GCO Plumbing & Gas assist a client with a blocked drain on their Sippy Downs property John from Sippy Downs called GCO Plumbing & Gas when he noticed water taking a long time to drain from his patio during and after any period of rain. The flooding became a major concern during heavy rains as the water was coming close to entering the house. Greg attended the Sippy Downs property to investigate the issue. He suspected that John’s patio pipework likely had a blockage. Once cleared with the client, Greg made an attempt to clear the blocked pipework using a cable machine and water jet. With the blockage refusing to clear, Greg decided to use his drain camera to identify the issue. With the camera in the pipes, he was able to identify that a large amount of tree root was blocking the pipe spanning approximately 3 metres of the drain. Then using electronic drain locating equipment, Greg was able to pinpoint the affected pipework in the front garden of the property. With the drain blockage located, Greg was then able to dig up the drain, exposing the damaged section of pipework which was allowing the tree root to enter the drain. With the damaged section replaced and the drain now running at full capacity, even the heaviest of storms are no concern for John. Great work Greg!   Common Drain Blockage Causes In addition to tree roots, there are a number of other things that can cause blocked drains and pipes on your property. We often find that the following items cause drain blockages and should never be put down drains: Fats, oils or food scraps Motor oils, paints, chemicals or pesticides Medicines Sanitary products, cotton buds, nappies, condoms, wrappers, etc. Plastics Non-biodegradable products Wipes and facial tissues If you are facing issues with blocked drains or pipes, call the reliable plumber Sippy Downs locals trust. GCO Plumbing & Gas is also able to assist you with general plumbing, hot water, gas plumbing and a range of other domestic and commercial plumbing services. Need a fully licensed plumber on the Sunshine Coast ASAP? Call the team that is available 7 days a week on 0409 190 733 or email greg@gcoplumbing.com.au

GCO Plumbing & Gas deals with some difficult tap fixtures in Caloundra Judith and Iain from Caloundra contacted GCO Plumbing & Gas concerned about how difficult it was becoming for them to turn off their taps, constantly needing to turn taps off tighter and tighter to stop the dripping. Judith in particular was beginning to suffer from arthritis in her hands, making their old taps more difficult to operate. In addition to this, their grandkids also regularly left the taps not fully turned off due to the difficulty. Greg from GCO Plumbing & Gas arrived swiftly to remedy their tap issue. He suggested replacing the older taps with new lever handle quarter turn taps. These taps use ceramic discs inside the tap spindles instead of the old tap washers. The ceramic disc, quarter-turn operation in conjunction with a lever handle makes that operation of turning the tap on and off much easier. By replacing just the spindles and handles with these easy-turn tap installations it becomes a much cheaper option when compared to a full bathroom renovation with complete new taps and fixtures. With the water saved from not having constantly dripping taps and the money saved from avoiding a renovation, Judith could not have been happier with the end result that GCO achieved with a simple fix. We have plumbers Sippy Downs and the surrounding Sunshine Coast areas can rely on to provide efficient tap repair and tap replacements – we’ll work to solve all of your leaky tap issues and find you the best solution possible for your budget. Call the reliable plumber locals trust with all of their tap and toilet repairs and installation needs or questions. GCO Plumbing & Gas is also able to assist you with general plumbing, gas plumbing, hot water and a range of other domestic and commercial plumbing services. Need a fully licensed plumber on the Sunshine Coast ASAP? Call the team that is available 7 days a week on 0409 190 733 or email greg@gcoplumbing.com.au

A hot water tempering valve solution for a client in Tanawha Tricia, a client from Tanawha, was concerned that she was losing water pressure and temperature from all of her bathroom’s hot water taps. She noticed that both problems were slowly occurring and imagine something was surely deteriorating over time. Looking to solve the issue before it became any worse, she gave Greg at GCO Plumbing & Gas a call! Greg attended Tricia’s property and found a tempering valve installed at the hot water unit to be the cause of the fault. A tempering valve is a safety device that limits the hot water delivery temperature to all bathroom or ensuite fixtures/taps to 50 Degrees Celsius. It limits the temperature so that the water coming out of the taps is not scalding hot and likely to cause injuries. Rather than choosing the easier (yet more expensive) option of simply replacing the valve, as other plumbers might, Greg went the extra mile and checked the hot and cold filters/strainers in the tempering valve and found the cold filter, in particular, to be blocked and dirty, which was causing the valve to not operate properly. Going the extra mile to investigate the issue meant that Greg found an inexpensive solution for Tricia. After cleaning both filters and re-assembling the valve, Greg managed to fully restore the hot water temperature and pressure to Tricia’s bathrooms! Tricia was extremely happy to have her hot water back, and also that she did not need to replace an expensive valve at the hot water unit. When you want a plumber that will go the extra mile for you, call GCO Plumbing & Gas. For all your hot water needs or questions, call the reliable plumber Sunshine Coast locals trust with all of their plumbing needs. GCO Plumbing & Gas can also assist you with general plumbing, hot water, gas plumbing and a range of other domestic and commercial plumbing services. Need a fully licensed plumber ASAP? Call the team that is available 7 days a week on 0409 190 733 or email greg@gcoplumbing.com.au

The GCO Plumbing & Gas team handle a burst pipe in Noosa Angela, a resident from Noosa, was woken in the middle of the night by the sound of running water. When hopping out of bed to investigate she stepped onto a soaking wet carpet. Following the noise, she checked under her vanity basin in her ensuite to find the cold water connection into her taps had burst and was spraying water everywhere. She immediately turned her property’s water off and contacted GCO Plumbing & Gas who were on-site early the next morning. When GCO Plumber Greg arrived he found the burst pipe was caused by a heavily corroded flexible connector.  This would be very simple and cheap to replace, however, the damage caused by the water flooding was significant. As Angela was living on the third floor of an apartment complex, the water had not only caused damage in her unit, but also the unit below. Upon inspection of all other remaining flexible connectors to taps and toilets, Greg found most others to have corrosion of varying amounts, and with Angela’s permission, all remaining connectors were replaced with new ‘Burst Proof’ PEX flexible connectors. This would prevent the same issue from occurring in other places in her apartment. As Greg discussed with Angela, the heavy corrosion was possibly caused by salt in the air due to living close to the beach, therefore, it would be best to keep an eye out for any corrosion appearing in the future. Plumbing corrosion from living near the beach Salt and moisture in the air is just a fact of life when you live in close proximity to a beach. These conditions can, unfortunately, cause corrosion and damage your plumbing systems, leading to larger plumbing problems such as water leaks or burst pipes. If you notice either of the following, it could be a sign of pipe corrosion: Flaking or brittle pipes are a sure sign that your plumbing is beginning to corrode.  If the water from your taps has a reddish/brown tint (consistently) then it is possible that your stainless steel or iron pipes are experiencing corrosion.     If you suspect corroded pipes or are experiencing a burst pipe on your property, contact the plumber Sunshine Coast locals can depend on. We can help you with your general plumbing needs as well as a range of other commercial and domestic plumbing services. Licensed plumbers available 7 days a week. Call GCO Plumbing & Gas on 0409 190 733 or email greg@gcoplumbing.com.au

GCO Plumbing & Gas deals with a gas leak in Mountain Creek Sharon from Mountain Creek was concerned about needing to replace her gas bottle sooner than usual. Sharon found that she would normally get approximately 6 months out of her 45kg gas bottles. However, this time she found her bottle to be empty after only 2 months. Sharon called Greg from GCO Plumbing & Gas to investigate. When Greg arrived, Sharon also advised that her hot water unit would randomly go cold during showers. Greg conducted a pressure/leakage test using a manometer connected to a test point on the gas regulator at the bottles. Whilst conducting this test with the pressure and gas leak detection equipment, Greg found two faults. Firstly, the pressure dropped during the test which indicates a gas leak. Second, the gas pressure from the regulator was too low and likely to be the cause of the fault with the hot water going cold. Greg found the cause of the gas leak to be from the connection between the regulator and the gas bottles, as well as another small leak on the connection to the hot water unit. He made short work of solving these issues and also fitted a new gas regulator to correct the gas pressure fault. GCO Plumbing & Gas recommend that your gas system should be checked regularly to ensure safe and efficient use of all pipework and appliances.   Gas Bottle Safety Tips Safe transportation & storage: No more than 2 gas bottles should be transported per car. Ensure gas bottles are transported and stored upright and in a well-ventilated area at all times. Keep out of direct sunlight and away from flames and other flammable aerosols and liquids. Safe Usage: Always read the manufacturer’s manual before use. Use only outdoors or in well-ventilated spaces, except when windy. Ensure valves are turned off when not in use. Maintenance & Testing: Check for leaks regularly using soapy water. Reusable gas bottles require inspections and testing every 10 years to check the cylinder is safe to use. You can check when a gas bottle was last tested by checking the date stamped on its collar, neck or foot ring.   Contact the licensed gas plumber Mountain Creek locals can rely on If you suspect a gas leak on your property or are worried about one of your gas bottles call for the plumber Sunshine Coast locals can rely on. We also assist with general plumbing requirements and a range of other domestic and commercial plumbing services. Fully licensed gas plumbers Mountain Creek and the Sunshine Coast can call 7 days a week. Call GCO Plumbing & Gas on 0409 190 733 or email greg@gcoplumbing.com.au

GCO assists with a water leak repair in Maroochydore Andrew, a resident from Maroochydore, was shocked to receive his most recent water bill from Unity Water. The bill for this usage period had skyrocketed and was more than triple his last bill. As his water usage habits hadn’t changed Andrew suspected that there may be a water leak somewhere on his Maroochydore property. Andrew called Greg from GCO Plumbing & Gas, who promptly attended to investigate the problem. The first thing Greg did was check the water meter. He found it to be turning at a significant rate (higher than it should be). After confirming the meter reading, Greg then checked for any obvious water leakage from toilet cisterns, as well as all internal and external taps. Unfortunately, there were no obvious, easily fixed leaks. In order to find the sneaky water leak, Greg had to get out the pipe and water leak detection equipment. After using the pipe and water leak detection equipment, the leak was identified under Andrew’s concrete driveway from the main water supply pipe between the water meter and the house. With the client’s approval to get the job done, Greg neatly cut the driveway to remove a section of the concrete slab in order to access the leak underneath. He then excavated down to expose the leaking pipe. After replacing the leaking section of pipework and verifying that there were no further leaks, Greg backfilled the soil, reinforced and re-concreted the cut section of the driveway. Andrew was concerned about this happening again, therefore Greg discussed with Andrew some options to help prevent such unwanted surprises in the future. The option Andrew chose was to fit a leak detection monitor device to his water system, which detects water flow over a period of time, and shuts off the water if the flow time is exceeded. Andrew was very happy with this outcome, and could relax without worrying about any nasty surprises when his next Unity Water bill arrives. If you are experiencing unexpectedly high water bills or suspect a water leak on your property call us for water leak detection Sunshine Coast locals can rely on. We also assist with general plumbing requirements and a range of other domestic and commercial plumbing services. Contact the plumber Sunshine Coast locals trust – GCO Plumbing & Gas! Fully licensed plumbers available 7 days a week. Call GCO on 0409 190 733 or email greg@gcoplumbing.com.au

GCO assist a client with a blocked toilet in Buderim, QLD John a resident in Buderim was concerned about a toilet in his recently renovated bathroom that was continually blocking up, so he gave GCO Plumbing & Gas a call. Greg from GCO Plumbing & Gas attended the property and did an inspection of the problem that John was pointing out. Greg found all other drains in the house to be flowing well, so he knew the location of the issue was in close proximity to the toilet in question. After removing the toilet to further inspect the drain, Greg found a build-up of toilet paper on an offset adaptor that connects the outlet of the toilet to the drainpipe. Offset adaptors, whilst being a fully approved fitting are a very common cause of blocked toilets. Particularly the larger 40mm offset adaptors. In John’s case, the plumber who completed the bathroom renovation used a 40mm offset connection due to the drainpipe coming through the concrete slab too far from the wall. The offset adaptor was correctly fitted to allow the toilet suite to be installed fully back to the wall. Unfortunately, though, this offset adaptor could not cope with the amount of paper constantly being flushed down the toilet and is what led to the blockage issues. To fix the fault, Greg fitted a 20mm offset adaptor, which allowed for a much less restricted flow. The compromise was that the toilet cistern would now sit 20mm off the wall. John, however, was most happy with this solution, as 12 months on, the toilet has not blocked again since Greg’s correction. The other solution to this fault may have been to install a different style of toilet suite, or a much more expensive option would have been to cut open the concrete slab to alter the below-ground drainage pipe. However, for this job, we worked within John’s budget and found a solution that suited him. Contact the plumber Buderim locals call when they need their plumbing problems solved If you are experiencing blocked drains, blocked toilets or have general plumbing requirements, call the reliable plumber Sunshine Coast locals trust – GCO Plumbing & Gas! Fully licensed plumbers in Buderim available 7 days a week. Call GCO on 0409 190 733 or email greg@gcoplumbing.com.au