Essentially preventive plumbing is regular maintenance of your plumbing assets and fixtures at your property (residential & commercial). Just like with so many aspects of our lives like our finances, health, and relationships maintenance is crucial. Regular inspections (6 to 12 months) by a fully qualified and licensed plumber can help you:
- Identify problems before they become expensive emergencies
- Identify and remove safety hazards at your property
- Ensure you meet any legislated testing and maintenance requirements (i.e. backflow device)
Your Insurance and Preventive Plumbing
Although every insurance policy is different, when you have preventative plumbing done at your property (residential & commercial), you have a higher chance of getting adequate insurance cover. This means you can be covered when a plumbing emergency occurs like a burst pipe or gas leak. You must check your insurance policy though to see what exactly you are covered for when it comes to your plumbing. Never assume you will be covered in a plumbing emergency if you haven’t first taken preventive measures.
Preventive Plumbing Reports
Your plumber must provide you with monthly and annual reports of all preventative maintenance done at your property. These reports are required when you’re making insurance claims on plumbing issues. They form part of the right documentation that is needed when filing for insurance claims. Make sure that you always hire a licensed and qualified plumber to perform any preventive plumbing.
7 Key Preventive Plumbing Checks
Getting your plumber to perform the following seven key preventative maintenance checks at your property will ensure that you receive insurance benefits when making a claim in the event of an emergency:
- Water wise audit: Your plumber will check for unusually high-water usage, identify issues and offer solutions to bring your water costs down.
- Plumbing Health check: Your plumber will quote for fixture repairs and replacements to reduce consumption and save money on water usage. Remember commercial properties are often not sub-metered so every saving can be helpful.
- For sewer and stormwater systems, your plumber will use a camera to check that there are no visible breakages that can cause issues with buildings. For older buildings, it can be determined if you need to upgrade old clay pipes to PVC.
- For roofing and guttering, your plumber will check your property’s roofing and guttering. Damage or general wear and tear that might cause problems in the future will be identified.
- Rainwater drainage systems, your plumber will check and assess surface water and groundwater drainage systems to ensure the water is leaving your premises as designed.
- Pumps and Plumbing chambers, your plumber will check Pumps to ensure they are operating correctly, as well as check that control panels are operating correctly. Plumbing chambers will be inspected and used to assist in minimising debris build ups that cause blockages.
- For Hot water systems, your plumber will check and make sure your hot water system is working properly. If not, a repair or replacement might be needed.
After reading our article you should be more aware of the insurance benefits around preventive plumbing. Book your preventive plumbing check today. Contact O’Neill & Brown Plumbing Service today!
