The Annual Plumbing Check-Up
Fifteen minutes a year that catches the failures before they choose their own timing.
Once a year, test the stopcock actually turns, check visible pipework and under-sink traps for damp, bleed the radiators and repressurise, check the loft tank lid and insulation, and have the boiler serviced. The whole thing takes an afternoon and catches the failures that otherwise arrive as emergencies.
Published 14 August 2026 · Written by the Emergency Plumb engineers
The walk-round
Exercise the stopcock. Look under every sink with a torch. Check visible pipe runs for green or white crust, which is a slow leak advertising itself. Flush each toilet and listen for refill that never stops. Check the boiler pressure gauge.
Outside
Gully grids clear, overflow pipes dry, outside tap isolated in winter, gutters actually discharging into the drain rather than down the wall.
What it buys you
Most plumbing disasters are slow failures that were visible for months. This list finds the £15 problems while they are still £15, and it is exactly what our engineers do in the first ten minutes of any maintenance visit.
The ten-minute annual test
Turn the stopcock fully off and on. Check under every sink with a dry hand. Look at the boiler pressure. Check the small copper pipe outside near the boiler for drips. Read the meter with everything off, wait two hours, read it again. Five checks, and between them they catch most developing problems before they become events.
What to have done professionally
A boiler service annually, which the warranty almost certainly requires. An unvented cylinder service annually, which is a safety matter rather than a preference. And in a rented property, a gas safety check, which is a legal duty. Everything else is symptom-led rather than scheduled.
Keep the records
Service records, certificates, the benchmark book, and photographs of anything now hidden behind plaster or under a floor. Warranty claims, insurance claims and conveyancing all turn on these, and every one of them is far easier to file as you go than to reconstruct under pressure years later.
The Annual Plumbing Check-Up, your questions
How often should plumbing be checked?
Why does my stopcock need testing?
What are the early warning signs of plumbing failure?
Is an annual boiler service worth the money?
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