How to prevent common plumbing emergencies

Blocked drains, overflowing toilets, leaking joints and burst pipes are among the most common reasons people call a plumber in a hurry. Each tends to have a slow lead-in: grease building up in a waste pipe, wipes gradually narrowing a drain, a slow drip quietly corroding a fitting. Spotting and heading off these early stages is far cheaper and less stressful than dealing with the emergency they become.

Know your stopcock and isolation valves

If something does go wrong, your ability to stop the water in seconds decides how much damage is done. Yet many people have never located their stopcock, or find it seized when they finally need it.

• Find your internal stopcock now, it is most often under the kitchen sink. Our guide to finding your stopcock lists the usual locations.
• Turn it off and on a couple of times a year so it does not seize, and make sure everyone in the household knows where it is. Our guide to turning off your water supply explains how.
• If the stopcock is stiff, leaking or will not shut off fully, have it seen to before an emergency, stopcock repairs and replacements covers why it matters.
• Learn where the small isolation valves are on individual toilets, taps and appliances, so you can shut off one fitting without turning off the whole house.

Watch what goes down the toilet

A toilet is designed for three things: human waste, water and toilet paper. Nearly everything else contributes to blockages that can back up and overflow.

• Never flush wet wipes, even those labelled "flushable", nappies, cotton wool, cotton buds, sanitary products or kitchen roll. They do not break down like toilet tissue.
• Keep a small bin in the bathroom so there is an easy alternative.
• If the toilet is flushing slowly or the water rises before draining, deal with it early rather than waiting for it to overflow. See blocked toilet repairs, and our guide on what to do if your toilet is overflowing.

Protect your sinks and drains

Kitchen and bathroom drains block for predictable reasons, fat, food and hair, and all of them are easy to keep out.

In the kitchen

• Never pour fat, oil or grease down the sink. As it cools it sets hard inside the pipe and traps everything else. Let it cool and put it in the bin, or keep a container for used cooking oil.
• Scrape plates into the bin and use a sink strainer to catch food scraps, coffee grounds and tea leaves.
• Run the hot tap for a few seconds after washing up to help carry residue away.

In the bathroom

• Fit strainers over plugholes to catch hair, the main cause of slow bathroom drains.
• Clear the strainer regularly rather than letting hair wash down.
• Go easy on thick products, bath oils and heavy conditioners add to build-up over time.

If several drains run slowly at once, or you notice gurgling and smells, the blockage may be deeper in the system; our page on emergency drain unblocking explains how a wider drainage blockage is cleared.

Catch small leaks early

A dripping tap or weeping joint is easy to live with, but a slow leak wastes water, stains and rots surrounding materials, and can corrode a fitting until it fails suddenly. Make a habit of a quick look:

• Check under sinks, behind the toilet and around appliance connections for damp, green or white corrosion on fittings, or water marks.
• Keep an eye on your water bill and meter, an unexplained rise can be the first sign of a hidden leak. Our guide to the signs of a hidden water leak explains what to look for.
• Replace the washers on dripping taps and deal with weeping joints before they worsen. Professional water leak detection can locate anything you cannot see.
• Check the rubber fill and waste hoses on washing machines and dishwashers for bulges or cracks, and replace them if they look perished.

Prepare for winter

Cold weather is responsible for a surge in burst pipes every year, almost all preventable. Before the first freeze, lag exposed pipes in lofts, garages and outbuildings, insulate the loft tank, and know how to drain the system if you go away. Our dedicated guide on how to prevent frozen pipes covers this in full, and burst pipe repairs explains what happens if one does go.

A simple seasonal checklist

You do not need to do everything at once. Spreading a few checks through the year keeps on top of the common risks:

• Spring: check outside taps and garden pipework for any damage left by winter.
• Summer: clear gutters and external gullies, and check appliance hoses.
• Autumn: lag exposed pipes and insulate the loft tank before the cold arrives.
• Winter: keep the heating ticking over in freezing spells and know where your stopcock is.
• Any time: exercise the stopcock, clear plug strainers, and deal with small drips promptly.

Prevention goes a long way, but not everything can be avoided. If you are unsure whether a problem needs urgent attention, our guide to when you should call an emergency plumber will help you decide, and you can always get in touch to describe what is happening.