of Pipe Relining for Efficient Pipe Repairs
Pipe relining is a modern, trenchless method for repairing damaged or leaking pipes without the need for invasive excavation. This innovative technique involves inserting a flexible, resin-coated liner into the affected pipe, which is then inflated and cured to form a new, durable pipe within the existing one. The result is a seamless and corrosion-resistant pipe that not only restores the structural integrity of your plumbing system but also improves flow efficiency. By choosing Pipe Relining, you can extend the lifespan of your pipes, prevent future damage, and minimise the risk of costly repairs down the line.
Embracing Pipe Relining as a preferred solution for pipe repairs offers several benefits, including reduced costs, minimal disruptions, and enhanced environmental sustainability. Since there’s no need for large-scale digging, Pipe Relining helps you save up to 50% in repair expenses compared to traditional methods, while also reducing the time and resources required for the job. Furthermore, the trenchless nature of Pipe Relining significantly lessens the impact on your property and the surrounding environment, preserving your garden, landscaping, and infrastructure. By opting for Pipe Relining, you’re investing in a long-lasting, efficient, and eco-friendly solution for maintaining the health of your plumbing system.
