Water saving tips for hosepipe ban hit UK from across the pond

Following the news that the use of hose pipes is to be banned in parts of the UK, news comes to us from our friends at Mr Rooter that it’s ‘Fix a Leak Week’ in the US. It’s sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency and calls attention to the importance of conserving water.

The EPA WaterSense website advises Americans to repair leaks in three areas: the sink, the toilet and the shower.

This is also true here in the UK.  See Drain Doctor’s water-saving tips for easy ways to help beat the drought.

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Related articles

• Is a hosepipe ban the most effective way to tackle a drought? | Leo Hickman (guardian.co.uk)
• Hosepipe ban to be imposed in drought-hit parts of UK – BBC News (bbc.co.uk)
• Water Firms Set To Impose Hosepipe Bans – Sky News (news.sky.com)
• Mr. Rooter Facebook Game Calls Attention to “Fix a Leak” Week (prweb.com)
• Water firms introduce hose pipe ban (independent.co.uk)

Drain Doctor supports the next generation of young chefs

Jan Mitman pictured with Cromwell Rotary Club Young Chef 2012 Jasmine Tidswell

Drain Doctor Plumbing  has sponsored a competition organised by the Cromwell Rotary Club to find its Young Chef of the Year for 2012.

Students from Hinchingbrooke and St Peter’s Schools in Huntingdon showed off their culinary skills to competition judges Jan Mitman, franchise sales director at Drain Doctor, and Tim Ireson.

The eight teenage contestants were each asked to prepare a healthy and economical meal in 90 minutes, which were then subjected to a taste test by the judges.

The standard of cooking was high and we were impressed with the dishes that were prepared. Although they were simple ones they were very tasty. Finding the eventual winner proved to be no easy task.

Everyone at Drain Doctor is delighted to continue its involvement with this event. We are closely involved in the catering industry so it makes sense to support the next generation of young chefs and catering professionals coming through.

First place in the Young Chef contest went to St Peter’s School student Jasmine Tidswell, who now goes forward to compete at district level against students from Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Lincolnshire. The district winner moves on to compete in the national finals, the winner of which will be crowned as one of the best aspiring chefs in the country.

With so many celebrity chefs in the public eye, cooking is becoming very popular. Students see what can be achieved and want to prepare more than just fast food. We are pleased to be able to help them realise their ambitions.

The 2011 national competition was judged by Valentine Warner who is always full of encouragement for young newcomers to cooking. Part of the Drain Doctor ethos is to work hard and aim high and that is the message that this competition gets across.

Congratulations to Jasmine who has progressed to the district competition and has something higher to aim for. We wish her and the other students well for the future as they progress.

Second place went to Rebecca Anderson of Hinchingbrooke School, while St Peter’s student Josh Howells took third spot.

In addition to our domestic plumbing and drainage services, we provide grease management solutions including grease trap maintenance for commercial kitchens in hotels and restaurants around the country. We also supply an exclusive enzyme cleaner which digests grease to help control the build up of grease in drainage systems that can cause blockages, foul odours and potential environmental problems, so it makes sense to continue to support this event.

It’s all go for Middlesbrough Drain Doctor team

James Stairmand (left) receiving a Target Achievers Award from Drain Doctor chairman Freddie Mitman at a recent Drain Doctor Convention.

James Stairmand and his dedicated  team in Middlesbrough have been extremely busy working on commercial contracts recently.

They have recently completed a large site investigation at a local steel company, followed by a complete site clean that involved the removal of tarmac and other materials from 530 road gullies. The gully clearance is part of a large commercial contract for facilities management work at the Wynyard Business Park north of Billingham.

In addition, the team is working on a contract recently awarded to them by the local authority which included sorting out the drains at a wash-down bay at a local council depot.

Completing the work, along with the usual day-today emergency plumbing work, in just four working days was in large part due to the dedication of technician Lee Horner who was also moving house at the time.

James said: “All credit to Lee for helping us to complete these contracts. Local knowledge is important. It is important to approach new and existing businesses and offer Drain Doctor’s services.

“If I am driving past a business and notice that the car park is flooded, for example, I will call in and point it out to them and leave a card. It’s all about being proactive. As long as you keep your name at the forefront of people’s minds the work will come.

“We have also added some plant to our fleet to enable the business to better manage larger commercial work.”

Drain Doctor offers water saving tips as drought continues

Despite recent wet weather, parts of the Anglian region have been officially in a state of drought since early in the month. Areas in the South West, South East, and Midlands are experiencing near-drought conditions following the driest spring on record in South East and Central Southern England, and the driest right across England and Wales since 1990.

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said: “Drought has hit parts of East Anglia, with other areas in England and Wales also giving grounds for concern. Water companies are confident that supplies are high enough so that widespread restrictions to the public are unlikely. We’re doing all we can to reduce the impact on agriculture and wildlife, but everyone can play their part.

“Households know how to use less water and everyone can do their bit to use water more wisely, not only through the summer, but throughout the year.”

Although some areas across the country have benefited from recent rainfall, this has done little to improve the situation in the driest areas. It is important to follow some of these simple tips to conserve water:

• Check your plumbing and drains for leaks
• Turn off your tap when you are brushing your teeth
• Take showers rather than baths
• Repair any dripping taps
• Only use what water you need when filling the kettle to make tea or coffee
• Only use the washing machine when you can put a full load into it
• Keep water in the fridge to chill so that you don’t need to run the tap to get cool water each time
• Place a brick or a ‘hippo’ in the toilet cistern to reduce the amount of water flushed
• Use a shut-off nozzle on your hose pipe if you are using it in the garden or to wash the car
• Use a mulch on beds and vegetable plots to retain moisture in the soil to reduce the amount of watering
• Use a water butt to collect rainwater to use on the garden

Related articles

• Drought conditions hit parts of UK (mirror.co.uk)
• Parts of Eastern England Declared Drought-stricken (scientificamerican.com)
• Drought declared in East Anglia (independent.co.uk)
• Parts of UK officially in drought (bbc.co.uk)
• Drought declared in East Anglia (guardian.co.uk)
• Drought declared as shortages set to last until autumn (telegraph.co.uk)
• Caroline Spelman says take a shower rather than a bath as drought declared in East Anglia (telegraph.co.uk)

Soaring tuition fees make plumbing an attractive career choice

A CCTV inspection

As universities elect to raise their tuition fees to the maximum £9,000 per year,  learning a trade like plumbing is becoming an increasingly attractive option for some school-leavers – as this article in The Telegraph points out.

Drain Doctor offers a range of opportunities for qualified technicians within its network. Training offers young people the opportunity to build a career – and who knows, even a thriving business of their own as a Drain Doctor franchisee – in a challenging industry.

As a national franchise business, Drain Doctor uniquely combines plumbing and entrepreneurial skills. You don’t need to be a plumber to run a Drain Doctor franchise but several of our best franchise owners did start out as plumbers – and still turn out to tackle plumbing and drainage emergencies themselves when they need to.

Seven plumbing sins to avoid

Browsing the internet the other day we came across an interesting blog entitled Seven Stupid Things That People do to Ruin Plumbing.

Reading down the list of plumbing no-no’s we realised that these are exactly the things that our technicians are educating Drain Doctor customers about seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Avoiding some simple mistakes can keep your drains unblocked and running free. Remember, ‘prevention is better than cure.’

Drain Doctor’s price check policy avoids shocks

Drain Doctor technicians will always agree the price for a job from a national pricing menu before starting work.

Agreeing the cost of plumbing work up-front can help avoid rip-offs, misunderstandings and unpleasant situations like this one from the United States.

Recently, a plumber told police he was threatened while working at the home of a 75-year-old man who was upset about the cost of his repairs. The man told the plumber as he left that he would shoot up the plumber’s house if there were any more problems. The plumber told police he was taking the man’s threat seriously because he had seen the old man holding a revolver earlier in the day. However, there was no further incident and no charges were brought.

A burst pipe or blocked lavatory is always a problem. ‘Rip off’ plumbers, who can charge a small fortune just to take a look at the problem, turn it into a nightmare.

Drain Doctor charges no overtime for evening, weekend or bank holiday emergencies and there are no call-out charges . Every job is priced before work starts, working to a national pricing menu.

We are truly on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Service requests are handled quickly and efficiently and prices are agreed before the job is done, so there are no surprises – like the one that was in store for that American plumber. Our constant aim is to give superb and specialised service in a market plagued by cowboy operators who are overcharging customers for shoddy workmanship. Franchisees offer a full 24 hour per day seven day per week service and they give fixed-price, no obligation quotes with a full guarantee on all their work.