Archive for the ‘DIY’ Category

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How To Get Rid Of Mould In Your Bathroom

Friday, December 11th, 2009

How To Get Rid Of Mould In Your Bathroom

A common problem in most households is mould, it’s usually found in your bathroom and can be difficult to get rid of but not impossible. It’s a fungus found mostly in damp and moist places and as tiny spores, it travels through the air. You will need to remove it if your looking for a fresh and clean bathroom as it can give bad first impressions if left.

To do so, you must erase all the mould you can find on your ceiling and upper wall. This can be done with a cloth and mixture of bleach and water, try and dilute the bleach to a point where its effective but not strong in smell. Scrub vigorously and make sure that you regularly rinse the cloth under the tap after using it, as it can stay on the cloth and spread to other areas you clean. It’s advised that you keep the area aired out and wear goggles and gloves when doing this procedure. Once you have removed all visible mould, using clean water wash off any spare bleach you can find and then let the surface dry.

Now you need to stop the existing mould from sticking to the wall, by using Bin paint this can be done. With a roller, roll a coat of Bin paint on the area and allow to dry for 45-60 minutes. As it’s a stain killer also, this will stop the old mould from seeping to the surface later. You have now removed mould from your bathroom.

To prevent mould coming back, you can use a coat of Mildew-Proof paint the same way you used the Bin paint. This doesn’t kill the mildew so make sure you get rid of the mould effectively at first. But the best idea is to buy an extractor fan because it ventilates your bathroom but also limits the amount of heat loss when showering.

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How To Fix A Water Hammer

Friday, December 11th, 2009

How To Fix A Water Hammer

This can be a problem in a lot of homes and can happen anytime, not knowing what a ‘water hammer’ is can be a downfall to fixing the problem. This is how a ‘water hammer’ is caused.

A Ball valve is what controls the cisterns for your tank and toilets when cold water is entered, hot water flows from your emersion which makes the cold water from the tank to replace it. Incoming flow is managed by a float, this inclines the water allowing the valve to shut once the tank is full which is a similar technique to when you flush the toilet. As cold water rushes into the cistern it causes the water to vibrate forming ripples, the float is then constantly moving up and down which opens and closes the valve. This vibration on the arm of the float within the valve is what makes the ‘water hammer’, this causes pressure behind the valve when shut because water is trying to flow through the pipes in such a high speed that it builds up. The more pressure it gains, forms a pressure wave which moves up and down the pipe changing the energy into friction causing the hammering noise.

Firstly you must check that the pipe is secure whether its against a joist or a surface, once that’s confirmed you can now start to get rid of this problem. Find an empty yogurt pot and tie it to the arm of the float with metal wire that will not rust. Position the yoghurt pot slightly below the water line, as this will cause enough weight to stop the reverberating but will still allow the arm to rise.

You have now fixed the problem and water can easily flow through your pipes.

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How To Reseat A Tap

Sunday, December 6th, 2009

How To Reseat A Tap

If your tap keeps dripping even if the wahser has been replaced then you will need to reseat your tap. This is because dirt and grit have worn away the seating of the tap, but dont worry as this can be cured by reaseating. Before starting, make sure you put your plug in the plughole of your basin to avoid losing bits and bobs from the taps when working on them.
First, remove the head of the tap. Protect the surface of the tap from any tool by using your hand to unscrew it, remove the washer as well but leave the base and spout where they are. Place the reseating tool into the taps body and move it about until its touching the seat, now grind down the seat by turning the tool to reseat your tap. Note that if the grinding disc still has black marks then you need to continue the grinding procedure, once they vanish is when you know your tap has enough ground. In reverse order, reattach the tap to complete the reseating process. If you want to replace the seat of the tap then you require a new nylon one along with a new washer and jumpers. Put the nylon seat over the old one and change the new washers and jumpers with the old ones also. Put together the tap and gully close it as much as you can, this will show that you have fitted the new seat in the right place.

Have a look at our variety of chrome taps that have a 10 year guarantee and 48 hour delivery from purchase.

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How To Install A Bath

Sunday, December 6th, 2009

How To Install A Bath

Make sure that you prepare all the pieces and tools before beginning this procedure to prevent the water being switched off for a long period. Note that if your replacing your old bath with a new 1 and there different sizes and type, then the pipes may need to be extended to the new position.

Start with installing the supporting frame provided with the bath following the instructions given by the manufacturers, then using either your tap or mixer fit them to the bath. It’s essential that you have a plastic washer with your tap when you begin to fit your tap block, so that your able to use it between the bath and tap. If your installing a plastic bath then to avoid pressure on the bath, position reinforcing plates under the taps unit.

Now using olives and 2 nuts, put the flexible tap connectors under the 2 taps. Spread mastic filler around the basin outlet hole and pass the outlet through the hole in the bath, position with the supplied nut. This procedure is for fitting a plug hole outlet, check to see if it has an inlet on the side for the overflow pipe. Now install a overflow outlet to the end of the overflow pipe and attach it to the overflow face which should be positioned inside the bath, make sure to use all the washers provided.

Finally, wind the thread of the waste outlet with PTFE tape and screw it on the trap to the outlet. This will connect the bottom of the waste outlet of the bath to the trap. Now fix the bottom of the overflow tube in the same way, your bath has now been installed.

Take a look at our range of chrome taps to suit your new bathroom, all come with 48 hour delivery and a 10 year guarantee.

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How To Unblock A Waste Pipe

Saturday, December 5th, 2009

How To Unblock A Waste Pipe

In some cases you might find that your waste pipe is blocked, if this is the case then use a hand operated hydraulic pump. Like the technique for unblocking a sink with a sink plunger, cover the overflow with a damp rag. Fill the pump with water and place the nozzle over the outlet, now to remove the blockage use a downward action on the pump so that water will powerfully force itself through it. If this hasn’t changed anything then using an upward motion, produce enough suction to unblock the blockage still keeping the device in place. Unfortunately, if this doesn’t work then it’s required that the trap found under the waste outlet needs clearing. A trap is U-shaped tube made to hold water so that the stench from the drain doesn’t creep into the room. Make sure you have a bucket underneath when clearing the trap.

If you have a lead or brass trap then it’s important that you take care when dealing with them to prevent damage. Undo the clearing eye situated at the bottom of the trap and use a pipe cleaner to get rid of any waste remaining. Now clean the clearing eye thread and use PTFE tape to wrap around it to avoid any leaks.

If you own a plastic trap then you will need to detach it as it doesn’t hold clearing eyes. To do so, undo the lock nuts located either side of the trap, if they don’t budge then apply boiling water over them. Once removed wrap some PTFE tape around the thread of the lock nut to avoid any leaks and replace.

If it’s a bottle trap you have then your able to undo the whole base of the trap by hand. Bottle traps are the most simplest therefore are the quickest in unblocking waste pipes, when the waste has been cleared from the trap use a pipe cleaner to catch any excess waste. Clean the trap with disinfectant and rinse thoroughly, also use PTFE tape to wrap around the cover thread previous from replacing.

When the trap has been replaced, check that the connections are watertight by running water through the system. If so, you have now unblocked your waste pipe.

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