As the cost of living is increasing throughout the UK and the colder months of winter approach quickly, pro-actively maintaining your home is crucial to lowering your long-term repair costs.

While many homeowners reactively repair when a major leak or blockage occurs, you should instead focus your efforts in pre-emptive repair work and maintenance.

Drain blocked? Or maybe it's a faulty boiler?

There are many ways that you can be proactive in your approach to keeping on top of your pipes and plumbing before it becomes a costly problem.

As we all try to cut back on our expenditure, starting with your home is a top notch way to begin budgeting and knocking the expenses down!

So, let's take a look at what your options are for maintaining your home to reduce your outgoings.

As winter approaches, it's especially important to maintain your boiler and keep up with regular checks and services in order to keep it running efficiently.

Why?

Boilers come in a range of options, from combi to oil which can drastically alter the components and parts that may need to be replaced if your boiler stops working. Taking preventative measures means that you’ll catch any issues early on and your boiler will be less likely to break down at a later date.

Essentially, a healthy and well-maintained boiler is likely to last longer than one that is only seen to when there is a problem.

As the cost of living crisis has made energy prices increase dramatically, keeping your heating elements in good condition will help you keep your prices down and will optimise the heat you receive from your system.

Additionally, the government has a funded scheme which allows you to have a new boiler fitted. This is to help many people who are using outdated boilers afford more eco-conscious products.

A couple of water drops here and there doesn’t seem like that big of a deal to most people. After all, it’s easy to ignore and wipe up and doesn’t seem to be a major emergency repair.

This type of repair is something that really has the potential to cause deep-rooted water damage under your floorboards if left to its own devices.

There are many ways that a leak could start, such as:

• A loose bolt
• Corroded pipework
• Fittings in your toilet becoming loose
• A wax ring that’s isn’t sitting properly
• Misaligned valves and pipes

These aren’t all big jobs to complete for repair, with most of them costing little more than a call-out fee and a small replacement part. If you catch the leak early, it will prevent further damage to your flooring and could save you a huge bill.

Nobody needs the added pressure of repair work when the cost of living is steadfastly increasing.

Drain blocked?

Instead of paying out of pocket every time a blockage occurs, try nipping it in the bud beforehand.

Drains are a very important feature of any home, and left without routine checks and maintenance, can lead to a build-up of grease, oil or debris which has the ability to cause a nasty blockage.

Drains are a very important feature of any home, and left without routine checks and maintenance, can lead to a build-up of grease, oil or debris which has the ability to cause a nasty blockage.

If you leave your drains unmaintained, severe clogs or even a blockage could lead to major damage to your pipes.

Not only that, but an unhealthy drain can cause a decrease in the quality of your water and lead to potential health risks.

To nip it in the bud, you can opt to have a service person take care of a blockage as soon as it begins, to ensure that the damage is prevented or localised, or you can actively maintain your drains daily or weekly as a way to stop blockages from occurring.

One of the easiest and most budget-friendly ways to upkeep your drains is to use boiling water.

Simply pouring boiling water down your drains is an amazing way to reduce the build-up of blockages.

Not only is boiling water incredibly cost-effective, but it really does work!

So, your toilet is in need of major plumbing due to a persistent blockage which has been ongoing for some time.

This can be incredibly costly to fix and could have been avoided had the drain and toilet been pro-actively maintained.

There are several things that you can do to make sure that your plumbing is in working order and to help reduce the risk of blockages and damage.

This includes:

• Make sure that your toilet and drains are treated with care, so no food or hard material should be flushed.
• If you’re not sure if a liquid is dangerous to your drains: don't pour it!
• Insulate your pipes so that they are sturdy.
• Don't ignore leaks, they'll only get worse.
• Make sure that you know where your shut-off valves are in case of an emergency.
• Adjust your water pressure (60 degrees is often a favoured number for combi boilers)
•  On The House can help! 

If you keep on top of these tips, you'll see that you won't need a costly plumbing repair in a long time.

The bottom line is that many homeowners and renters are going to feel the effects of the cost of living crisis, especially because of the winter months meaning that many of us will be using more water and energy to heat our homes. Even though there is help available to those that are struggling via government support , the things noted above are all things that you can do at home to further help cut down your expenses.

Don’t let your repair costs come in between you and your essentials.

All you need to do is to stay on top of your drains, plumbing and boiler services, checks and routine maintenance so that they are always in working order and are less likely to become faulty.

If in doubt and you need to know tips on keeping your plumbing in good condition, or perhaps you need to book in regular preventative maintenance checks; our team of professionals can help. Contact On The House for your free quote today or to discuss your needs.