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Plumbers Direct are specialists in the installation, cleaning and repair of roof guttering and downpipes. Rusted, poorly aligned or badly secured gutters and downpipes can cause flooding to the internals of your home or business, resulting in significant property damage.

How you can prevent roof damage?

• Roof care and maintenance are essential services because your home’s roofing bears the brunt of harsh weather conditions in both summer and winter. The only way to do a good job of protecting your roof from damage is to follow some effective strategies:

Regular Cleaning

• A regular cleaning routine will keep your roof and gutters in great condition and help them last longer, saving you thousands of dollars over time.
• Routine Gutter Maintenance
• Properly maintained gutters prevent water damage, eliminate nesting spots for pests and save you from expensive maintenance down the line.

Roof Inspections

• Regular inspections of your roof and roof flashing will reduce the risk of expensive roof repair by highlighting minor problems before they turn into larger ones.

Contact us at Plumbers Direct on 1300 877 448 today.

Plumbers Direct Tips 

Clear your roof gutters

The gutters on your roof can become blocked with leaves and other debris that will prevent water from flowing during a big storm. 

 Clearing this debris will:

• Encourage water to drain from your roof the way it is supposed to
• Prevent insects, vermin and animals from nesting in your gutters
• Stop excessive water flow from destroying your garden

When your gutters are blocked, the rain that falls from your roof will have nowhere to go. As a result, it can damage your roof and in a worst-case scenario, get into your walls. Clogged gutters can also cause water to run down the outside of your home and damage its foundations. This can cost a great deal of money to repair.

It’s best to do this job regularly, even if it’s just to keep rats and pests at bay. If a storm is forecast, clear the gutters before the rain hits so you don’t find yourself trying to climb a ladder and remove soggy leaves and sticks during wet weather.  

Stormwater Drain Maintenance

Making sure your stormwater drain is clear from debris will allow water to drain from your property and help you to prepare for a flood. 

To check, block the drain opening on the street and spray a hose into your stormwater drain. Once it is full, remove the blockage, creating a rush of water that should clear debris. 

This assures your stormwater drain is clear and that drainage is optimised.

Hopefully, your property has areas of soft soil that will soak up rainfall from a storm. If there is nothing but concrete, you risk there being so much water that the stormwater drain overflows and the water has nowhere to go but inside your home. 

Prepare Your Home

If you know that imminent rains may cause flooding, you should prepare your home to minimise damage.

As much as possible, take care of the following: 

• Move all valuables to higher shelves or upstairs (if you have a second floor)
• Carry what furniture you can upstairs
• Move linen and cushions so they are less likely to get wet
• Take rugs and floor mats upstairs or put them high up
• Move electrical items to higher shelves or upstairs
• Secure objects that are likely to float and cause further damage
• Relocate all waste, poisons and chemicals to higher ground
• Turn off the power at the main switchboard
• Look around the garage and garden for items that need to be secured
• Make sure your pets can get to higher ground if you can’t take them with you
• Pull out lower drawers and put them up high (or empty them)

 You can try putting sandbags around your property to prevent flood damage but this will depend on timing and what you have access to. 

My kitchen sink has a blocked drain, how do I clear it?

The quickest, easiest and cheapest way to clear minor blocked drains is also one of the most effective; boiling water. If there is pooled water sitting in your sink that won’t drain away, you should get this out first. Use a cup to scoop the water into a bucket so that once the boiled water is poured in it can go at a higher speed through the drain to clear the blockage. Taking care not to burn yourself, simply pour a good amount (large saucepan) of boiling water down the sink and wait to see if things clear.

You may need to repeat this process a few times, bucketing the still water out each time, but this trick usually meets with success on general household sink blockages eventually, particularly if you use it in conjunction with a plunger.

If the blockage is stubborn, you can also pour about half a cup of salt into the drain and let it sit for a few minutes before adding the boiling water. 

Contact our Plumbers Direct team near you for a free quote or call us 1300 877 448.

There are a number of reasons why you have blocked plumbing. These are the top 5 reasons why you have a blockage in your plumbing.

1. Foreign Object blockage
Any item/s other than toilet paper can cause issues if flushed down the toilet. Sanitary items like pads and tampons are common culprits. Baby wipes and nappies have also caused many a plumber headaches.

2. Sink blockage
Do not wash the fat from a frying pan down your kitchen sink because it’s common for the fat to cool and solidify while still in your pipes. As the fat builds up over time, you can find yourself with a severe blockage that’s incredibly hard to budge without the proper equipment. If you suspect a fat blockage in your pipes get one of our plumbers involved. They’ll be able to dislodge the fat with the proper tools and get your pipes back in working order.

3. Grout or concrete blockage
Sometimes this is caused when you move into a newly built or renovated house only to get blocked drain after blocked drain. Some tilers don’t dispose of leftover grout from their work appropriately, instead they pour it down the drain. The grout or concrete will then settle at the bottom of the pipes and set, leaving the pipe partially blocked and prone to issues. This is definitely one for the professionals. Plumbers Direct will use either a jet rodder or a robotic cutter to remove the set concrete in the pipe. In severe cases, the pipe will need to be entirely dug up and replaced.

4.Tree roots
On a lot of occasions, tree roots are the cause of your blocked pipes. Roots can travel long distances in search of water, particularly in times of drought or low rainfall. Even very small breaks or cracks in your pipes can give roots access enough to block up your system. If you suspect tree roots are the cause of your blocked pipes then it’s time to call the professionals. Our licensed plumbers will have the tools necessary to properly clear the roots from your pipes.

5.Poor installation
Plumbing is a licensed trade for very good reason. Pipes laid incorrectly can cause any number of issues that can lead to blockages or even structural damage to your property.

A couple of common issues associated with bad installation include:

Pipe Backfall

This is an issue where the pipes are laid without the requisite minimum fall to keep water flowing fast enough through the pipe. Pipe backfall can cause paper and other sediments to settle to the bottom of the pipe, eventually creating blockages.

Crushed or Collapsed Pipes

Crushed or collapsed pipes commonly occur if the pipes aren’t laid deep enough underground. Failure to surround underground pipes with sufficient sand or gravel is another common cause.

Pipes laid incorrectly can easily break when heavy vehicles such as a car or truck travel over them. Even tiny cracks can invite tree roots to cause blockages, but a partially or fully crushed pipe can spell a major problem.

If you have any plumbing blockages call the experts at Plumbers Direct today!