Are you heading away to the beach this summer? 

Here are five plumbing tips you can do to 'ready' your home before you go.

1. Check your hot water cylinder is not overflowing, wasting valuable energy while you are away.  People often ask us if they should turn off their hot water cylinders power supply whilst they are away. We believe if you are going away for less than three weeks there is no significant energy saving in turning off the cylinder, due to the fact that as much energy would be required to re-heat the cylinder up again from cold when you return from holiday than maintaining the cylinders temperature.

2. Make sure your spouting and internal gutters are clear around your home so that if we get any of these crazy summer deluges of rain there is no risk of flooding whilst you are away.

3. Check all garden hose taps or irrigation that is not required is turned off.  A garden hose turned off at the nozzle, with the main hose tap valve still on can cause a disaster as the pressure builds up overnight causing the hose end to pop off wasting thousands of litres of water whilst you are away.

4. Replace the batteries and adjust the timer in any automatic sprinkler systems you may have installed and ensure that it is operating effectively so that your gardens and lawns are still thriving on your return from holiday.

5. Turn off the gas supply or permanent pilot to any heaters that you are no longer using. A number of older style space heaters have permanent pilots that run continuously, these arn't required during summer when your heater is not likely to call for heat. Turning off the pilot can not only make the house safer, but save energy. (When the weather turns cooler and we come out to undertake the pre-winter service of your appliance we can turn it back on  for you).

When there's water pouring through the ceiling or coming out of a tap that's jammed open, there are 3 things you generally need in a hurry -

• A big bucket
• An idea of where your "toby" lurks
• Our Number (0800-4-60-247)

The "toby", which controls the water supply to your house, is usually within half a metre or so outside of your front boundary in a small iron box with a hinged lid. If you can't find it in an obvious place, search the undergrowth around your boundary. If it's still elusive, contact your local authority and they will locate it for you.

A common household emergency is when a tap won't turn off and the tap handle  goes around without any effect on the water flow. It's even worse when it's the hot tap; there's steam everywhere and you're watching your evening bath water going down the gurgler. Usually this particular emergency has been building up over a period of time. The tap may have needed an extra turn or so before it would stop the water and the continual force of tightening the tap has eventually strained the shaft meaning a new tap needs to be installed. By turning off the inlet tap to your hot water cylinder you can save most of the hot water until your plumber can attach a new fitting.

Waste build-up or unprocessed waste trapped in the unit are common causes of a smelly garbage disposal, and a smelly garbage disposal can make your kitchen an unpleasant place to be. Cleaning the garbage disposal will reduce or eliminate foul smells and make your disposal work more efficiently.

A healthy hand full of ice-cubes dropped into the waste disposal and turning the waste disposal on with a water flow will create the effect of scouring any smelly waste out of your disposal, leaving it as clean as new. If this hasn't been done for a while this may have to be done several times.

If your waste disposal is an older model and you find that it doesn't handle breaking up food scraps, in particular potato peelings the grind rings may require replacement.

It is essential to ensure you flush plenty of water down the drain to prevent larger particules of cut waste potentially blocking your waste pipe. If your grind rings are blunt and the disposal isn't cutting correctly it may be more economical in the long run to replace this unit with a new hassle free model, than risk a potential bockage at an inconvienient time. If you have this problem, take us up on our Christmas offer   with 50% off labour for the first hour and get it sorted before Christmas with a new disposal installation.

It’s a perfect time to check your cylinder with the holidays coming up, you don’t want to have a flood while your away at the beach!

Hot water heating accounts for around 30% of the average home’s energy bill and costs around $650.00 per year so it makes sense to ensure your hot water heater is operating efficiently and safely.
For the month of December we are offering a FREE Hot Water Safety and performance check with all jobs logged.

Click here to contact us or phone 0800 4 60 247

Book your Plumbing Elf here and receive a 50% discount off the first hours labour - a saving of over $40.00! 

We have had such an overwhelming repsonse to our early Christmas present sent out earlier in the month we have decided to extend this offer for a further week.

*Discount applies to the first full hour of labour, valid for new works not previously quoted. One pressie per customer, offer ends Friday 23rd December 2011

Click on your Christmas Present to book your job and we will despatch one of our talented elves to you in one of our speedy vans; unfortunately Santa hasn't let us borrow the Reindeer this year!

Alternatively contact our office on 0800 4 60 24 7 and quote "Christmas Pressie" to one of our Customer Service Elves and they will arrange everything for you over the phone.

C F Reese would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your valued custom throughout the year.

Our office will be closed from 5.00pm Friday 23rd December and reopen on Monday 09th January 2012.

Should you require our services during this time for any emergency work, please feel free to call us on

0800 4 60 24 7

and our after hours service centre will despatch an on-call tradesman to attend.

We wish you and your family a very merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year, from all the team at C F Reese Plumbing