Introduction This is just a highlight of what can make a simple day, turn into a real night mare for both our customers and our engineers. Patience and understanding is key to keeping calm and dealing with situations, well beyond our control and often the path to these issues was laid some years before by shoddy tradesman in the past. As leak detection technicians, we often find ourselves navigating through various challenges, but few are as frustrating and time-consuming as dealing with non-compliant pipes and cables hidden beneath floors. What seems like a routine task of digging up a floo ..read more

Why do plumbers forget to check inhibitor in heating systems? Introduction In the realm of leak detection companies, there is a common frustration that plumbers overlook a crucial aspect of maintenance – testing the inhibitor in boilers and heating systems. This oversight can lead to significant issues down the line, impacting both the efficiency of the system and the longevity of the equipment. Let’s delve into why this forgetfulness occurs and the consequences it can have. Boiler pressure loss, is one of the most common reasons for requiring leak detection. All too often our engineers find t ..read more

1. Address Leaks Promptly: Leaving leaks unattended can lead to significant damage that spreads and worsens over time. Act quickly to minimize the damage and the need for extensive restoration work. If you plan to file a claim with your building insurance, swift action is crucial. Most insurers expect action within 30 days of the incident. 2. Review Your Insurance Coverage: Ensure that your insurance policy includes coverage for “Trace & Access.” This provision typically allocates funds, often around £5000, for locating and accessing sources of water escape. Check your policy to verify th ..read more

The Hidden Reality of Water Damage and Insurance Fraud In the world of building insurance, a policyholder expects that in exchange for their regular premiums, they will be protected against property damage, including that caused by water. But what if your insurer tells you they only cover visible water damage? This practice may sound fair at first, but upon closer examination, it’s deeply flawed and could even amount to insurance fraud. Water Damage: Not Always in Plain Sight Water damage is a leading cause of insurance claims worldwide. However, it doesn’t always appear as a burst pipe or a ..read more

3 Major UK Changes in Leak Detection since the Pandemic: A New Era Emerges Let’s face it, the pandemic has been a rollercoaster ride for all of us! It’s not just our daily lives that have been affected, but the way businesses operate too. In the world of leak detection, we’ve seen quite a few changes as we’ve adapted to the new normal. As experts in the field, we at UK Leak Detection want to share three major changes we’ve noticed in the industry since the pandemic. So, buckle up and let’s dive right in! Enhanced Safety Measures: Prioritizing Health and Well-being Safety first, as they say ..read more

This is about how important it is to tell us all the information you have, not just what you ‘think’ we need. Recently, we had a situation where a customers home was being flooded by sewage (yuk), it was coming up out the toilet and flooding the kitchen and utility room; a really unpleasant situation, compounded by having a toddler and being pregnant! With no access to the drains due to an extension being built over the manhole, there was no way to use a drain company to jet, these free of a blockage. We joked that with a toddler around it was probably a Buzz Lightyear, sent on an adventure ..read more

But the plumber said it was OK….Yes it’s a Friday rant again… We often attend properties where there is a leaking heating system that needs attention to not only the leak but also other existing issues. Today, in particular, we have 2 different jobs, both have bodged parts on the heating system, this week probably another 3 or 4 jobs with issues that should have been addressed prior to our attendance. It is not sufficient to simply turn a leaking radiator off or worse just say “I know about that”, you might know about it, but if its leaking water it will also leak the trace gas we use. It i ..read more

Leak Detection Companies hourly rate issues Quite simply, we don’t! We see an hourly charge as not acting in your best interests but as a way to raise the value of the works by charging after a few hours (the average is 4) when it is evident that the detection will likely take the whole day. In our opinion, an hourly rate stresses the process and is too easy to abuse, or there might be a perception of abuse even when unfounded. An excellent example of this is a heating leak, most customers have no idea how long it takes to drain a heating system down through a tiny little valve that is often ..read more

The UK Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is calling for urgent action to remedy the leaky water supplies, with a league of the leakiest suppliers to pressure them into action. Unfortunately, the reaction of water companies to this pressure is often to simply pass the blame onto the consumer and start issuing often inaccurate leak notifications to customers across the network; threatening legal action of enforced civil works with huge costs. When we are called to a leak notification by our customers, the data we have is about 50% of these we find there is no leak, or it is in fact the suppliers ..read more

These blogs are an informal window into what we come up against. UK Leak Detection try to be fair and not book the impossible to get ‘any’ job booked in. One of the questions we ask is “how long to lose boiler pressure?” to decide if its months, or a few days or even hours. If its months to lose boiler pressure, then February is probably not the best time to try! We also ask “Is there leak seal in the system?” and if so when? On a job recently, when our engineer was pretty much getting rusty gravy out the drain. It was a clear sign of a heating system not maintained with enough inhibitor (you ..read more